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GPA Contracting
Detailed craftsmanship5.0
VSgencontractor, Inc.
Renovates century-old structures5.0
Verified record
CSA Construction Services LLC is a Cambridge, Massachusetts general contractor that, by its own account on Angi and HomeAdvisor, has been in business 24 years, doing business as CSA Home Services. Reviewers name Brad Stearns (also written as Sterns) as the person who ran jobs for much of that history, subcontracting out electrical, HVAC, plumbing and painting work while handling carpentry and general project management directly. The platform average is 4.4 out of 5 across 48 ratings on both Angi and HomeAdvisor, but the written reviews on file — 13 in all, running 2011 through 2016 — tell a more uneven story. Several from 2011 to 2015 describe a responsive, fair-bidding operation: one customer called Brad "extremely professional and responsive," praised a fair bid and a job finished as promised, including new gutters and trim work; another, in 2015, said CSA fixed a badly smashed door jamb so it "looks as good as new." A 2013 reviewer whose roughly $60,000 project spanned electrical, HVAC, plumbing, painting and kitchen-floor repair credited the former owner's expertise for reshaping the project for the better, though the same review flagged that the subcontracted painters left the walls poorly prepped and got paint on the woodwork. The two most serious accounts are both from January 2016. One customer said CSA asked for an extra $5,000 partway through a job, then left after finishing about 80% of the work and never got back in touch. The other, in a lengthy review, described a gutter-repair job that leaked after completion — the customer wrote that the contractor had nailed lead over the joints instead of properly scribing them as promised, then stopped answering calls, texts and emails when asked to fix it. That same reviewer also wrote that the Massachusetts HIC license number provided in their contract wasn't current and didn't belong to the contractor. A brief, undated web mention independently describes the same gutter job as "a disaster." Before booking, it's worth asking directly about the two license numbers listed on Angi and HomeAdvisor (090649 and 161893) and confirming who will actually be on-site for the work, since several reviews describe project quality varying with which subcontractor handled which trade. Given the span of the written record — mostly older, with nothing on file past 2016 — a homeowner would do well to ask for recent references too. CSA looks like the right call for carpentry, trim and general remodeling work overseen directly by the company, less so for anything hinging on a subcontracted trade or complex gutter work, given the specific complaints on file.
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from CSA Construction Services LLC. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Estimated range
$23,000 – $35,000
Typical remodeling project around $29,000
“The carpentry was fine (although completed months late), as was the painting, but the gutter repair was a disaster. CSA said they would”
The painting (done by a separate sub-contractor) was fine. The carpentry took MUCH longer than estimated (estimated completion was September 2015; actual completion (although the punch-list STILL hasn't been finished) was late December 2015. The real issue was the gutter work: the contractor said he would 'scribe the joints with a chisel (so the lead installed would be flush with the surrounding wood), place lead over the joint, then seal the result with silicone' to prevent the gutters from leaking, and would test the gutters, when completed, with a hose to make sure they didn't leak. He then talked me into paying him BEFORE doing the hose test, because he hadn't put all the downspouts on while completing a small additional side task, which I stupidly agreed to. When it rained, the gutters leaked like crazy. So I went up to the attic to inspect the joints, and discovered he had simply nailed some lead over them, NOT scribing the wood of the gutter with a chisel, as he said he would so the lead was on TOP of the wood, causing the water to back up and leak through. When I pointed this out to him he said that doing the job properly (and as described in the contract) would require taking the gutters off in some locations, which was more work than he was willing to do, and that he would make sure the gutters stopped leaking by installing more silicone. He promised he'd return the following Monday, then took all his tools and disappeared, stopped answering his phone or returning text messages or emails. He left the job-site a mess, with a great deal of scrap lumber lying around, never finished the punch-list, and I'm now having to sue him to get funds to have someone else to fix my gutters, which now leak much more than when I hired him. I've discovered that the MA HIC license # (141030) he provided me in his contract a) isn't his and b) isn't current (you can check your contractors license status at this website: https://services.oca.state.ma.us/hic/licenseelist.aspx). Would NOT hire this man/company under any circumstances
Immediately after we began the job, CSA told us they had underbid and required $5000 more. Ultimately, we moved ahead, but after doing 80%, they never finished the job - just left and we never heard from them again. They also repeatedly cancelled the morning they were supposed to come. Very unprofessional and untrustworthy.
DOOR AND JAMB WERE REALLY SMASHED SO CSA HAD TO DO SOME WORK ON THE WOOD TRIM AROUND THE JAMB. LOOKS AS GOOD AS NEW
The project went very well. Raymond Stone worked closely with us, listened to our requests relating to materials and style, provided excellent suggestions and communicated. The project had a number of complications due to the age of the house and town approval process. Raymond managed the issues and we are extremely pleased with the final result.
Ray was up front and fair. The work was absolutely in line with what we expected. The work was moderately delayed by weather so it did stretch beyond the estimated time frame, but the change was unavoidable and handled professionally. We did notice a section of incomplete trim after the job was completed and the final payment was made, and Ray personally came back to fix the issue and make it right.
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1 change recorded — last scanned Sep 8, 2026.
Detailed craftsmanship5.0
Renovates century-old structures5.0
