Allen Plumbing

Amy C.

I'm being fair. They do respond quick with nice service. But way way way overpriced. Do ask for break down charge. This apply to all kind of service, or they'll just take advantage of your knowing-nothing-about-plumbing.

JoAnn M.

I had a new boiler put in a couple months ago when I converted to gas, by a different plumber. Less than a month after installation, i had no heat and no hot water. The guy who did the job was out of the country and so i had to find a new guy to fix it. I must have called 20 plumbers in the Somverville, Cambridge area and though many of them were very nice and called later to make sure I found someone, Allen was the only one who fit me in.

Michael came to my place around 4 and 30 minutes later, i had heat and water, but he said it wouldn't last and showed me the ignitor and the crack in it. He charged $125-$150 (can't remember) for the first trip. Worth it to me.

He said he could get me a replacement part on Monday, which he did. He had one of the guys drive to Woburn, pick the part up and drive my old busted part back to get the refund from my warranty. He gave it to me to install, as to save me labor costs, it took me 5 minutes. He only charged me an hour of work for the drives back and forth.

The office manager called multiple times throughout this whole process to keep me informed and update me on times.

May not be the cheapest, but he is straight forward and helpful. He is my new plumber.

Caren N.

Very expensive and extremely poor customer service.
Not sure what is up with this company. I feel the plumbers know their trade, but in my experience they charge more per hour than any other tradesperson I've ever hired, including architects.. We had them put in a new faucet (same faucet type, just replacing old) and they charged us over $600. The next day the faucet fell over. They charged another $135 to come again. The faucet still swivels around and it appears they won't come back, I guess, unless we pay again. To be honest, I am perplexed. We had used them in the past--years ago--but stopped because the cost was just too much. We hired them again to fix a bad sink leak and they did a good job. However, when we called them again to put in the new faucet and they charged us $600 + $135 (and wasn't ever finished correctly), I have to scratch my head. What is most painful is reading all the Yelp complaints and not reading them before we called this fall.
On another note, when Mike came to fix our leaky faucet, i was stunned by his attitude. He was arrogant and not pleasant at all--turned off i guess because we had stopped using them. Before he left, he turned to me and said something like, ""Well you're going to use us in the future, right??"" The way he said this put me off and I should have listened to my gut reaction.

Allen Plumbing is doing everything possible to make sure Alewife Plumbing stays in business forever.

Mia T.

With Allen Plumbing, the customer is not always right. VERY expensive and no solution. They came to fix a problem and I ended up no better off. Yet they refused to come back without another $800 charge.

Bridget H.

The owner is arrogant and difficult to work with. His prices are 25% above competitors at least. We had to have a major job done at our building and he refused to give a price until he got a ball park estimate of what other vendors were charging. Somehow he conned the board of trustees into giving him the work, at a price 33% higher than everyone else.

He then refused to come back and take responsibility for work which was not approved by the local inspector. He offered to come back and fix it at 3 times the price of the other highest vendor quote.

There was no communication during the work with our trustees, he was arrogant and rude throughout the process. I strongly recommend not working with this company.

Stop polishing your trucks and ripping people off. Although, it seems to be what Allen Plumbing is best at.

Ed M.

I called and explained that our water heater was not working, with the lights ""Vacation"" ""A"" and ""B"" lit. According to the manual this meant there was a gas flow problem.

They sent out a plumber, to charge $50 to tell me what I told them over the phone, then he hinted that it might involve getting a new water heater, for $2350. He called me a few days later to report that since our water heater was so old (just under 6 years) the parts couldn't be located. I asked about the fact that all the water heaters in our multi family house had the same heaters with the same exact parts, but I was told again, our tank was ""so old"". The only option was a new water heater, for $2350.

I called a different place, Alewife Company, the next day, they came out, replaced the parts the same day I called, in 2 hours, for $625 (that's parts and labor). I now have hot water again.

Do not use them, unless you enjoy wasting money.

Pieta B.

I called Allen for a fairly straightforward problem. I had a good idea of what would be involved in fixing it but didn't have the time or physical strength to do the work myself. I was amazed that they were able to send someone over right away (also Michael, who answered the phone, was funny and charming). The technician was super friendly and professional. He explained what was wrong and what he would need to do to fix it. He made sure that I understood the cost in advance.

I was really amazed at how careful he was -- covering his shoes in the house, covering my bathroom floor. When he was done, he made sure to explain what he'd done and made sure that I was satisfied with the result.

I work with a lot of contractors and repair men and I have had very few experiences that were this easy and efficient. I was incredibly impressed. If the cost was high, it was well worth it in terms of professionalism and thoroughness.

Cuspus O.

Allen Plumbing, Somerville MA


I called Allen Plumbing after a frustrating experience with a plumber who lied to me, tripled the price of permits that he never even bothered to get (so in effect, he stole from me) showed up when he felt like it and left my house a mess with pipes, pieces of pipes, and all sorts of construction debris. After this experience I never wanted him near my house again. I needed another plumber in order for the plumbing inspector to close the permit.

Here is my experience with Mr. Allen.
1. He called me right back, the very same day, after I left a message.
2. He actually listened to my predicament.
3. He made an appointment with me to look at the job and he arrived on time.
4. He told me up front what needed to be done to pass the plumbing inspection and made suggestions about other things, but told me these were optional.
5. He quoted me an estimate that turned out to be the final price.
6. He showed up on the days that he said he would, and on time.
7. He made the appointment with the plumbing inspector at a time that was good for me so I could be there. He showed up on time.
8. He cleaned up after himself, took away all of the debris, and even did me a favor and got rid of the mess the plumber who I fired left behind.
9. He speaks, acts, and looks like a professional.
10. He is someone who I feel I could let work in my house when I'm not there.
11. He sent me a survey after the job was completed to ask how satisfied/dissatisfied I was with the job.
12. I never felt like I was being lied to or being taken advantage of.

My experience with all of the other tradesmen I worked with was, for the most part, frustrating and unpleasant. It was a pleasure to work with Mr. Allen.

Julie K.

They do a good job, but only get 1 star because their hourly wage must be higher than a brain surgeon's.

There was a little crack in a gasket in the condo's kitchen drain pipe. it cost $250 to diagnose the problem (which involved sawing the pipe in half). He then quoted me an additional $575 to fix it. I said okay because the pipe is sawed in half and nobody in the condo can use their sink now.

Well, Michael ran into some problems fixing it, and said it would cost some more because he had to saw a hole in my wall to access the pipe. I'm in deep now, so I say fine. Just get it done.

Another $450 and it's fixed. Total cost $1235 to replace some PVC pipe. He's there for 4.5 hours. Not sure what the parts were, because he wouldn't tell me, not sure what his hourly fee is, because he wouldn't tell me. They use ""up front pricing"" that is, of course, subject to change.

That and he whistles, sings, and makes annoying noises when he works.

Nancy N.

I own a GF Monitor Gas Heater and called Allen Plumbing for service for the unit.The service was excellent and ""Aaron"" was fast,efficient and very knowledgeable.The scheduling of appointments was prompt and Aaron was helpful in advising me on other plumbing and heating issues in my house.
I would recommend Allen Plumbing and plan to replace my current water heater because I feel confident in the company.