Hi Folks, first let me say that I agree with all the above testimonials. RICH MATHEWS is just a great guy and a very reliable workman. My story - about eight years ago I came home from work on a Friday afternoon when my daughter said, "Mum, the heat went off and I am freezing." What to do? Of course, it was one of the coldest days of the year, just before Christmas. I found Rich's name in the phone book. He happens to live in the same town, but he works over an extensive area. It was getting dark. Rich said, "Hey, I was just going to take my wife out to dinner, but I can't let you gals freeze tonight. I will be over shortly." I am embarrassed to say that the problem was that I had not changed the filter in ages! But Rich replaced that and departed. A year or so later, the furnace broke down again. This time it had a serious problem and it had to be replaced. Of course, it happened during a cold snap - doesn't it always? Rich also noticed the water heater had corrosion around the pipes. That needed replacing also. It had been ages since I had replaced it. So happy that Rich noticed this problem before the water heater leaked all over the cellar. Being two women alone in a old house, you might say we are rather clueless about certain maintenance issues, eh? When I woke up this morning, the house was cold, the temp around 40. I called Rich. He dropped by a few hours later with all his gear. Shortly, he called me down to the cellar. I thought, "I hope this is not a serious problem." He assured me it wasn't. Yesterday had been extremely windy and a few leaves had blown into the ventilation duct (not sure what it is called). Rich refused to take any payment though. He went on his merry way. Obviously, we all want an efficient, caring, accommodating workman when we need repairs on our property. Rich is a person of integrity, knows his stuff, and is most reliable. Another thing, the nature of his job is one of reacting to "emergency" situations for the most part like having no heat or having an issue with hot water. From my experience, he takes this responsibility seriously and goes out of his way to "serve." So I join the chorus of those who think highly of Rich and recommend him with confidence. read more

My husband and I met Rich after the catastrophic, late night, failure of our old water heater. Staring down a long night of draining radiators and a flooded basement, I set out on a frantic Angie's List search. I called Rich and, even though he had been booked solid for days, he came to our house right away that evening to assess the damage. He, quite frankly, rescued us out of a dire situation. We had just purchased our house, a 100+ year old Victorian with much of the plumbing dating back to the early 1900s. The forced-hot-water heating system, well into its 30s, also wasn't in the best shape. But, within hours, Rich had our system stabilized and disaster averted. By the next day, he was able to bring in a new water heater tank and completely redo the copper piping connecting the indirect heater to the boiler. He was professional and kind, and demonstrated as much care and concern for the integrity and longevity of our home as we have. He was always available when I called and made sure to check in with us over the course of the following week to ensure everything was working, that we knew which levers and valves controlled what, and that we had been able to return water pressure to the radiators. For these reasons, my husband and I had no hesitation in hiring Rich to completely replace our heating system a couple of months ago. He helped us to convert from oil to natural gas and to choose the right furnace system for the size and age of our house. He was even able to install everything while simultaneously working with the mess of very old pipes and valves running all over the basement. I can't express how happy we have been meeting and working with Rich Mathews & Sons. I've had a great deal of experience with plumbers throughout my home renovations and I haven't trusted a plumber in my home as much as I trust Rich. read more

Last year we moved into a new home where the existing furnace and hot water heater arrangements were... less than ideal. The hot water heater effectively vented into the basement, the furnace was rusting through inside, both units were well past their warranties, and the exhaust pipes went through long stretches of unheated space before venting under a deck. We reached out to four contractors, and all of them concluded with similar prognoses and remediation, and of these, Rich's price was both the best and his communication had been the most prompt. We called Rich back up , and he slotted our work immediately into his already packed schedule. Over the next week, he removed our ailing furnace and hot water heater and replaced them with a high-efficiency Carrier furnace and a Bradford power vented hot water heater, totally reworked the air intakes and exhaust and brought them up to code, and built out custom sheet metal ductwork for the air return so that it would pull in more air from across the home. His work kept us warm throughout all of the winter, including that brutal cold snap of negative degree days for weeks on end. Throughout the week, Rich was in steady communication and had us up to speed on the work each day. He was great to work with, and is also just an all-around good guy. After finishing up the work, we had him take a look at disconnecting our stove to clear space for some kitchen work. As with so many things in our home, the existing condition of the stove and connection were a little janky, and so he replaced the stove's gas line with a double-wall connection, added a safety shut-off valve, tested for leaks, and gave us a very reasonable price. I wish there were more things we needed Rich for, because finding a contractor who is reliable, competent and friendly isn't always easy! read more

I called Rich at the beginning of December to talk about replacing my ancient (1982) furnace and a water heater that was starting to hurt. Add in that I was trying to do it through Mass Save with a heat loan. Rich came out to my house on a Saturday to look at the job and give us the quote we would need to get the heat loan. He had the quote to me that same day via email and he dropped off a paper copy the next business day. He's forthright and honest and he started teeing up the special pieces we would need while we were waiting for the bank to approve the loan. He was very responsive the whole time and was good about giving me a call for updates. Because of the jury-rigged nature of the old furnace, he told us it would take two days, possibly three, to get the old one out and the new furnace and water heater in. He worked late on a Friday to get it done right before the temperatures dropped down below 20. The new ductwork, venting, and drain for the condensate are all really well done. You can see the quality of his work. It is well below freezing outside, and this is the warmest my house has been since I bought it. He even came back after the install was complete to change an exterior fitting for the air intake because he wasn't happy with the part he had on hand when he did the job originally. 10/10 I would go back to Rich for any work I needed done. read more

If you are searching for someone to fix or replace an old boiler anywhere north of Boston I have good news for you: your search is over. Rich Matthews is the best. Period. Take your hand off your mouse and reach for your phone. Do it now. Now call the number next to Rich's name. In 30 seconds you will be speaking to Rich, I know this because the 25ish times I called him during our job I got him every single time. He answers his phone himself and he knows someone for every part of the job. -Oil tank removal? Rich knows a guy. -Chimney lining? Rich knows a guy. -Asbestos in the way? Rich knows a guy. -Knob and tube wiring a problem? Rich knows a guy. -Deck built over your bulkhead? Rich knows a guy. -Power company not cooperating? Rich knows a guy. We ran into all these problems and more, over the course of several weeks, and Rich helped troubleshoot the problem, made the first phone call to his guy, made sure I was getting a good deal, and then checked the work of the subcontractors and pointed out what they did well. He even taught me enough plumbing to buy the right clamp and fix my own leak when another pipe in our heating system began to leak. What plumber cares enough to do that? I give Rich Matthews and Sons 100 points out of 100. If you didn't call them in the first paragraph, do it now. Trust me, you will be glad you did. read more

I found Rich over Yelp so I'm attempting to return my good karma here. In need of a oil burner replacement for our new old home, I contacted Rich and he was, simply put, incredible to work with. He was smart, communicative, courteous, honest, accommodating, affordable and clearly a master plumber who takes pride in his work and solving "puzzles." Highlights include: 1) taking my cold call when he was on vacation in Florida and advising me about the chimney upgrades 2) making two scouting trips to our home at my convenience to give me a quote and assess the job 3) suggesting I call NationalGrid to have entry pipes and meter in the house replaced or supported for safety (to their credit, NG did these replacements within a week) 4) passing on contact info or directly contacting trusted associates to remove the old tank and install a chimney liner when we determined it was necessary the day of the big install 5) filing a sizable rebate for the new burner on my behalf 6) showing me exactly how the new burner worked and guiding me through the process of getting it up and running 7) doing such a gorgeous job on the install the Malden inspector was impressed and 8) bringing us scones and allowing my toddler to sit in his truck. It was a pleasure working with Rich. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Plumber Hall of Fame material. read more

I feel like these great reviews still don't do Rich justice! He was absolutely amazing from that first call to the end of the job! One of the things that stood out the most was how he helped me on the phone. Most companies I spoke to wanted as much info in your first breath as you could get out, and were mad if you missed anything. When I started right in Rich stopped me, asked me my name, told me his, and asked how I was. I knew he was the guy right there. He knew his stuff very well, and was patient when I couldn't answer questions. He came over to check out our very, very, poorly installed water heater and quoted us a very great price. He gave us options, and really seemed like he had our best interests in mind. He was able to come a day later which was faster than we had even expected, and got us fixed up in no time. All while my 2.5 year old bothered him wanting to help lol. He went above and beyond for us, gave us a great price, and overall just a really nice person. We will never use anybody else. The only "complaint" I have are those delicious scones he brought over while I'm on a diet hahaha (complete sarcasm here lol) read more

I contracted Rich to replace a forced hot water boiler and electric hot water heater. He was an absolute pleasure to work with, focused on doing the right thing for a very reasonable price. I had tenants that had no heat and cold weather fast approaching. Rich was responsive, and took the time to make sure he was doing things right. While on the phone, Rich looked at the property on Google maps to understand how he was going to get the new boiler in, came over after hours to check over things and take measurements. I got multiple bids from other contractors, and Rich was the only one to provide open, honest recommendations that had my best interests in mind. He pulled permits, showed proof of insurance and was accommodating around my work schedule. Not only that, but his relationships with others in the industry proved immensely helpful, including a referral for a very competent electrician, and being on first name basis with the inspector. I have no doubt my job was done right. His knowledge and attention to detail are top notch and I would highly recommend him. read more

We've been working with Rich for a few years now and he is phenomenal. Just a few qualities we've found in him: 1. He does jobs right; he's diligent, careful, doesn't cut corners. 2. Tied to that, he cares. Even little stuff that isn't his job, like patching up a pipe he sees weakening or changing a switch, he does out of consideration. He earnestly cares that the house is safe and functioning as best as he can make it. As part of that, he'll do jobs when they need to be done - not when he feels like it. We had a boiler dangerously venting a couple days before christmas and he came right away to take care of it, working through Christmas morning. He could've passed the buck but he didn't. He cares about his customers. 3. He's neat and clean - he cleans up before jobs and after, and tries to leave spaces as clean or cleaner than he found them. He's considerate of your space and your stuff. If you've got a question about Rich, just message me - I'm happy to recommend him. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Rich Matthews. He is genuinely a great person. I contacted him for an estimate to do an oil to gas conversion, expecting to schedule a visit within a couple of weeks. Rich was able to schedule a visit that same day (a Thursday), and I had a quote in my inbox on Saturday morning. Out of the three estimates I received, he was the lowest by thousands of dollars. He did all of the scheduling for a new chimney liner and oil tank removal, and actually had the new gas boiler delivered and began assembling the boiler early to make sure I was without heat for a minimal amount of time. The work was done quickly, and extremely well. There were no issues throughout the whole process, or after the new heating system was up and running. I got a couple of follow up calls from Rich checking in to make sure everything was working smoothly and they were. I've already recommended him to others. You can't beat this guy for price, service, and attentiveness. read more

Five stars plus for Rich Mathews. When I called Rich my hot water heater was leaking and I was in a bind. He gave me a firm quote on the phone that included all costs, fully installed. He was on another job but made time to come out to my house even though it was getting late in the day. I knew I was in good hands as soon as I met Rich. He was very personable and easy to talk to and his work truck was very tidy and organized. That may not mean much to some but to me it was a sign that 'this guy takes pride in his work and does things the right way'. And I was correct. Rich worked quickly, was neat and took steps to clean up as he went. At the end the price was exactly what he quoted me on the phone even though he had to do some extra work to replace a bad valve. I will be calling Rich again in a few weeks to come back out and replace my 30 year old furnace. I can't recommend him enough to anyone looking for an honest and trustworthy plumber. read more

You just don't get this type of service anymore. Here is my story. I called Rich last night (Jan 1st) and told him that we were having trouble with our furnace and hot water heater. It was 5 degrees last night. We have a high efficiency Burnham Alpine High Efficiency Condensing Gas Boiler. He said that he works on these types of units but the only problem was he was down in Florida and wouldn't be returning until April. He said that he didn't want to leave us hanging so he walked me and my future son-in-law (who happens to be a plumbers apprentice) through all the steps to diagnose the issue. After 30-40 minutes on the phone we got the heat up and running again. I told him to send me a bill and he refused. All Rich wanted to do was help us out as he knew we were in a bind, he had no interest in making a quick buck. I'll be calling him when he returns from Florida in the hope of becoming a regular customer. read more

Rich did an outstanding job installing my new Burnham ESC boiler and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a top notch, experienced plumber who provides high quality craftsmanship and great customer service at a good price. Rich is extremely professional and clearly takes a great deal of pride in his work (it really is meticulous). You also couldn't ask for a nicer guy to work with. Rich kept me well informed throughout the project, and went above and beyond by identifying and fixing a pre-existing issue with my old plumbing that could have cost me a lot of money down the road. He also went through the extra effort of managing the project so I could continue to use my old boiler system as he was building the new one (which I appreciate was a lot of extra work on his end). Overall I am extremely satisfied with the work he did for me, and I wouldn't hesitate to call him for any future projects. read more

Rich was absolutely fantastic to work with! He replaced our ancient boiler (35 plus years) and hot water heater in record time despite the recent cold snap. He walked us through the Mass Save Heat Loan program and provided everything we needed to move the process forward very quickly (a couple weeks once we had our home energy assessment). He showed up every day as planned and stayed late as needed to get the job done. Rich cares a lot about his clients, which I quickly understood first hand as he responded to calls from clients with unexpected issues. In our case, Rich followed up daily after the boiler was in to make sure it was keeping up with the historically frigid cold temperatures. This kind of attention, despite the fact that he was on vacation, was not expected but greatly appreciated. We could not recommend Rich more highly and are so grateful that we found him! read more

My 15 month Weil-McLain stopped firing this evening. I did a search for plumbers who service Weil-McLain and I came across Rich Mathews & Son and gave them a call at 9 pm. Rich promptly answered the phone. I explained the situation to him. He asked me a few questions and then directed me look at the condensate trap, and sure enough, it was clogged. He walked me through a quick clean out of the trap and the boiler is back to normal. Wow! What customer service at 9 pm at night to a non-previous customer for equipment he didn't install. Rich was very pleasant and very helpful. He could have very easily have said he'd come out & perform a service call and charged me for the same service I did myself. I would highly recommend and Rich now has new customer for future service and jobs. I think Rich should be your first call - I'm really happy he was mine. read more

I recently had a problem with my heat system (snow was covering my vent so the burner wouldn't light). Once the heat came back on the initial contractor I spoke with recommended replacing the entire unit (which is already energy efficient and less than 10 years old) for a price tag of $4300. He said he found a cracked heat exchanger. I was a little skeptical of this and wanted a second opinion. I call Rich Mathews and though I'm out of his area and he was out of state on another job, he took my phone call (on a Saturday). He asked several questions, put my mind at ease and recommended that I call a locally owned HVAC company to come out and do some mechanical tests before moving forward. I sincerely appreciate his concern, honesty and guidance considering I'm out of his working area. He seems like a truly genuine contractor. read more

Rich Mathews installed my heating system 12 years ago and completed the job expeditiously. I told him that I occasionally get water in the Spring during heavy rain storms. Rich put 4 small concrete blocks under the Burnham boiler to raise it off of the basement floor. He did a great job installing the boiler, water heater and piping. I was having a new bathroom put in and the contractor had his own plumber. I called Rich and he methodically troubleshot the problem the contractor's plumber caused. It was late in the evening but he still showed up to my house. Rich is a responsible, honest, trustworthy and very hard working person with a great personality. He is a wealth of knowledge and explains things clearly. He has a great deal of experience relevant to problems in question. I have recommended him to friends. read more

I recently moved into a condo with no functioning HVAC and broken windows during the middle of a heatwave. Rich came out within a day of calling. Walked me through all that was needed. Informed me of the Mass Save program. Once I got a full handle on the mass save rebate and loan program, Rich was able to get all equipment and AC installer lined up within 2 days of me requesting because he knew I was in a desperate situation without AC in a hot condo. The install was more complicated than anticipated with very clogged ducts but Rich didn't adjust original quote. All work was done really well and he walked me through all that was done so I understood what was needed for maintenance. I got very lucky finding Rich Mathews & Son on yelp in my situation. read more

Rich is fantastic! I called in dire need of assistance with a leaking water heater; within minutes of answering the phone he'd assessed the problem and was able to give an estimated budget. I found only one other contractor that was available same day; Rich's price was lower, and it was combined with an extremely helpful, professional attitude. He changed his schedule and came within hours of my call to replace the water heater. The quality of his pipefitting is fantastic and he included a CO detector free of charge. He also offered some welcome advice for our aging heating system. To make him even more awesome he spent extra time after his work was completed to assist with a newly flat tire on my car; offering his air compressor to temporarily fill it. read more