Electric and Plumbing (including water)

Electricity Outage

Report outages to 800-465-1212. The more reports they get, the faster they act.

Sign up for text alerts from National Grid. They will give information on restoration times. Call 1-800-322-3223 and let them know how you prefer to be contacted during storms and outages, and they'll be in touch when necessary. Text with any of the following commands: Text REG to 64743 to sign up for text alerts. Text OUT to 64743 to report an outage.

Or sign up for text alerts about power loss at https://www.nationalgridus.com/Stay-Connected 

Map of outages: https://outagemap.ma.nationalgridus.com/

Electricians

Also see under Generators.

• Henry Blanchard (298-5282) does my electrical work. He knows his business. (7/12)

• Karl Cooper. Top notch electrician. 413-717-7916. (4/15)

• Allan Gaither 528-4883 (highly recommended twice!) (We've used him for years. His price is very reasonable, he is thorough and follows through. He'll call you back.)

• Alan Lukas 413-347-6327 Very responsible young man. Did an excellent job. (8/13)

• Joe Seward and Sons (Sheffield) 229-2561, 413-329-5217. Use for all my electrical work and am very happy. (many recs, latest 11/19)

• Tom Torrico 528-0010. Very professional. Leaves everything neat and clean and backs up his work if there's ever a problem. (12/15)

• Jim Lapier, an excellent electrician: 413-329-0169 (12/15)

• David Young 413-429-6699 has done great work for us. (1/17)

• Tom Palivoda from Housatonic, 413-274-1146, Tomvoda@aol.com, is great! (2/18)

• Barry Girdler, West Stockbridge. 413-237-5957, barry@girdlerelectric.com. Responsive and knew what he was doing. The quality of the work was very good. (5/17, 6/18)

• Gabriel Electric, 413-274-8180, Housatonic. Talk with Eric, super good. (10/18)

• Gary Storti, 528-1678. Terrific and licensed! Have used for years for the whole house, starting with construction. High rec! (7/19)

• John & John Bailey 528-3561, 413-329-8106. Mt Washington father and son team, very nice. Always responsive and very competent. (1/17, 8/20)

• Daniel Stubbs, 413-429-6981. We have used Dan for 10 years. He does excellent work, is honest to a fault, has reasonable fees, and is one of the nicest people I know! (5/17) Quick, efficient, and at a reasonable cost. (10/19) Very capable and very reasonable. (6/20)

• Dave Consolini, Sheffield, 413-229-2079. Lovely guy! Came quickly for an emergency. (4/21)

• Charles G Bouteiller, GB, 413-822-4464. Working on our new house. They're great! (10/21)

• Joe Biernacki, 413-229-3401, 413-429-6536. (7/22)

• Doug Blume 413-229-2784 (o), 413-446-7146 (cell),  Dwb123@adelphia.net. Sheffield. Superb! (4/12 to 7/22)

• Dale Martin, 413-229-3567. (7/22)

• Dan Litchfield, 413-229-2606. Extremely professional. (8/20, 7/22)

• Titus Logsdon, titus@logsdonelectric.com, 413-269-4940. (7/22)

• Todd R Wilber, Electrical Contractor, text cell 413-717-5054, or leave message at his home 413-644-9198; toddwilber62@gmail.com. For big and small jobs. Reasonably priced, easy to work with, talented, and mindful of covid. (most recent, 11/23)

• Mike Bertelli, 413-522-0077. Many enthusiastic recs. (1/17 to 11/23)

• Dan Andrus, Lee, 243-0043. Did my car charger. (See more under Generators.) (7/22 to 1/24)

• Matt Turner, Ashley Falls, 413-329-6801, mrturner81@hotmail.com (text is best). Has years of experience, now in business for himself and accepting small household jobs. Came promptly and returned the next day with the parts needed! Calls, texts, and lets you know exactly when he will arrive (wearing a mask). We are very pleased with his work. He's excellent. Car charger. (many since 2020, latest 1/24) 

• Stebens Electric, Lenox, 413-637-0607. Fantastic! Car charger. (1/24)

• Jeremy Wolfe, Sheffield, 413-717-0849. Recommended. Did my car charger. (1/24)

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Generators

• Joe Seward and Sons -- 413-229-2561 (leave a message). High rec. They install Generac units, the best. (11/14, 11/19, 7/20)

• Dan Andrus, Andrus Power Solutions in Lee, 413-243-0043, www.andruspowersolutions.com. Dan has been selling, installing and servicing generators for over 20 years. He will recommend the correct size for the power needs. He worked with our fire dept and sold them their generator. (2/19, 11/19, 8/21 [strong recs])

• Mike Blume, 413-329-8127. Our electrician -- installed our full house generator. He’s very good. (11/19)

• Paul Polson, Polson Electric, https://polsonelectric.com/, 413-499-4620. Installed my generator and service it yearly. High rec. (7/20) Just got Generac whole house backup generator by Polson Electric with propane service connection by Ormsbee.  Terrific service, easy to work with, everything on schedule. We highly recommend them! (3/21)

• Carlson Propane (same as Carlson Heating and Cooling), http://carlsonpropane.com/contact-us/, 413-229-3328, 800-542-2422. (7/20)

• Jeff Aloisi of Aloisi Electric (rjaloisi@gmail.com), 229-2944. Very good and reasonably priced. (10/20)

• Matt Turner, https://matthewrturnerelectricianllc.net/  (mrturner81@hotmail.com, 413-329-6801) now installs generators and we think he's great. (10/20)

• Daniel Stubbs, 413-429-6981. He did all the leg work. Recommended! (8/21)

• MP Leining Electric, New Marlborough, 413-364-2000. Our electrician since 2000. Got us an entire house Generac (and A/C unit and well pump) after they all got hit by lightning. I highly recommend Mike! (8/21) 

Re: Generators:

• Try getting solar and installing battery backup.

• Info needed about Tesla Powerwall as a generator substitute.

• Most electricians can do the job.

Lights and Lighting

• Berkshire Lighting Outlet, Rte 7, Pittsfield, 413-442-3343. Very helpful. (8/16)

• Michael Cleary, former owner of Lamplighter. 413-822-4542, www.yournoveltylamps.com Repairs, novelty lamps, shades. (10/17)

• Shandell's, 15 Main St, Sheffield, 413-248-1063, shandells.com. Lampshades, rewiring, vintage lighting. Owner Susan Schneider is an Egremonter. (10/17)

• Clark Vintage Lighting, Pittsfield, www.clarkvintage.com, 413-344-4491. (12/22)

Lamp Repair

• Mike Tyler, in Ashley Falls, 413-717-2494, tylerhomeprop@yahoo.com. Lamp repair and rewiring. Many happy customers. (6/21)

• Carr Hardware, 528-4520. Repaired my lamp promptly and efficiently. (8/18, 5/23)

• Michael Cleary, former owner of Lamplighter, 413-822-4542, or Michael@yournoveltylamps.com, or 413-822-3448 (cell). Lamp repairs at his Lenox house in June to Aug (?). (6/23)

• Clark Vintage Lighting, Pittsfield, www.clarkvintage.com, 413-344-4491. He's great. Call to arrange drop-off. (10/20, 12/23)

• Berkshire Lighting Outlet, Rte 7 in Lenox, 413-442-3343. Repair & rewiring. (6/23)

• Fed-On Lights Antiques, Saugerties, NY, www.fedonlights.com/repairs, info@fedonlights.com, 845-246-8444. Repairs of vintage lights. (6/23)

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Plumbers

• Mark Bacchetti, Sheffield, 229-6659. Does small jobs, too. Very quick to respond, and professional service. (Many, most recent: 7/20) (However, the good opinion is not unanimous.)

• Roger Bailey, very high recs. Works for LePrevost (413-329-7226, rbaileyjr73@hotmail.com). http://leprevostplumbingandheating.com. (10/13, 5/16)

• Jeff Funk, Master Plumber, Tri-State Plumbing, GB. 413-274-6080 -- superb! (4/12)

• Bob Gennari, 644-8988, www.gennariplumbing.com. Honest and very capable staff. (2/17, 5/18) (NB: as of 12/18, no longer taking emergency calls after hours or on weekends.)

• Bob Krupski, plumbing inspector for Egremont and several other towns. We've been very happy with him. 229-8019 (3/15)

• Carlson Heating & AC, Sheffield, 413-229-3328 (4/18)

• Tom Barry, W. Stockb., 413-237-5957, barry@girdlerelectric.com. Super nice guy, quite experienced. Answered emergency call right away. We're thrilled! (3/15, 7/18)

• Fifty-Three Plumbing and Heating, Pittsfield, 413-329-0244, www.fiftythreeplumbing.com/. Installed our new boiler and followed up with great service. (11/18)

• Climate Heating and Cooling in Pittsfield, 413-684-5100, https://climatehvac.com/. Get a service contract, with annual maintenance of your furnace, and they'll provide 24-hr emergency service. I have used them for many years and have been pleased with the promptness and efficiency of their emergency service. (1/19)

• Brian Middleton, 413-269-7269.  He's great! (3/20)

• Decker & Beebe, Canaan, CT, 860-8245467, https://www.deckerandbeebe.com/. So reliable! (3/20)

• Gilmore Heating Plumbing & AC, GB, 528-9305. Very professional and super nice. (11/20)

• Paul Quigley, 518-610-2644. Prompt, efficient, reasonable. (10/21)

• Almo Zani, Sheffield. 413-429-7846. Recommended. (12/22)

• Mike Shultis, of Salvado Plumbing: Office: 413-274-6600, Cell: 413-429-1081. Highly recommended. He answers calls, comes when he says he will, and does very good work. Plus he's cheerful. (most recent: 3/23)

• Nick Vance,  413-717-2037. He's good, wasn’t too busy for my problem. (1/23)

•  William Perotti & Sons Inc., Canaan, 860-824-5181. Have had great service for 15 years. The best! (most recent: 2/23) 

• LePrevost in Lee, 413-329-7226, http://leprevostplumbingandheating.com. Very responsive, even for small projects. Regular maintenance issues as well as emergencies. (most recent: 2-23)

• MT Cavanaugh, Sheffield, 413-528-0042. Several plumbers in this family. Rep was very courteous and gave a rough estimate for the work that was pretty close. He also looked at the loo and fixed that too (other plumber could not fix and said it was too old and should be replaced). We're very happy! Good for emergencies. (most recent: 2/23)

•  Matt Banach of Matty B's Plumbing & Heating, Lee, 413-329-8647. Great! Reliable and professional. (several, thru 10/23)

• Northwest Plumbing in Canaan,  860-937-4273, www.nwpmllc.com. Good and reasonable. We've used them for several issues and they have done a fine job. (9/20, 11/23)

• Independent Heating and Plumbing, Southfield, 413-229-2370. Jesse is great! (11/21, 11/23)

• Cornwall Plumbing & Heating, Canaan, CT, 860-672-6350, www.cornwallp-h.com. Very reliable. (11/21) Did a tremendous job on a very wet basement. (4/24)

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Especially for Water Softening (most plumbers can help)

• Claverack Pump Service 518-851-5061

• Barnes & Kiley, 413-442-1215, www.barnesandkileywaterconditioning.com. Several satisfied customers. Good service. (3/20)

• William Perotti & Sons Inc., Canaan, 860-824-5181. Have had great service for 15 years. Installed our “Water Soft” softener. All good. (6/22, 5/23) 

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Plumbing Supply

• Plimpton & Hills Corporation, Waterware Showroom, 10 Crissey Rd, GB, 528-6723 (much nicer to deal with!)

Septic Services

Wendling Sewer Service, https://www.wendlingsewerservice.com/. (6/22)

Design & Title 5 Help

• Al Thorp (Egremonter), Accord Engineering & Surveying, 528-8999, accord.engineering@verizon.net Hands down, the best in the area. Thorough and willing to get into the mud (literally!) to ensure accuracy. (10/13, 6/18)

• Scott McFarland, 413-250-9843, stmcfarland@alum.mit.edu. High rec. Extremely helpful. (6/18)

Installation

• Joe Wilkinson, Sheffield 229-7711 (4/13)

• Don Peck, Egremonter 528-1620 "The best!" (12/13, 1/19)

• Bill Warner

• Mike Germain

• Shane Oates Construction

• Mt. Everett Sanitation, GB 528-3364 (See note under Porta-Potties) (4/13) Talk with Korey Leonard. Excellent service, including in emergencies. (1/19)

• Scott MacKenzie, 413-329-5678. Excellent, and great at helping guide any decisions by explaining septic systems in a very thorough and comprehensive way. (1/19)

• Great River Construction, 528-4121. Excellent for excavation! (1/19)

Pumping

• Torrant (aka Certified Sewer Service), CT: 860-379-2695 (4/13 to present)

• Yankee Septic 413-637-2433 (4/13 to present)

• Mt. Everett Sanitation, GB 528-3364 (See note under Porta-Potties) (4/13 to present)

Porta-Potties

• Mt. Everett Sanitation, GB 528-3364. An established family business, donated ADA porta-potties for Egremont's Civil War picnics. (4/13)

Solar Installers

• Mike Leining at MP Leining Electric. 413-528-1854, 413-364-2000. He and his crew did a wonderful job and I enjoyed working with someone local. My electric bills the past 3 months were $0.00, $0.00 and $3.71. I use a lot of electricity because of my greenhouse. (10/15)

• Tom & Brian Torrico, Grenergy Solar Store in Sheffield: brian@grenergysolarstore.com, 413-229-0049, 413-540-9646. Talk with Brian. They did a great job on the Egremont PD building. They will work on solar systems they did not install, like RGS. (5/17 thru 7/22)

• Solar City. We’ve had our solar panels for over 3 years and they’ve been responsive to any and every glitch ... many that we didn’t even notice (like being off-line.) They updated our panels this spring at no visible cost to us. I recommend them. (9/18)

• RGS. Out of business as of 7/20. [Old advice is still good -- If you have a problem, start by rebooting.]

• Tom Champlin, Tom-tomchamplin4@gmail.com, or thomaschamplin4@gmail.com, 802-793-3853. Tom and his partner worked with RGS for 10 years and now have a consulting business to help RGS customers. As far as Tom knows, no one has the RGS contracts, but the factory warranties are good for 25 years. Tom will help you get the replacement product you need and arrange for an electrician (unless you have one who can do the work). (2020)

• Sunpower (www.eclipseenergysolar.com). Contact Joe Salonia (860-450-6637).  (3/20) A report of very poor service in 8/22.

• New England Solar & Green Solutions, Williamstown, Andrew Guntlow, 413-458-04966. Very pleased! It was a complicated job: we installed solar storage batteries as well as panels. The technology for the batteries is still new, so Andrew brought in a technician from the battery company to help. They got it all working! (9/20)

• PV Squared, 413-772-8788 or info@pvsquared.coop. Solar installers/repair service. Worker-owned company in Greenfield. They service/repair many RGS systems and are an authorized dealer of Fronius inverters. Seth got phone authorization to replace the AFD module in my inverter (thus covered by the warranty and generating a credit for me). PV Squared is responsive but so busy now (2020) that a wait of 4-5 weeks is to be expected. They get 5 stars! (8/20, 12/21)

• Berkshire Photovoltaic Services (BPVS), North Adams, https://bpvs.com/, 413-664-0152, Info@BPVS.com. Fast, efficient, very reasonable, and pleasant to deal with. The owner, Chris Kilfoyle, is a real expert in the field. Cheaper than PV Squared for service to microconverter. (4/22, 10/22)

• Jay Foster from Trinity Solar, 857-488-6342. They have many programs, one of which requires no payment. (10/22)

• SunBug Solar, of Revision Energy. Contact Ned Wilson, New Marlborough, ned.wilson@sunbugsolar.com, 413-854-1453; website = www.revisionenergy.com. NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional, and a certified B Corporation. Ned guided me through the process. He is incredibly knowledgeable, exceptionally thorough, thoughtful, and wonderful to work with. Customer response, scheduling, and product support is excellent. (many recs, 10/18 thru 1/23)

• Trinity Solar, www.trinity-solar.com, 877-SUN-SAVES. Talk with Jay Foster. They work with Sunovo, and both are great. A 25-year lease costs $0, but purchase means no electric bills in the future. Terrific company! (6/23)

• Insight Solar, https://www.getinsightsolar.com/about/, 413-338-7555. Contact Brad Carmody,  Brad@getinsightsolar.com, 413-404-2144. Very professional, knowledgeable, and straight-talking, and their system has many benefits over their competitors. (6/22, 12/22, 3/24)

• Valley Solar, Northampton, https://valleysolar.solar/. Contact Patrick Rondeau, 413-727-5396, or Martin Jutres, martin@valleysolar.solar, 413-584-8844 ext. 227. Martin will assess your site, in person and online, and will advise you on all available incentives. They installed batteries so we don't need a generator. (6/22, 12/22, 3/24)

Wells, Water Treatment

If you need a well, start with a dowser -- Egremonter Craig Elliott (528-3827). He's excellent! and he can probably recommend a driller, too. (6/15)

For a 20-page list of registered well drillers, see the MA-DEP list: www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dep/water/drinking/alpha/a-thru-h/drillers.pdf.   Whomever you chose, make sure they are registered in the state of Mass.

• Joe Flood at Eastern States Well Drillers, Hillsdale, NY, 518-325-4679 (9/16)

• Meyer Well Drillers, Otis, MA 413-269-4578 (rec 4/16 for pulling and replacing well-pump) (talk to Chip; Jamie came and fixed and explained the problem.) Aka: Kennedy Pump Co, Otis, MA 413-269-4770. They are great, whichever number you call. (1/18)

• Barnes and Kiley Water Conditioning, 413-442-1215. WaterCare System, filtration, softeners, etc. (4/20)

• Eastern States Well & Pump Services, Hillsdale, 518-325-4679, www.easternstateswellandpumpservices.com. Recommended. (6/20)

• MT Cavanaugh, Sheffield, 413-528-0042. Water softening, other plumbing services, etc.

• Barnes and Kiley, 413-442-1215, https://www.barnesandkileywaterconditioning.com/. Great for water problems like rust and bad smells in your water system. (2/21)

• Jim Keeley, Advanced Water Technologies, Southfield, 800-930-3302, advancedwaterjk@aol.com, 860-234-1266‬ (Jim's cell). An expert and a gentleman. Water pumps and water treatment. Fair and generous pricing. (4/16) Very helpful and capable. (5/20, 10/21)

• Hanson Well Drilling & Pump, Nassau, 518-477-4127. (several, 7/23) 

• Claverack Well & Pump for water treatment/softening/filtering. 518-828-6267. Alex is extremely responsive; very happy with them. They're the most reliable, and give the most reasonable estimate. They come with great recommendations. Cheaper than Culligan. Won't sell you something you don't need. (6/18, 8/18) Came same day for dire emergency -- pump died. Wonderful communication! (7/23)

• Cornwall Plumbing, Canaan, CT, 860-672-6350, www.cornwallp-h.com. High praise. (1/24)

• Wm. Perotti in East Canaan, 860-824-5181, www.wmperotti.com. Responsive to emergencies. Knowledgeable and polite. Fair price for replacing well-pump. (latest: 4/24)

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Water testing

• Microbac, Lee, https://www.microbac.com/locations/massachusetts-lee, 413-776-5025. THE place to go for testing water. Pick up a container from them and return it with the sample. Charge depends on what they're testing for.  (7/22)

• Berkshire Engineering, Inc. (aka Housatonic Basin Sampling and Testing), 80 Run Way, Lee, 413-248-4622, www.berkshireengineering.com, www.housatonicbasin.com. (4/19, 7/22)

• Another option: A test kit from Springwell, www.springwellwater.com/product/water-testing/water-test-kit. Cost = $137.06 with tax. The kit had clear instructions for taking the samples (3) and came with prepaid postage. The test report was received by email within a week and listed the numerical results for these items: Total coliform, fecal E. coli and total bacterial count, aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, boron, cadmium, calcium, cerium, chromium (total), cobalt, copper, iron, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, silver, sodium, strontium, thallium, tin, titanium, uranium, vanadium and zinc, chloride, fluoride, nitrate (as n), nitrite and sulfate, alkalinity (as CaCO3), ammonia, color, conductivity, hardness, odor, ph, sediment, silica, tannins, total dissolved solids, and turbidity. 

On treating for E. coli (bacterial) contamination

Consensus is that the cheapest, most effective, and most sustainable treatment is UV. Installers:

• Jim Cavanaugh, 528-3810, has experience installing and maintaining these systems and is highly recommended. (He's listed under Plumbers.) (12/19)

• Lord St. Pierre, 413-522-3280 (Egremonter): licensed and insured contractor. (11/18)

On treating hard water, conditioning, and/or filter systems:

"I have had very noticeable improvement by installing a magnetic water conditioner. I originally scoffed at this as snake oil, but tried it on the recommendation of a consulting engineer friend. It consists of attaching powerful magnets to the pipe of your incoming water supply (which certainly sounds like snake oil). It does not reduce the level of water hardness but significantly reduced the scaling on fixtures. There are several brands on Amazon, I used the Magnetic Water Technology whole house model."

AND:

"We've had excellent results from a system by WaterSoft Inc that filters out metals and other impurities from our well water. Our system was installed over 20 years ago by Ustico Plumbing (Canaan, CT), and we just change the filter periodically to keep it running well. Water Soft offers different units to address different water issues, so you would need to do some research to find the right one for your condition." http://www.watersoftinc.com/products

AND:

"We got a reverse osmosis water filter (mfrd by Apec Water) for under the kitchen sink, in addition to the softening system we have for the whole house.  You can order it online but it takes a plumber to install and you need to drill a hole in your countertop behind or next to the sink for a separate spigot.  In addition, it's bulky, taking up about half the under-sink storage space.  Anyway, it seems to significantly improve the taste of the water."