Boston Custom Remodeling

Boston Custom Remodeling is a South Boston general contractor run by John McGinn, taking on whole-home renovations, additions, kitchens and bathrooms. Its Better Business Bureau profile lists 11 years in business and an A+ letter grade, though BBB has not accredited the business. The written record splits sharply in two. In 2017, HomeAdvisor reviewers described high-end, well-managed projects: marble tile, custom cabinets, built-in shelving and radiant floor heat installed to satisfaction, two bathrooms finished within a tenant's two-week absence, and a homeowner crediting the team with guiding every fixture and material choice like an on-staff designer. Several of those customers said they planned to rehire the company. That pattern turns starting in 2017 and 2018, when HomeAdvisor reviews began describing months of unreturned calls, finishing work left undone, and a roof deck project abandoned mid-build after the crew cleared out its tools during the homeowners' vacation. It continues into the 2020s: a 2020 account of a $30,000 bathroom renovation left with unsanded surfaces, exposed tile edges and a misaligned vanity light; a 2023 BuildZoom review calling the company a scam that owes people money and doesn't finish jobs; and a 2023 boiler-work customer describing a bounced payment check and being ghosted. A 2021 review went further, describing an unreturned $21,000 deposit for scaffolding work, a signed contract followed by no contact, and a stated criminal complaint with police involvement. What to know before calling: customers and BuildZoom both report the Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor registration as revoked or cancelled since 2021, and BuildZoom separately notes a Newton general contractor license that expired in 2018. HomeAdvisor currently flags this profile as under review. Several reviews, including one on the BBB page itself, describe the business not paying subcontractors who completed their work. The BBB's A+ grade and the roughly 4.0–4.1★ averages on BuildZoom, Angi and HomeAdvisor sit oddly alongside that pattern — those scores lean on an older, stronger stretch of reviews that the more recent accounts don't match. Given how far the recent accounts diverge from the earlier ones, anyone considering this contractor should verify current licensing directly with the state registry before signing anything, tie payments strictly to completed, inspected work, and treat the 2017 reviews as a description of what this company used to be rather than a guide to what to expect now.