Hampden Design & Construction

Forty-two permitted projects sit behind Hampden Design + Construction on BuildZoom, which scores the Newton firm 95. It is David Cohen's company — his site says he founded it in 2003 and still leads it as principal — and it builds custom homes, renovations and additions rather than small repairs. Its Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration is active, held by the corporation itself. The company's site also says Cohen is a licensed construction supervisor and a licensed building inspector. The written accounts run 2014 to 2019, and what they have in common is money talk. A May 2014 Houzz reviewer called the bidding process transparent and the price competitive with comparable contractors, and said the finished work came in on budget. A second Houzz review that same month described a remodel plus an addition and praised the crew for being on time and knowing their craft. The 2019 account is unusual: it came from the architects on a Boston Commercial Wharf condominium renovation, who wrote that David and his team were easy to work with from start to finish and laid out pricing options. That is a design professional's view of how the firm runs a job, which is worth something on a custom build where a builder and an architect have to get along. Houzz carries nine sets of project photos if you want to see finished work first. For a Newton-area homeowner planning a custom house, a gut renovation or an addition, Hampden fits the kind of job that needs one contractor managing the whole arc. Ask for references from projects completed in the past year or two, and get the construction supervisor licence number and a certificate of insurance in writing before you sign.