Presto Painting

Presto Painting is a family-owned, owner-operated painting contractor that says it has served Marblehead and the North Shore since 1988 — Costa Makris personally oversees every project, according to the company. The handful of reviews on record paint a consistent picture of hands-on craftsmanship. In a review from earlier this year, a homeowner described Costa and his crew as "outstanding painters" who cleaned the house daily, down to spotless bathrooms, and even worked around a family medical emergency without missing a beat. In a 2023 review, another homeowner recounted the crew sanding exterior surfaces down to bare wood before painting, calling it the most attentive prep work they had seen from any painter — attention detailed enough that neighbors commented on it. A 2022 review adds a longer arc: the same customer had used Presto on a different home 20 years earlier and came back for a second house, a 256-year-old property in a historic district, with the same result — a crew supervisor whose recommendations the homeowner trusted and a finished job that drew compliments from passersby. The company's Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration is active, and it carries EPA RRP lead-safe renovation certification along with memberships in the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association, the Building Trades Association, and the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. Multiple Better Business Bureau listings give it an A+ grade, though they don't agree with each other — some describe it as BBB accredited, others as not, and they cite anywhere from 28 to 38 years in business; one of those BBB pages lists a different address and a different Makris as principal, which may be a related family painting business rather than this one. Presto is new to Angi and HomeAdvisor with no reviews yet there, and per its own Angi FAQ it doesn't offer free estimates, warranties, or emergency service — worth confirming directly what's included before signing a contract.