O'Keefe Plumbing & Heating

O'Keefe Plumbing & Heating runs out of Peabody, and the number that stands out isn't a star rating — it's the 46 years the Better Business Bureau has on file, tracing back to a 1990 accreditation with an A+ grade and no complaints logged since. The company describes itself as a commercial and industrial outfit rather than a typical residential plumber: gas fitting, fire protection, and design-build work for hospitals, universities, restaurants, and industrial plants, with Larry O'Keefe listed as president. The thread running through nearly everything written about the company is its life sciences work. Its own site calls a 30-year relationship with that industry "the foundation of our business," and building-permit records back up a steady project pace — at least 14 jobs logged over the past three years. That points to a business built on repeat commercial and institutional clients more than homeowner word-of-mouth. That also leaves the residential review trail thin: just three Google ratings, averaging 4 stars, all dated well before this year. It's not much to judge a routine service call by — the BBB accreditation and permit history speak to longevity and commercial trust, not to how the company handles a leaking pipe under a kitchen sink. Worth asking about before calling: whether they still take on small residential jobs at all, given the site's focus on facility-scale commercial and industrial work. For anyone managing a hospital, lab, university building, or similar large facility, the long BBB accreditation and life-sciences track record are a reasonable starting point. For a homeowner with a routine plumbing problem, it's worth confirming directly that it's work they still take.