Frankie Drain Services - Hot Water Heater & Toilet Installation

Company Facts

Frankie Drain Services - Hot Water Heater & Toilet Installation at a Glance

By the numbers

Google rating

4.9out of 5

Customer reviews

127on Google

In business

32years

Rating and review count pulled from Google on September 4, 2026. Years counted from 1994.

What We Like

• 4.9 from 127 reviews on the Google Business Profile, read on September 4, 2026
• Drainage specialist since 1994 by its own account, with camera inspection and hydro jetting central to the service
• Trenchless main line lining offered alongside excavation, useful on tight Boston lots
• Reviews repeatedly mention same-day attendance on urgent calls
• 24/7 emergency availability advertised, plus a maintenance plan with twice-yearly sewer inspections

Things to Consider

• One published review raises billing concerns, so agree the price and request a written invoice before work starts
• Heating systems, boiler service and whole-house repipes are not listed among the published services
• Discount percentages and subscription plan terms are advertised without detail, so confirm what they cover

Google rating

4.9

Based on 127 Google reviews

Review data updated September 4, 2026

View on Google Maps →

Rating Distribution

• 5 stars94%
• 4 stars2%
• 3 stars2%
• 1 star2%

Drainage is the stated speciality, and the shape of the service list backs that up. Sewage camera inspection, kitchen drain line cleaning, bathroom sink unclogging, main line repair, main line lining and hydro jetting all sit on the website's own menu, along with excavation for the jobs where no amount of jetting will save a collapsed pipe. Sink installation and repair appears there too, and customer reviews posted to Google describe water heater work, a same-day kitchen sink fit and a leak repair. That mix is normal for a small drainage firm in a city like this. The clog pays the bills, and the fixture work comes along with it.

Boston's housing stock explains a lot about why a company would build a business around pipes underground. Triple-deckers in Dorchester and Roslindale, brick rowhouses in the South End, and older two-families across Hyde Park and East Boston often still run cast iron waste stacks and clay or Orangeburg laterals out to the street. Cast iron scales up from the inside until the bore is half its original size. Clay joints let in roots from the maples along the sidewalk. Grease from decades of cooking coats a kitchen branch until hot water alone will not move it. A camera inspection is the honest first step on any of those, because it tells you whether you are buying a cleaning, a spot repair, or a lining job that avoids tearing up a driveway. Frankie Drain Services Hot Water Heater Toilet Installation puts camera work and hydro jetting at the front of its offering, which is the right order to think about the problem.

Who it fits: an owner or landlord with a drain that keeps backing up and wants a diagnosis rather than another rodding visit; a homeowner who needs a main line looked at before a sale; someone with a failed water heater or a toilet that needs swapping and would rather call one person than three. Who it may not fit: anyone needing a full heating system, gas boiler service or a whole-house repipe, since none of that appears in what the company publishes. Large multi-unit portfolios that require certificates of insurance, scheduled crews and standard rate sheets should confirm all of that in writing before booking.

The Google Business Profile shows a 4.9 average from 127 reviews, read on September 4, 2026, which is a strong figure for a firm of this size. Reading through what is published, praise clusters around same-day response, patience with fiddly jobs and willingness to take on work another trade had abandoned. One detailed negative review describes a $250 charge to relight a water heater pilot, a phone push toward a replacement unit, and a request to pay by Venmo or Zelle without an invoice until the customer insisted. Whether or not that reflects normal practice, it is a reasonable prompt for how you should book: get the call-out fee and hourly or flat rate confirmed before the van arrives, ask for a written quote on anything larger, and ask for an invoice on completion regardless of how you pay.

A few other things worth asking. Boston requires a licensed plumber and a permit for water heater replacement and most drain alterations, and the city inspects that work, so ask who is pulling the permit and under whose licence. On a sewer lateral in the public way, the line between homeowner responsibility and Boston Water and Sewer Commission responsibility matters and is worth clarifying before excavation is discussed. If a lining repair is proposed, ask what material and what the expected life is. On a heater, ask whether the quote covers pan, expansion tank, venting changes and disposal of the old unit, since those are where prices diverge. Frankie Drain Services Hot Water Heater Toilet Installation advertises 24/7 emergency availability, so also ask what after-hours pricing looks like, because overnight and weekend rates in this market usually carry a premium.

The website promotes steep discounts for military personnel, seniors and new customers, and a subscription maintenance plan with priority service and twice-yearly sewer inspections. Those are the company's own claims and the terms are not spelled out publicly, so confirm what the discount applies to and what the plan actually covers. Compared with the larger Boston plumbing and drain companies, this is a smaller and more hands-on operation, likely quicker to answer and more flexible on timing, with less of the back-office structure. There is a YouTube channel if you want to see the work before you call.

About This Business Profile

Last reviewed

September 2026

Profile last updated

September 18, 2026

Google review data updated

September 4, 2026

Reviewed by

Dana Whitfield, Senior editor, home services

Sources checked

Google Business Profile, Company website

Sponsorship status

No commercial relationship