For many plumbing and heating professionals, the best teachers don’t retain college degrees from exorbitantly priced universities. On rare occasions, they even live under the same roof.

Shane Sullivan learned his craft from his father, Dave, who started Darb Mechanical in 1989 in Malden, Massachusetts. The family-owned business built its reputation on quality craftsmanship, honesty and integrity and specializes in high-end residential and commercial plumbing and heating systems in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

Dave showed his son the tools of the trade and how to use them, but he also taught him invaluable lessons in business, customer service and professionalism. Shane, who joined the company full-time as a teenager, also absorbed the importance of work-life balance.  

For Dave, all it took to get started in business was leaving his boyhood job at a delicatessen where he slung together sandwiches seven days a week. And encouragement from his future bride.

Spousal support

Dave learned plumbing skills at a young age. He started at 15 helping a plumbing and heating contractor with small tasks, gaining experience each step of the way.

“I said to myself that before I turn 21,” Dave says. “I want to have my own company.”

While working behind the deli counter, Dave continued developing the skills he needed to advance his career in his spare time. He learned the trade from the ground up by observing experienced workers and gaining the knowledge required to become an HVAC technician. He soon realized he preferred plumbing to heating work.

His then-girlfriend, Nancy, encouraged Dave to launch his own business. With the economy slowing down nationally and on the verge of a full-blown recession just one year later, Dave and Nancy took the leap into business ownership and built their foundation one cautious step at a time. 

“If it wasn’t for her pushing me, telling me ‘You can do it, you can do it,’ I don’t know if I could’ve done it,’’ Dave says. “She and I networked, and by 21, I had my own company. Nancy has been a big part of it. We’ve been married for 35 years, and she still helps with estimating and technical support. I’m an old-school guy. I still write things on yellow-lined paper. She’ll put everything on a computer. Back when we started, we didn’t even have cellphones.”

Following footsteps

Shane followed a similar path on his way to become a master plumber. The major difference between their career journeys is that he learned from the man who sat at the same dinner table.

“I started working with him a little bit during the summers, and he would pay me cash,” Shane remembers. “I was just around. I really wasn’t much help.”

Shane and his older brother, Tyler, shared the most mundane tasks, such as bringing tools to the jobsite.

“One time he asked us to clean all of the half-inch and three-quarter copper fittings to get them ready for that day for soldering,” Shane recalls. “We cleaned them inside and out with fitting brushes and scratch cloth. My father didn’t explain that we just needed to clean inside the fittings. He returned an hour later and couldn’t believe we cleaned the outside, too. A few of the other guys thought that was the funniest thing ever.”

Shane continued to work with his father during summers throughout high school. After graduation, he attended nearby Suffolk University, where his brother was also enrolled, and quickly realized he missed working. He traded his notebooks and laptop for his own toolbox and pipe wrenches. 

“I had just come off working summers with my father,’’ Shane recalls. “I thought I didn’t want to sit in a classroom for four more years. I can’t do it. I called him two weeks into college, and I asked him if I could come work for him full-time. He didn’t hesitate. That was in 2014, and I’ve been with him ever since.”

Dave did not encourage or discourage either of his sons from following him into a career as a plumber. He and Nancy let them define their individual career paths.

“Shane was very independent, he always wanted to do things on his own,” Dave remembers. “When he was a kid, I asked him if he wanted to come with me or go get a job somewhere for the summer. He would always want to come with me and the guys from a very young age. He had an academic scholarship to go anywhere he wanted, but he gave that up to come work with us and ended up getting his license at a very young age.”

Work-life balance

Dave and Nancy built a successful business early on, reaching a peak of 14 employees and establishing a highly reputable company. However, Dave discovered that being bigger is not always better, especially in trying to maintain proper work-life balance.

“I chose to roll back the business a little bit for a better quality of life,’’ Dave says. “I felt it was important to be a good family man and still do quality work. I had eight really good guys and some apprentices, but my wife and I felt like the business was running off the rails. With a lot more guys, it felt like it only pleases a lot of other people instead of myself. I cared more about the quality of the work we were providing for our customers than how big our business could become.”

From the outset, Shane found his father’s business model revolved around servicing clients with honesty, integrity and superior craftsmanship. 

“The analogy he has always given is that he runs his business like it’s a really good restaurant,” Shane remembers.

When he asked his father what he meant, Dave explained, “You go back to a good restaurant time after time because the food and service are consistently good. That’s the same goal we have with our business.”

When customers and contractors approach Darb about a project, Shane explains they want the company to deliver the same thing every time.

“They want to know that they’re getting good quality work at a fair price and in a timely manner,” Shane says. “We treat every person, contractor and project the same way. My father has always emphasized consistency in everything that we do.”

Shane segued from employee to part-owner and now leads the business’s daily operations while Dave has taken on a reduced role. The business continues to thrive with a small crew that maintains the same commitment to quality Dave established nearly four decades ago.

Shane’s father also taught him valuable lessons in balancing job and family. Now a young father himself, Shane saw from his father’s words and deeds the importance of a strong work ethic and business acumen while also juggling family responsibilities.

“Balance is important,” Dave says, who eschewed round-the-clock service to preserve precious time with his family. “You can’t just work all the time. I didn’t learn that at a young age. Being in the trades, you’ll always have work. Whatever you do, if you do the right thing and you’re good at what you do, you’ll always be employed. You’ll always have a good quality of life.”

Elaborate install

The Sullivans recently tackled a complicated installation in an early 20th century home in Cambridge. The 3,500-square-foot structure sustained significant fire damage and had been vacant for an extended period.

“They kept the foundation, which was good, and they built a new home on the foundation,” Shane says. “But the house had to be completely gutted.”

Darb Mechanical configured and installed the entire plumbing system for the five-bedroom, three-story structure. The builder and the Darb crew agreed it would be best to have a clean slate and take the water and sewer lines back to the source.

“We planned ahead and mapped out where to place the water heater and how we would run the piping,” Shane recalls. “It took us a little bit of time to review codes, look at the usage chart and figure out how many fixtures were going to be installed so that we had sufficient hot water.”

The Sullivans selected an HTP Everlast Elevate, a residential electric water heater that combines energy efficiency, durability and maximum comfort. The model is designed to deliver the comfort of conventional 50- to 100-gallon electric water heaters from a 55-gallon platform. 

“The gas line had been shut off, so there was no gas to feed an on-demand water heater,’’ Shane explains. “In our opinion, the HTP Everlast was the best choice for this particular home.”

The mechanical room footprint was limited and the Darb team wanted a smaller-sized unit because of space limitations. The HTP Everlast Elevate’s capability to deliver the output of an 80-gallon unit will ensure adequate hot water supply throughout the home whenever it’s needed.

The unit checks several additional boxes that were important for the builder, the homeowner and the Sullivans. Previously, the home’s hot water supply emanated from an indirect unit that was powered by a gas boiler. 

“There’s a trend in the Boston area where everything across the board is electric,” Shane explains. “HVAC systems and even cooking ranges are turning to all-electric. With this home, they capped off the gas line coming to the house, so that was a good opportunity to install the HTP Everlast Elevate unit.”

An adjustable thermostat paired with an ASSE 1017 certified and pre-installed mixing valve allows for safe, consistent temperature at the faucet while elevating the total amount of hot water available by safely turning the thermostat up to store water as high as 170 degrees. Its 316L stainless-steel construction allows the water heater to store more thermal energy without the risk of premature failure due to corrosion.

The Everlast Elevate comes with a lifetime warranty on the tank and up to six years on parts with online registration. 

Team approach

Darb Mechanical’s work on the residence in Cambridge, where the median home price hovers around $2.5 million, demonstrates their meticulous approach and admirable working relationship.

They have also bucked some interesting industry trends. While figures fluctuate, the hard truth is 80% of home service businesses fail within the first five years. The Sullivans are also a rarity in that only 30% of plumbers reach master plumber status, the highest professional level in the industry.

As their careers have become intertwined, they have also exchanged ideas on the best approach to complex challenges.

“When we go to a project, if something’s complicated or not straightforward, we’ll have discussions about how we’re going to make it code, make it work and make it look good,” Shane says. “There will be times where I have a vision of how it’s going to be plumbed in my head, and he might have a different vision. We’ll talk about it and come up with the best plan. Neither of us have an ego about how things need to get done.”

Dave brings the unique perspective of a craftsman, teacher and father, and the tight bond that has developed from their work together. Some parents are fortunate to celebrate “Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day” once a year. Dave cherishes it daily.

“He inspires me by the fact that he is learning much faster than I ever did,’’ Dave says. “Now he does twice as much work as I do. I’m just happy that he and I can work together. We’re on the job sites every day, even though he runs his own truck and I run mine. It makes me proud to have a second generation following me in this business. I can rely on him 150% not just because he’s my son, but also because he understands the work side of it and the business side. It’s such a pleasure to be able to work with my son.”

Thomas Renner writes on building, construction and other trade industry topics for publications throughout the United States.