Drake Design + Build

Drew Ray answers fast. A March 2024 customer texted about a job, got a price within minutes of him looking at it, and had Carlos on site the next morning finishing the work in a day. In December 2024, a homeowner whose bathroom wall and ceiling had been torn open to get at a burst pipe had a price straight back and a crew working two days later — on a Sunday. Drake Design + Build is his Braintree company, started in 2022 after what he says was roughly 26 to 30 years as a union carpenter with Local 33; his wife Vanessa is the interior designer, and plenty of customers still write about the business by its old name, Drake Drywall. That drywall-and-plaster grounding still shows. An August 2024 reviewer had patching and plastering done at a South Boston unit, closets included, finished in time for the cabinets to go in; a May 2025 customer had a bedroom wall put back together and said the repair looked so good the other walls were jealous. The jobs have grown, though. A full kitchen and half-bath remodel came in April 2026; a second bathroom was gutted and redone in December 2024; a basement bathroom was rebuilt in November 2024 after mold damage and bad work from a previous owner, with a new vanity and a tub with tile surround. In May 2024, a basement apartment got a new egress door that meant relocating the main drain line and the HVAC ducts. Its Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration, #216395, is active. Google carries 4.8 stars from 26 ratings and Thumbtack 4.7 from 17. Quoting is where the one poor review sits: a March 2025 customer gave two stars over the difficulty of getting a rough price and the service around it. Other customers describe the opposite — an October 2025 reviewer got a proposal that covered what they asked for without breaking the bank, and a dentist in April 2024 says the quote came in lower than others and the crew worked around office hours so the practice never closed. For interior work where the finish shows — a ceiling after a pipe burst, a bathroom, a kitchen, a basement that flooded — this is a small crew run by a carpenter who picks up the phone, and one customers keep rehiring; a May 2026 reviewer is on their third job with him. Push for the written scope and price early, and ask which of his people, Carlos or Mike, will be running your job.