ARS Construction

One reviewer said the quiet part out loud: if she had it to do again, she would have skipped the other bids and hired ARS from the start. That was posted in June 2026, and it sits at the top of a nine-year run of five-star write-ups that keep naming the same person — Aaron Schreibman, who runs the company and, by every account, shows up on the job himself. ARS works out of Marblehead and Swampscott and does design-build: kitchens, bathrooms, decks and porches, interior finishes, basements, additions and full custom houses. Houzz sits at 5.0 across 25 reviews with five Houzz awards, and the company's own site claims 20 years and a 2025 Best of Houzz service award. The reviews are worth reading rather than counting, because they describe actual assemblies. A customer writing in September 2020 described a five-day rebuild of third- and fourth-story decks in a brutal August heat wave — new deck boards, rotted railings repaired, a solid railing swapped for an open one, and a free-standing pergola custom-fitted to the lower deck — and named the carpenter, Julio. A November 2020 reviewer described a gut bathroom renovation with a full drain-stack replacement at his mother's house, with subs put on overtime and the space deep-cleaned so she could move back in sooner. A March 2022 customer described a complete basement finish, and a 2021 one a whole new-build house. Money comes up often enough to be useful. A November 2019 customer said plainly that Aaron was not the cheapest bid she got — but that a two-bathroom-plus-kitchen project landed within 2% of budget despite going over on some allowances, and the deck came in on or under. A February 2017 reviewer said the estimate for cost and time was exact. A 2024 customer said the deck and patio finished on time and on budget. That pattern — priced above the low bid, then held to the number — is the most decision-relevant thing here. What to pin down: the licence numbers. BuildZoom lists a Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration and a construction supervisor licence for Aaron Schreibman, and the company's site says it is fully licensed and insured — those are their claims, not confirmations, so ask to see both and check them with the state. Tenure is also stated two ways: 20-plus years on the site and Houzz, but over 15 years in the BuildZoom blurb. One more note on the record itself: every review on file is five stars, which is worth a second look. Here the length varies widely, the owner and a named crew member recur across years, the jobs are specific and different from each other, several reviewers signed full names, and one openly says the price was not the lowest. That reads as a genuine referral business rather than a manufactured set. If you are planning a kitchen, a bath, a deck rebuild or a full custom build around Marblehead, Swampscott or the wider North Shore, ARS is a serious bid to get — expect a line-itemed proposal and expect it not to be the cheapest. Ask for the licence numbers and the insurance certificate, and ask about the allowance structure before you sign.