Franco Belli Plumbing & Heating & Sons

Jenn B.

Manny and Frank did a great job helping remove an old radiator and cutting and sealing a floor pipe. They were easy to work with, and explained everything they were doing, on-time, and responsive. So glad I found them after another local plumber never showed to our appointment, and some others wouldn't give me a price estimate without charging me to come out. I'd recommend this company to anyone.

Vincent M.

As I sat in a hair salon waiting for my wife to be done I observed a plumber greet an employee with a courtesy not often seen. He was clean and unobtrusive as he did his job without intruding on customers. The respect and quality of work, especially professionalism, is what will prompt me to request Stratos for any needs that may arise in my houses.

Peter C.

We had an issue with our apartment where the hot water coming from the shower only lasted 5 minutes max! Serge and his helper came and diagnosed the issue and provided a detailed explanation on how everything works. He told us that we needed a new gas regulator on our hot water heater.

We had just bought the house last year, so he suggested that we get a new hot water heater (plus gas regulator) under warranty. Franco Belli Plumbing & Heating took care of everything for us! They called the hot water heater manufacturer and got us a new hot water heater under warranty then installed it in 3 hours! Everything works perfectly now! They charged us for 2 hours of diagnostic time and 3 hours for installation.

Great customer service! Definitely will use these guys again and again!

Thanks Manny and Serge!

Ed K.

I had a very mixed experience with these guys. Manny and his helpers seemed like nice enough guys initially. The TL;DR is that they wired the system incorrectly which resulted in a lot of wasted heat and potential damage/wear to a brand new boiler. Manny also wasn't shy about squeezing an exorbitant amount of money from us (far beyond his quote over the phone) and then taking a really aggressive tone with my wife when she rightfully expressed concern about the unexpected cost.

They came to the rescue over the Christmas holidays when my hot water heater sprang a leak. They installed the new hot water maker and connected all of the plumbing just fine. However, the electrician they sent (which they made me pay separately) didn't know what he was doing and wired the aquastat on the hot water maker (which is indirectly heated from the gas boiler) to fire up the boiler whenever it needed to make more hot water. The result was that every time someone would take a hot shower, the boiler would have to fire on full blast to circulate enough hot water to the hot water maker and everyone in the house would bake because the boiler would also make steam as a byproduct that overheated the house. The correct way to wire it would've been to wire the aquastat to turn on the pump to bring in the hot water from the boiler to the hot water maker. Something that wouldn't be rectified until more than a year later by a more knowledgeable plumber. But what really soured our experience with Manny was the way we were aggressively squeezed for a lot more money than was initially quoted. Anyhow, we finally have a plumber we can trust so we count ourselves fortunate.

Van T.

This review is for Manny. Our boiler stopped working the week before Thanksgiving, so I started my search for a professional who could help me with the repair. When I first called and spoke to Manny, I didn't realize how fortunate we have been, but two weeks later today, I can say with confidence that Manny is a true professional and we could not have managed without him. Since we had a complex situation, it took a long time for us to figure out what we needed to do. Throughout the process, Manny was as knowledgeable and efficient as he was kind and generous with his expertise and insights. It is so evident that Manny cares about the work he does, but he cares even more about getting it done the right way. Over five visits in two weeks, he patiently walked us through every problem, and was always honest and accessible in his communications. I cannot recommend him more highly and while it was frustrating to be sure for us to have to deal with a malfunctioning boiler and we had our fair share of the few days without heat, Manny is as good as it gets in the world of heating and plumbing professional. Franco Belli is fortunate to have Manny on its staff because people like him are not only so valuable, but also increasingly rare. Thank you so much, Manny.

Anne S.

I am 100% pleased with the service I received from Franco Belli Plumbing today on my radiators and boiler. The guys were here first thing at 8:30am and had the problem with the non-functioning third floor radiator diagnosed and fixed within 30 minutes. They noticed one of the radiators was spitting wildly on the third floor and fixed that too. I've had these problems for years and had other plumbers come to look at them...only to quote insanely high prices per radiator and tell me I should just gets new boiler....not these guys. They had it all figured out and fixed on a very reasonable hourly rate. Manny the supervisor called after to check in, confirm I'm happy, and thank me. I'm genuinely relieved to have found Franco Belli - they are my plumbers for life! Thanks guys! Really great work.

Caveat: the process of scheduling the appt was a little quirky, but the scheduler was lovely and they over delivered at every important opportunity.

Yaniv S.

Hi! My name is Yaniv. I live in the Park Slope area. I hired Franco Belli to address an issue with my boiler. Manny, the plumber I worked with, was unfailingly polite and responsive. Still, I would strongly, strongly urge you to look elsewhere.

Over the course of one month, three separate visits, and $2,000 in charges, Manny attended to my heater. The boiler was exactly as dysfunctional after a month of his work as it was when he started. I decided, reluctantly, to get a second opinion. The other plumber (no advertisements here) diagnosed the problem in--no joke--ten seconds, had the boiler up and running again in less than half an hour, and he did it all at a quarter the cost of what I had already paid Franco Belli.

I expressed my frustration with Manny at having spent $2,000 to no avail. He became (suddenly, uncharacteristically) non-responsive.

Here's the upshot: I bet Franco Belli fixes most of the problems they encounter without a hiccup. You might have a great experience with them. But there are a lot of plumbers in the neighborhood, some of them truly excellent: I suggest you keep looking.

J.M. G.

Franco Belli is probably the fifth or sixth company to work on the boiler in my apartment, and from now on, this is the only company I will use for my plumbing and heating needs. The recent cold snap resulted in two damaged pipes in the century-old converted brewery where I live. Ken Torres and Paris Newkirk expertly installed new pipes and insulated them, all the while informing me of the details. Project manager Manny Roveccio (aka The Boiler Whisperer) and Evan Glicksman masterfully repaired my existing boiler (thereby saving me the expense of a new unit) and patiently waited for it to cycle through many times before departing from my home. I could see that they were performing way beyond the usual fix-it routine. All four gentlemen tidied up their work areas. All four treated me with incredible respect and compassion. All four were organized, skillful, and professional. They made all previous plumbing and heating people who had been to my home look like clowns.

Stephen H.

The only complaint i can possibly have is that I had not worked with Franco Belli's Manny and his colleagues before; so that is my fault not theirs! The care, attention, level headed clarity, follow up and service is exemplary. Boiler : Fixed. Frozen pipes : Repaired. Radiator : Working. I am only hesitant to recommend Manny because it may make him less available. These are the guys you want to work with.

James C.

My heat went out in the middle of a coldsnap. Other companies were so busy they wouldn't even return my calls or were asking extortionate rates for what I knew was a minor repair. Manny made an appointment with me for later in the week, and he kept it despite a blizzard striking the morning of. Manny was friendly, the work was done pretty fast, and my heat was on before lunch. I'd use this company again.