Kirkland and Shaw Inc. is a plumbing and heating contractor at 5 Adams Street in Burlington, and by its own account it has been at it for more than seventy years, providing boiler services since 1953. The Better Business Bureau's file agrees on the timeline, recording a start date of January 1953, incorporation in 1968, fourteen employees, and Stephen C. Kirkland as president. The company says it serves the MetroWest area and lists towns from Arlington and Belmont through Carlisle, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln out to Waltham, Wellesley and Wilmington.
What homeowners hire them for shows up plainly in their reviews: boilers and steam heat, water heaters, drain cleaning, sewer piping, radiant floor heat and ductless mini splits, alongside everyday work like leaky faucets and toilet replacements.
The most consistent theme across three years of Google reviews is how fast they answer. One homeowner described a water heater failing on a Sunday, an emergency line answered almost immediately, and a technician on site by nine the next morning. In a 2023 review, another said Craig returned an after-hours call and talked them through shutting off a leaking zone before Tom and Dimitri finished the repair over the following days. A 2026 reviewer called twice in a few months about problems at a new house and had someone out the same day both times. The crew is named often enough to be recognisable across years of comments - Paul, Craig, Tom, Dimitri, Misha, James - which reads as a stable shop rather than a rotating cast. A 2025 review of a mini-split installation called the price competitive and the installation thorough, and a 2025 backwater-preventer job drew praise for the crew being honest about the limits of what they knew.
Two one-star reviews are worth reading before you call. A December 2024 reviewer said Tom, the manager, was sarcastic and audibly dismissive on a quote call for a property; a February 2024 reviewer simply told readers to get estimates from other plumbers first. Both concern the quoting end rather than completed work.
On credentials, the state registry does verify master plumber licence 15166-PL-M as active, the same number the company prints on its own site, but it records the holder of record as Stephen Gardner rather than the company or its president, so ask which individual's licence covers your job. The home improvement contractor registration the site advertises, #116377, is the company's own claim and was not verified against the registry. The Better Business Bureau grades the firm A+ while also stating it is not an accredited business, and Google's average sits at 4.4 from 21 ratings, a shade below the tone of the written reviews.
Two Massachusetts Reddit commenters recommended the company for plumbing and boiler work in the Concord area, one calling them a favourite and another agreeing they are excellent. That is word of mouth worth weighing, not a substitute for the estimate comparison and licence check above.