Custom Creations Decorative Concrete, LLC

Six Google ratings, all five stars, and not a word of detail behind them — that is the whole public track record for Custom Creations Decorative Concrete, a stamped-concrete outfit working out of 71 Prince Street in Boston's North End. What they sell is decorative flatwork: stamped patios, pool decks, driveways and walkways, poured and finished to look like stone or tile. The company says it has been doing decorative and stamped concrete since 1980 and describes itself as a full-service decorative concrete company serving all of New England. Its own site lists a service area that is almost entirely southern New Hampshire — Manchester, Bedford, Londonderry, Merrimack, Windham and neighbors — despite the Boston address. The history claim is where things get muddy. BBB lists the business as started in January 2014 with ten employees and twelve years in business, which does not square with the "over thirty years" line the company repeats across directory sites. BBB has not issued a rating at all, saying it lacks sufficient information, and the business is not accredited. Licensing is the other thing to pin down. BuildZoom could not verify any license, shows no active license on file and no license number, and gives the company a score of 0 — below the top half of Massachusetts contractors. A separate directory listing describes the company as "Licensed & Insured," which is the company's own claim, not a registry check. If you are considering them for a stamped patio or driveway, ask for the current Massachusetts registration and insurance certificates in writing, and ask which of those thirty-plus years belongs to this LLC. The photo portfolio is real — 21 images on BuildZoom — but the customer history is too thin to lean on.