Chaffee Carpentry

Seventy-two permitted projects sit behind Chaffee Carpentry's name — a builder's record rather than a reviewer's one, and the clearest thing to know about this Billerica company. Brad Chaffee runs it himself. The company says it has built and remodeled for Massachusetts homeowners since 1988, has worked with more than 200 clients, and keeps its own in-house carpentry staff for everything from frame to finish; BBB records it as a sole proprietorship with one employee and Brad Chaffee as owner. Its Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration, number 100788, is active in the company's name, and Brad R. Chaffee holds an active Massachusetts construction supervisor licence, CS-052807. The work it advertises is at the heavier end of residential: custom homes, additions and second levels, plus kitchens, baths and interior remodels. Houzz files it under general contractors and lists home, kitchen and bathroom remodeling, custom homes and deck building, with four posted projects including a custom home in Burlington. Homeowner commentary is scarce. A single written account, from January 2013, described hiring the company to refinish a basement after seeing its bathroom work at a neighbour's house, and said the crew was on time, kept the owners updated and cleaned up every night before leaving; that client was already talking about an addition. Google shows a 5.0 from two ratings, and Houzz a 5.0 from that one review. Two things worth doing before you call. Ask for recent references — the written record on file stops in 2013, even though the permit history runs far past it. And check the geography: the company names Billerica, Burlington, Bedford, Winchester and Lexington as its territory, so a job outside that ring needs confirming. If you are planning an addition, a second storey or a new house north-west of Boston and you want a licensed owner-operator on site rather than a project manager, this is a straightforward fit — just do the reference-checking yourself, because the public commentary is thin.