Joseph Downey Small Job Specialist

Joseph Downey Small Job Specialist has a five-star average across all 138 ratings on HomeAdvisor, and the reviews on file back that up with real specifics rather than vague praise. The company, run out of Somerville and self-described with 41 years of experience, is built for the jobs too small or oddly shaped to interest a general contractor -- one reviewer described it as a business for 'annoying jobs that are too random for a general contractor but too big to DIY.' The written reviews on file run from 2021 through early 2023, and they read less like generic praise and more like people describing a specific problem getting solved. In a December 2022 review, a homeowner described hiring Joe to fit a new under-cabinet microwave that didn't match the old footprint -- requiring tile work to make it look right -- and separately having him replace several old, oddly sized single-pane windows, sourcing non-standard replacements and working through supply-chain delays. A June 2021 review recounted Joe and his crew working a full day in 90-plus-degree heat to finish a job rather than stopping partway. Another, from April 2021, mentioned getting a quote the same day he called, at what the reviewer called a reasonable price. There's nothing negative in the written record here to weigh against that -- no complaints about missed appointments, pricing surprises, or unfinished work turn up in what's on file. The honest caveat is that the specific accounts above are a few years old now; nothing more recent is in the written record to confirm the same standard has held since, even though the 5.0 rating reflects the fuller review history HomeAdvisor publishes. This looks like the right call for the kind of job that's hard to find someone for -- a mismatched appliance install, an odd-sized window, a repair a general contractor won't touch for the money. Worth confirming current availability and getting a fresh quote, since the detailed accounts on file predate the last few years.