The building is talking. We read it before we price it.
5Star Plumbing HVAC is a commercial plumbing and mechanical contractor working out of East 43rd Street. Drain and grease lines, backflow and gas compliance support, restrooms, rooftop units, chillers, VRF, and maintenance programs scoped from your equipment list.
40 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017
Licensed & insured / COI available / Call to check current availability
Fig. 01 — Manifold and isolation valves
Two trades
No subcontracting between trades
building or agent
on every visit
Diagnosis is the product
Commercial buildings generate complaints, not diagnoses. A tenant reports that a floor is warm. A manager reports a water charge that jumped. A restaurant reports a line that closed for the third time this year. None of those tells you what's actually wrong, and all of them get quoted at by contractors who guessed.
We work the other way. Diagnose, show the evidence, then put a number on a scope you've seen. Running plumbing and mechanical under one roof matters here because so many commercial complaints sit between the trades — a ceiling stain under an air handler is the classic case, and which trade you call first tends to determine what answer you get.
The practice- 01A price written after someone has physically seen the problem
- 02Camera footage, readings, and fault logs shown rather than described
- 03Written condition reports you can use for capital planning
- 04Compliance boundaries stated plainly, including what isn't ours
- 05Off-hours scheduling quoted in advance, never applied afterwards
Eight services, two trades
Water and air under one contractor. Each entry opens a full page with scope, what drives the price, and the compliance boundaries.
How the work runs
Describe the symptom
What the building or tenant is reporting, since when, and what's out of service.
Diagnose on site
Camera, readings, or fault logs — whatever the symptom actually calls for.
One scope, one number
A firm price for work you've seen, with alternatives where they genuinely exist.
Repair and document
Work completed, verified, and written up in a form your records can use.
What we get called about
Water
Air
Work, photographed
Every image below is from a job our own crew carried out.
Plumbing work carried out by our own crew. We are building a photographic record of our mechanical installations and will publish those here rather than using stock images of equipment we did not install.
What clients say
Comments shared by clients about their service. Roles given rather than names, at their preference.
“They inventoried every backflow device in the building — we had three, and our records showed one. That alone changed how we handle compliance.”
“Jetted the kitchen line overnight so we never lost a service. The camera footage showed us why cabling had stopped working.”
“We asked four contractors for a maintenance proposal. They were the only one who walked the roof before quoting.”
Midtown and beyond
We work out of East 43rd Street and cover Midtown, the Financial District, and the rest of Manhattan, with regular service into the outer boroughs for existing accounts.
In commercial work, access governs scheduling far more than distance does. Loading dock hours, freight elevator availability, roof access arrangements, and tenant coordination all shape what we can commit to. Tell us those constraints when you call and the schedule we give you will be one we can hold.
(646) 405-3854Frequently asked
Do you work with buildings, tenants, or both?
Both, though authorisation differs. Building management and ownership can instruct work on common systems and plant. Tenants can instruct work inside their demised premises, and for anything touching base building systems we'll want management's sign-off before proceeding rather than discovering a boundary dispute afterwards.
Can you provide a certificate of insurance?
Yes, naming the building and managing agent as required. Give us those details when you book — in commercial buildings the COI is more often the thing that delays a start date than the work itself.
Is there a charge for the initial visit?
For diagnostic calls, yes, and we state the amount before dispatch. Surveys for maintenance programs, equipment inventories, and quoted projects are generally without charge because they're part of pricing the work properly.
Do you work outside business hours?
Regularly. Restroom work, kitchen lines, and roof access frequently have to happen outside occupancy. Off-hours work carries a scheduling premium that we quote in advance rather than applying afterwards.
What don't you do?
Water treatment chemistry and Legionella sampling, waste hauling, electrical work beyond our own equipment connections, roofing, structural work, asbestos abatement, and regulatory filings on your behalf. We coordinate with the trades that do, and we'd rather name a boundary than stretch across it.
How quickly can you respond to something urgent?
We prioritise commercial situations where a business or a floor is out of service. Actual response depends on the day and what's already scheduled — you'll get a realistic window on the phone rather than a promise we might miss. Accounts on maintenance programs have agreed response terms as part of that scope.
Tell us what the building is doing
Describe the symptom. You will get an honest read on urgency, what diagnosis involves, and what that costs, before anyone is dispatched.