John Boyd DBA Home Improvement Network

Home Improvement Network is a Worcester roofing outfit trading under John Boyd's name, and two things need saying before anything else. The Massachusetts registry shows its home improvement contractor registration — number 181638, held in the name John Boyd — as SUSPENDED. And an obituary published by a Worcester funeral home in August 2025 records that John William Boyd of Worcester, who founded Home Improvement Network in the city and had spent years before that as a union roofer with Local 33 at Greenwood Industries, died on 15 August 2025. Anyone considering this contractor should confirm the business is still trading and that its registration has been restored before signing anything or paying a deposit. The work record itself, built up over 2019 to 2025, is largely good. HomeAdvisor publishes 4.6 from 92 ratings, with 83 per cent at five stars and 5 per cent at one. What the written accounts describe is a fast, diagnostic repair service rather than a big-crew replacement firm. In a November 2021 review a homeowner said John found that the original 2008 installer had never fitted a ridge cap, fixed it immediately, and then came straight back after a nor'easter when lifted flashing around a bathroom exhaust pipe caused a second leak, charging only a nominal fee. A December 2019 customer said the company answered within minutes, arrived in half an hour between other jobs and finished in less. A September 2021 review describes the work being explained clearly, issues flagged as they came up, and the site cleaned afterwards. Bigger jobs appear too: in February 2022 a landlord had roofs replaced on two properties and praised the installation, cleanup and explanation of what had been wrong. Price is the consistent complaint, and it runs through good reviews as well as bad. A July 2024 customer called the service quick, prompt and on time but "a bit pricey"; a June 2024 reviewer said the vent-pipe leak repair was a great job but "a little overpriced"; a February 2022 one-star review said simply "Over price."; and in November 2019 a reviewer who identified herself as a realtor wrote that she was charged "the single woman price of $450 for 1 hour's work". Two other complaints are about follow-through rather than cost: a December 2020 reviewer said a warranty given was not honoured, and a June 2021 commercial client said the response to a problem was slow enough that they took their other buildings elsewhere. The company's own site claims service in Worcester since 2007 and membership of Allied Construction Industries and the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association. Ask for the current registration number, the warranty in writing, and an itemised price before work starts.