MKJ Construction

MKJ Construction is a Derry, NH outfit built around one specific, high-stakes job: getting a home through lead paint removal and re-inspection without a hitch. Reviewers keep landing on the same theme — the company shows up, does the de-leading, and the property passes reinspection on the first try, whether that's clearing a rental for tenants expecting a baby or getting a family's new house safe for a child. John Vaillancourt has run the business since 1992 according to its BBB file (the file itself was opened in 2009), and it has stayed a small, family-run operation the whole way — Angi and HomeAdvisor both describe it as family-owned. Reviews span 2011 through 2024 across Angi and Google: 17 total, 4.9 stars on Angi (16 ratings) and a perfect 5 on Google (3 ratings), with all but one landing at five stars. Most of that record is dated — 15 of the 17 written reviews predate 2018, describing jobs from the early-to-mid 2010s — but the two most recent accounts, from 2024, tell the same story customers have told for over a decade: a 2024 Google review credits John and Darren with getting a family's house de-leaded and "safe" for their son, and a 2024 Angi review describes MKJ going above and beyond after an initial building-code mix-up on a failed inspection. The older reviews describe the same pattern repeatedly — competitive or below-quote estimates, jobs finished on schedule, and reinspections passed cleanly, with one homeowner noting MKJ was the cheapest of seven firms they had come look at the job. The one dent in an otherwise clean record is a 2015 review: the customer still gave four stars, but noted MKJ broke a water pipe during the job that cost $350 to fix and tore apart some clothes dryer duct work in the process — worth asking how they handle accidental damage on a job before you sign anything. Beyond de-leading, both directory profiles list window and door replacement as a service, and a 2013 review describes a door and basement-window replacement bundled with a de-leading job, giving some support to that as a real, if secondary, offering. One thing worth flagging before you go looking for them online: HomeAdvisor and Angi both point to mkjleadpaintremoval.com as the live site, while a similarly named mkjleadpaintremovalma.com looks dead or parked — make sure you land on the right one. HomeAdvisor's own page also states both "over 20 years" and a separate "32 years of experience" for the same business without reconciling the two. For a straightforward de-leading job — especially one tied to a real estate closing or a tenant deadline — this is a shop with a long, mostly clean track record of getting it done and getting it passed. Confirm current pricing and ask about their process for handling incidental damage before booking.