Howell Custom Building Group

Howell Custom Building Group is a Lawrence, Massachusetts design-build firm working the North Shore, run by husband-and-wife team Steve and Susan Howell — the company says it was founded in 1997 and has completed more than 800 projects, working on custom homes, additions, whole-home and kitchen/bath renovations, basement finishing and barn or timber-frame restoration. Both Steve Howell's Massachusetts Construction Supervisor license and the company's home improvement contractor registration are verified active. The written record here is thin on Google — just one review from 2024, in which a client called Garrett (the company's Director of Preconstruction) fantastic to work with and said the team cares about its customers — but the broader trail is substantial. On Houzz, the company holds a 5.0-star average across 38 ratings with Work Quality, Communication and Value each scored 5.0, alongside 17 Houzz Awards, including 2021 and 2022 Gold awards for whole-house projects over $500,000 and a run of 'Best of Northshore Home' Editor's Choice recognitions from 2016 through 2022. BBB gives the business an A+ grade, and permit records show 16 permitted projects — several six-figure North Shore additions, barn renovations, and a $937,000 accessory building among them. Worth confirming directly: the company's website describes itself as a Certified Lead-Safe firm, but a federal EPA renovation-safety record tied to the business shows as inactive — worth a quick question given the firm's work on older North Shore homes and barns. Typical projects here run large — Houzz lists a typical job cost between $500,000 and $5 million — so this isn't a fit for a small repair. This is a fit for a serious custom-build or whole-house renovation on the North Shore, backed by verified licensing and a deep industry-award record — worth confirming lead-safety certification status before any work on an older home.