David P. Ahern Painting

David P. Ahern Painting is about as local as a painting business gets: a one-man shop in Topsfield that paints house interiors and exteriors in Topsfield and Boxford, power-washes the surfaces before the first coat, and plows snow in the winter. David P. Ahern, a Topsfield resident, runs it himself. The site says 25 years at it; the Better Business Bureau profile lists 22 years and a 2004 start, with David Ahern as the manager. One thing to settle before hiring: the Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration in the business's name, #102101, is expired on the state registry, and that same number still appears on the company's own site. Ask whether it has been renewed since, and ask to see the certificate along with proof of liability insurance. For a straightforward repaint on a Topsfield or Boxford house — the same painter from the wash-down to the last coat — this is the kind of outfit people hire for that continuity. Put the prep, the number of coats and the paint line into the written estimate before work starts.