Plumber Near Me

Barrell Plumbing & Heating

📍 36 Spinelli Pl, Cambridge, MA 02138 📞 (617) 864-5050 🌐 Website
3.5 (27 reviews)
Closed ⋅ Opens 8 AM
Heating contractor
Plumber

Review Summary

  • Positive: Highly recommended for their responsiveness, fair pricing, excellent workforce, and quality of work. Praised for handling major projects like sewer line replacements and complex renovations with efficiency, communication, and professionalism. Specific praise for the team's competence, courtesy, and cleanliness.
  • Mixed: Some customers experienced price discrepancies and unprofessional behavior from the dispatcher/receptionist, including rude communication and incorrect billing.
  • Neutral: Some reviews noted the company's focus on contract work and "old school" scheduling/reception, which may not suit everyone. Work quality is generally good, with jobs completed on time and within budget.
Barrell Plumbing & Heating thumbnail

3.5

(27 reviews)

5 ★63%
4 ★0%
3 ★0%
2 ★0%
1 ★37%

Kasi Cruz

I have been using Barrell for years. It's a great plumbing company and I highly recommend them. They come when you need them, their prices are good and they have an excellent workforce. We recently had a major issue that had me in tears. Long story short, we had to replace our main sewer line. Joe Barrell personally came out to examine the issue. A work plan was put in place and carried out in a timely and efficient manner, including coordination with the excavation company they work with. Communication was excellent throughout and they made an extremely stressful and disruptive process much more bearable. They did the work in stages which allowed my tenants and I to continue using water, flushing, etc. Rusty, the man who replaced my pipe, was wonderful as was Joe. I will always be a customer. Thank you Barrell!

Peter Sorger

We have used Barrell multiple times on our 100-year old home and always had excellent service. The Barrell team installed a new condensing boiler, extended our heating system, and most recently fully renovated a bathroom. In each case the work with does the highest possible standard and the team was courteous, highly competent, and fully prepared.

Peter Haviland

Barrell Plumbing installed a 2 mini-split system providing air conditioning as well as heat. We were impressed with how they were able to start and finish the work earlier than they originally quoted. Their workers, plus an outside electrical crew they hired to perform the electrical work, were professional and efficient, especially how they cleaned up after themselves upon leaving. The units have performed above our expectations, especially after experiencing several weeks of hot, humid weather. Now that cooler weather is here, the units provide excellent heat very quickly. We are very satisfied with Barrell Plumbing and would certainly recommend them.

Christian Symonds

After pricing around for a water heater replacement, I decided to go with Barrell because the price they quoted was pretty much the same as what other companies were charging and they were already familiar with our building. But when I subsequently spoke with the 'dispatcher' to schedule the install, she said the price would actually be $500 higher than the original quote. Obviously I did not go through with this company doing the work. Not sure why they would quote me one price (which I confirmed on a 2nd call) just to have them raise the price by $500 when I go to schedule.

Dan

Barrell Plumbing is the worst service provider I have ever encountered. The receptionist is so rude and unprofessional. She slammed the phone while I was trying to explain to her that I never received any confirmation of appointment, so they should not charge me as there was never an agreement of order. I got not only excellent services from another provider, but also email confirmation and introduction of the team that would be working on my order. I received further email follow up from that provider to ensure I was satisfied with their service. It's like day and night compared to what I got from Barrell: rude receptionists (a woman and a man), no confirmation of appointment, $165 bill for dispatch fee and labor charge while they did not perform any services. I don't know how they can live with themselves charging people for nothing.

Jeff Robbins

They show up on time, do a decent job, for the price they state. While not inexpensive, they are fairly priced and stand by their work. We've had them do simple pipe repairs, hot water heater replacement, and fairly complex gas pipe relocation that involved fussy work due to a joist being in the wrong place. All work done well with no return visits required.

Tanya Ucuzian

Very pleased with the service provided by Barrell plumbing! The work was done in a commercial buidling. Everyone I dealt with was professional and delivered what was promised - on time, on budget! They exceeded my expectations and will recommend them to anyone needing their services!

Joan Papendo

Have not written any reviews before but am startled by the negative portrayal of longterm Plumbing and Heating Cambridge firm. I have used other plumbers for emergency and installation jobs and liked them. When it came time to replace our fifty year old furnace we started in researching in spring and chose Barrell. Other plumbers have uniformaly admired their choice of furnace and the workmanship. I would say the reception and scheduling is old school and if you kitchen floor has less than two inches of water ,even charming. No phone tree is a plus to me. That said I think their focus is on contract work. They more than lived up to the job and given our funky house it posed challenges. Crew was professional and they pointed out rebates and helped complete them. They were stellar for the job we needed them for. Only reason I did not give them five is I don't like to gush and they are as New Englanders, not likely to want me to. Note:. They are closed on weekends, not a problem for me but it is a tip off for their focus.