Trethewey Brothers

Trethewey Brothers is a fifth-generation plumbing, heating and cooling shop that has worked out of the same Roslindale corner since 1902 — the kind of longevity that shows up in how BuildZoom sizes them up: a score in the top 2% of Massachusetts' 139,000-plus licensed contractors, built on more than 4,600 catalogued projects. The company says it's family-owned by Mike Flanagan and Bob Trethewey, covers Boston's neighborhoods plus MetroWest, the southwest suburbs and the South Shore, and describes itself as the call for everything from water heaters and boilers to gas piping and sewer laterals. The written review record is small but consistent and dated: in a 2018 BuildZoom review, a Roslindale homeowner said the company sent a subcontractor who fixed the issue and cleaned the outside unit for about $500, calling it "perfect work," and a 2017 review credited them with "good work at a fair price." A Better Business Bureau reviewer, undated, described calling on them repeatedly over a year for jobs ranging from a water heater replacement to a mystery ceiling leak. BuildZoom's own permit data backs up the volume: at least 352 building permits pulled in the past three years, overwhelmingly small plumbing and gas jobs under $5,000 around Milton, Brookline, Chestnut Hill and Attleboro. The company carries a BBB A+ grade and has been accredited since 1986. On licensing, BuildZoom's directory lists eleven Massachusetts licence records tied to the company and its principals, with BuildZoom marking only the home improvement contractor registration as its own "verified license"; older plumber and master plumber numbers it lists — one showing a 2024 expiration, others further back — carry no such verification. Worth confirming the specific licence and technician for the job before booking. For a long-established, small-job plumbing outfit with a clean BBB record, Trethewey Brothers reads as a safe call for routine repairs — just pin down licensing details directly rather than relying on a directory listing.