AICA Plumbing/HVAC Systems

Michael S.

After having a few plumbers take a look, we quickly realized that all of the gas pipes in our basement were rusted out. James of AICA plumbing provided a much more reasonable quote than other plumbers, and his timeline was incredible. Within 72 hours, all of the work for this massively involved job was complete!

He and his brothers were fantastic craftsmen with great attention to detail. They got the large job done in a single day, and the next morning the city inspector approved the work with no issues. I would recommend James and AICA plumbing to anyone looking for a quality master plumber/HVAC.

Sam L.

I'm so glad I found James. My furnace wasn't working properly; I called him yesterday morning and he confirmed his availability for today 8am. It took him about 30 minutes to get my furnace back up and running. It helped that he came prepared with the necessary replacement parts. He even tested the furnace by turning it off and on several times to make sure it would continue to work and even waited a little while with me in case the burners would go out on their own. I also like that his office is less than a mile from my house so I'll be calling him again if I need anything in the future.

Ulysses L.

In a remarkable series of unfortunate events, we suffered a heating valve failure, a pipe leak, and a failure of our hot water heater in a one-month span this past winter.

First to go was our heating system. Having used AICA previously, they were our first port of call. James replaced the valve, which had corroded to death and was causing the heat not to fully reach our second floor. Unfortunately, the restoration of the pressure caused a failure in (what turned out to be) an already damaged pipe in our walls, which then slowly leaked throughout our house for the next week without us noticing, until suddenly it became clear from warped floorboards and water spots in the ceiling below that we had A Major Problem. A water mitigation crew came in and found the leak quickly, but suddenly we had hot water spraying all over the place. I called AICA hoping to get emergency advice on how to shutoff the leak ASAP-- and James himself picked up the phone to walk the water mitigation crew through the shutoff procedure for the heating pipes.

I want to emphasize that this was 9pm in the evening, and the owner himself picked up the phone to offer free advice to another contractor. The lengths that James goes to to serve his existing customers are hard to overstate.

A few weeks later, our hot water heater developed a terminal leak in its liner. (Of course, it had just recently exited its 5-year warrantee period. When it rains, it pours...) James could not come out in the next 24 hours but instructed us on how to stop the leak temporarily. He and an assistant came out two days later and replaced the unit itself, and disposed of the dead one. This service also came with a one-year free labor warrantee from AICA for any work needed on the new heater (in addition to the manufacturer 5-year parts warrantee).

We've given a LOT of money to AICA in the past year-- a boiler tuneup, replacing the heating valve, and replacing the hot water tank. I get the impression that their prices may somewhat above the market rate (though this is just a hunch based on conversations with other homeowners). However, the fact that they do NOT charge any weekend/holiday/emergency markupm and that they offer such generous assistance to existing customers, provides a peace of mind that seems worth the money to me.

Now, I just hope I don't need to give them any MORE money any time soon!

Amanda B.

I called this company to come take a look at the forced air system in my new condo. They were able to make it over within a couple of days. Unfortunately, after a quick 30 second look, he told me that I needed the entire system replaced because it could not be accessed and that it had mold in it, etc, etc. He told me this would cost about $13,000 but he would do it for $12,500. He also said that he had a daughter my age and would do it for her. WELL. I called the former owner of the property and he claimed that he has it serviced a couple of months ago. I also got a second opinion, who said the system was absolutely fine and don't fix something that isn't broken. THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM. Don't use them. Save your money.

Pam N.

My furnace began vibrating very loudly when I put my a/c on. Called AICA on Saturday and got an appoinment for Monday (which was Memorial Day). James was able to pinpoint the problem immediately. Luckily it turned out to be a simple fix. We've all seen TV investigative shows where small fixes can get turned into needless MAJOR repairs. I was very impressed with James for his honesty. Definately would feel confident to use him again and refer him to friends.

Pam, Malden

Sam W.

I was out of James' regular zone so he won't be visiting my house for service; however he still spent ten minutes on the phone with me providing guidance and helping me troubleshoot my issue. I appreciate the help and willingness to share knowledge for free.

Seema R.

Not friendly or approachable. I called explaining there was a sewage smell in our house the previous night (the smell comes and goes) and he said that he didn't want to waste his time by coming out to my house to check it out. Not helpful.

Christopher L.

James Markarian installed two furnaces for me in one day this past Saturday. His bill was less than three other quotes I had gotten over the last two years.He had a crew of three men who were knowledgeable and friendly. I won't need him for hvac work again, but he will certainly be my go-to man for any plumbing problems I have in the future. I can't recommend him highly enough.

C V.

Professional and friendly on the phone. I was not able to book a time that worked so this is about the customer service I received when trying to book an appointment. I would have used if timing was better and I will update when I do.

Celia H.

I called AICA last week to try to get someone out to fix my AC that was blowing warm air. They weren't able to come out the next day (but neither were any of the other 3 companies I called) so I contacted him on Tuesday this week for a Friday July 3rd 8:00 am appointment. Today James called half an hour early to say he was already at my house which worked for me.
James and his apprentice David checked out the compressor and discovered the fan was not running. The unit was low on R-22 gas and had tripped the circuit breaker. James recharged the system so it now blows cold air. He also suggested that I might want to change out my 14 year old compressor soon and gave me an idea of cost.
James was more than willing to answer my questions and explain what he was doing. David followed up before he left and made sure my questions had been answered.
Very happy with their service and will use them again for other plumbing/HVAC needs especially since they are one town away and do a lot of work in Somerville.