McPhail Custom Woodworks

McPhail Custom Woodworks is a Beverly carpentry shop that describes its own range as everything from a custom trim package to a whole-house renovation — cabinetry and built-ins, stair trim, dormers and additions, door and window upgrades — across the North Shore and Cape Ann. That self-description is where the trail ends. Its Houzz page carries no reviews, no rating and no project photos, so there is nothing yet from anyone who actually hired them. Two things worth raising on a first call. The company says it is licensed and insured in Massachusetts and holds the EPA's RRP certification for working around lead paint — ask to see both, and the RRP especially if your house predates 1978. Since renovations, additions and dormers sit well outside the trades Massachusetts exempts, ask for the home improvement contractor registration number and check it against the state's own list yourself. For a smaller trim or built-in job, where you can watch the work before committing to something bigger, they are a reasonable call. Ask for addresses from recent jobs and two or three references, because there is nothing online yet to stand in for them.