R P Holmes Corporation

R P Holmes Corporation has been fixing pipes and furnaces out of West Newton since 1931, and the company says it's now run by its third generation — President Susanne M. Holmes, a licensed plumber and construction supervisor with 32 years at the business. Its own site describes a family-owned plumbing, heating, and cooling shop covering the Boston area, with 24/7 emergency coverage for frozen pipes and dead furnaces. On Google, the company holds a 4.0-star average across 19 ratings, and its Massachusetts plumbing license is active in the state registry. Recent reviews keep landing on the same themes: a customer who called about frozen pipes this spring says the crew responded quickly and found a creative fix for a basement pipe move, trusting them enough to hand over house keys. In January, a Victorian homeowner with a cramped basement got a full furnace swap finished on the original one-day quote, even though it took a four-to-six-person crew and ran into a second day, with no surprise charges. Longer-tenured customers, some 20 to 25 years in, describe the same pattern going back years: fast response, on-time arrival, and jobs done right, even if they're not the cheapest option around. Its BBB profile carries an A+ grade, though R P Holmes isn't BBB accredited. Not every account is glowing. One describes a water heater the company installed developing a follow-up leak, with only one of two issues fixed on the return visit before the company said the rest wasn't its responsibility. Worth asking upfront how they handle callbacks on a job they already completed. For an old-line, third-generation shop, R P Holmes reads like a solid call for a plumbing or heating job where you want a crew that shows up and finishes what it starts — just get the scope of any repair, and what happens if something leaks afterward, spelled out before they begin.