Shalin Plumbing & Heating

Shalin Plumbing & Heating is a Malden shop built around the middle-of-the-night water heater failure and the weekend heating breakdown — the calls other plumbers don't return. It's run by Andrew Shalin, a Massachusetts-licensed Master Plumber, who says he's operated it as an owner-run business since 2009, covering Malden, Tewksbury, Medford, and a string of towns north of Boston including Winchester, Melrose, and Woburn. The pattern in its 2026 reviews is consistent: a burst or leaking water heater, a same-day response, and a clean finish. In March, a Melrose customer got an electric water heater swapped out on short notice at a price they called good. In February, a Winchester homeowner had a garbage disposal installed and everything tested before Andrew left. That same month, a heating oil tank started leaking over a weekend — he asked for photos, came out personally within the hour, and handled the whole replacement himself, clearing snow so the new tank could get into the basement. A December emergency, called in after a water heater died with a baby in the house, got the same treatment: he left his lunch, picked up a matching unit at Home Depot, and had it swapped the same day. A boiler repair in January was handled same-day with what the customer called clear communication throughout. That run of same-day fixes sits on top of a longer history — 27 reviews going back to 2022 across five different sources, and a 4.9-star average from 50 Google ratings. The state's plumbing board lists his license, 15817-PL-M, as active, and the BBB gives the business an A+ (it hasn't sought BBB accreditation, which is common for a shop this size). One thing worth asking about directly: a mention on another contractor-review site describes a customer who says a job was left unfinished and a promise unfulfilled. It's the only negative account that turned up anywhere, and it doesn't square with the otherwise clean recent run — worth raising with Andrew directly if it matters to you, rather than assuming it's typical. For a burst pipe at 7pm or a boiler that won't fire on a January morning in Malden or Tewksbury, this is a shop that has shown up. For a larger multi-trade renovation, there's less to go on here — the record is built on emergency calls and repairs, not remodel projects.