BuildBak

Two weeks before a closing, somebody drove a car through a homeowner's front steps. Matt at BuildBak picked up the first time they called, and the sale went through. Most of what this Framingham company gets called about starts like that — a pipe letting go upstairs, a sump pump quitting, a pine tree coming down in a wind storm. It picks up after the water-removal crew has gone, rebuilding what was lost and working the insurance claim alongside the homeowner. The business began as a painting company in 2006, became The Hamel Company doing property damage reconstruction from 2007, and rebranded as BuildBak in October 2022, as the Framingham Source reported at the time. Brothers Nate and Matt Hamel are the co-founders, and the Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration, 171686, is active under Hamel Painters, Inc. Customers write about their project manager by name — Pablo, Andrey, Erik, John, Steve, Matt. In November 2025 a family whose house was struck by a falling pine had a crew on site in under 24 hours, a temporary patch and shoring within 48, and the damage digitally documented for the claim. In April 2026 a mudroom with a leaking roof got a visit inside a day and a guided run at the insurance process on a tight deadline. In March 2026 a flooded kitchen was inspected and photographed thoroughly before anything was quoted. Also in April 2026, a house whose top-floor pipe burst — three floors taken largely to the studs after a first demolition contractor made things worse — was put back together. The scale runs from one basement floor to a whole house. In January 2026 one home needed the primary bedroom and bathroom, the laundry, kitchen, a first-floor bathroom, the garage and the basement all rebuilt; that same month a high-rise condo needed wood flooring, new sheetrock and a custom molding made to match the original. The honest snag is the calendar. A December 2025 customer said their bathroom rehab started slowly with delayed start dates before running smoothly once it began; an April 2026 customer noted how long the whole process takes; a July 2026 customer had hiccups that Erik stayed on top of. If you are standing in a wet house with an adjuster's number in your hand, this is the contractor who comes in at that stage — mitigation finished, rebuild ahead. Ask for the written proposal early, get the start date committed in writing, and ask who your project manager will be, because that is the person you will deal with for the length of the job.