LDA General Services

LDA General Services is a small Malden-and-Woburn remodeling outfit run by Lanna De Araujo — four employees, four years in business by its Thumbtack listing, taking on kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, tile, painting and general contracting. The written record is short and it pulls in two directions. On Thumbtack the average sits at 3.7 across six reviews, and the distribution is barbell-shaped: half at five stars, a third at two or one. Three brief positives from October and November 2023 call the work professional. Then two complaints in February 2024: one customer wrote that the crew simply did not show and did not call; another said the job had been closed and paid, but the shower could not be used, and posted video of the work — adding that they would change the review if it were fixed. The company's public reply to that one pointed at the plumber rather than addressing the work. On Houzz the picture is different: a single 5-star review from March 2024, written by a trade partner who works with Lanna regularly and says he prices fairly, answers the phone and works to fix problems when jobs go sideways. That is a contractor's view rather than a homeowner's, and it is worth weighing as such. The Houzz profile itself is marked as suspended and its contact button is disabled. Before hiring, the specific thing to settle is finish quality and follow-through on the trades: get a written scope covering who does the plumbing and tile on a bathroom, hold a retainer until the shower is tested in front of you, and agree in writing what happens if a start date is missed. Ask for two recent bathrooms you can inspect.