Basement Theory

Basement Theory is Chris Orme's Ashland, Massachusetts carpentry and remodeling outfit — on Thumbtack it operates as CJO Builders, which lists Chris with 16 years in the trade and 38 projects shown on the platform. The name points at what people call him for most: finishing basements into real living space, though the recurring theme across nearly nine years of reviews is full-room work more broadly — a game room and office built around a tangle of existing utilities, gutted bathrooms rebuilt from scratch, a fire-damaged workshop patched back together. The written record runs from 2018 to a review this past August, and all but one of the seventeen on file are five stars. In a recent 2026 review, a homeowner who had Chris finish about 1,000 square feet of basement — a bathroom, an office, and a game room — singled out how he hid utility runs behind custom bookcases that double as doors. Earlier reviews describe the same pattern: in a 2023 review, a homeowner said Chris and Jim turned a main-floor renovation into what they called a stress-free process; in a 2025 review, a homeowner recovering from fire damage to a workshop said Chris coordinated the facia, siding, window, and drywall repair directly with their insurance company. On Thumbtack, going back to 2018, reviewers keep citing his trim and moulding work — a 2020 review says he turned a 50-year-old foyer into what the homeowner called new construction. Not everything has gone smoothly. In a 2023 review, a homeowner described a bathroom remodel that went sideways: the plumber Chris subcontracted didn't file the right paperwork for a variance, causing repeated delays, and Chris then ordered the wrong glass shower doors, adding a six-week wait on top. It's the one written account that breaks an otherwise consistent run of praise, and worth asking about directly — how subcontracted trades are managed and what happens if a special-order item is wrong. Thumbtack lists Chris as holding a CSL (Construction Supervisor License), though that's the directory's own listing rather than something verified against the state registry. If you're planning a basement finish, a full bathroom gutting, or detailed trim and built-in work, Basement Theory has a long, mostly consistent record to point to — just confirm upfront how subcontracted trades like plumbing and electrical are scheduled and who's accountable if a special-order item goes wrong.