Pine Cone Construction Inc.

Pine Cone Construction builds custom houses around Newton, and it has the project count to show for it: 105 jobs on its BuildZoom profile and six shown on Houzz. Frank Utano founded the company in 1997 after building custom homes along Massachusetts' East Coast, it says, and it works Newton, North Andover and Martha's Vineyard. Beyond new construction, the company says it handles additions, renovations and outdoor living spaces; its Houzz page also names house framing, foundation construction, garage building, demolition and site preparation. The Better Business Bureau grades the Newton company A+. One thing to raise directly: Violation Tracker lists a $7,950 penalty against Pine Cone Construction, Inc. in 2002. That is 24 years back, but ask what it was for. For a ground-up house or a large addition in Newton or on the Vineyard, this is the kind of builder to talk to. BuildZoom lists a home improvement contractor license for the company; look the registration up on the Massachusetts register yourself before you sign, and ask to walk two or three recent builds.