Iwano & Sons Construction Inc.

Two names come up in nearly every review of Iwano & Sons: Gabriel, the owner, and the crew he brings. It is a two-person corporation on Ferry Street in Everett, incorporated in 2008, and its BBB file describes it plainly — exterior and interior painting with light carpentry. BuildZoom's permit file tells a wider story: 19 permitted projects running from a Brookline bathroom to a $375,000 Malden commercial renovation and a certificate of occupancy on a $5.5 million Boston research building, with a BuildZoom score in the top 6% of Massachusetts licensed contractors. The written praise clusters in 2018 through 2020 and is consistent about the same handful of things. A June 2018 customer who had a house and garage painted described the team arriving early each day, covering the plants, scraping and priming the whole exterior, repairing an under-deck gate nobody had asked about, and closing with a walk-around and a booklet listing paint colours and materials. A November 2020 customer said the quote was the most detailed of all they received, and that rotted wood got replaced as part of the job. Reviewers in June 2018 and June 2019 both mention the work area being tidied at the end of every day. The thing to read before calling is the newest review on file, an April 2023 half-star. That homeowner had paid for a high-spec exterior job — scraping, power washing, priming, caulking, carpentry, two coats — and reported significant peeling and cracking on three sides of the house in under three years. Past the two-year guarantee, they offered to buy the paint and do the first-storey work themselves, asking only for labour on the second storey, and say Gabriel agreed only if they paid. They also say rotting wood that should have been replaced during the original job was left, and cost more to fix once it worsened. Read against that November 2020 customer whose rot was replaced, the gap is worth raising directly. Licensing here is worth checking yourself. BuildZoom lists a Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration for the company and Angi carries the same number as a self-report, and BuildZoom separately holds two Massachusetts records it marks inactive or cancelled — a second home improvement registration and a construction supervisor licence. If the job is exterior painting, get the warranty in writing — what it covers, for how long, and what happens if the finish fails early — and have the carpentry and rot repair itemized in the estimate rather than left to a judgment call on the day.