More carpenters
See all ›
Dseventy3 Construction LLC
Came back to fix deck stairs years later5.0
Dao Construction, Inc.
Decks and porches5.0
Garber's Home Improvement
Custom sheds5.0
Verified record
Everything homeowners have written about Scott Harris Custom Carpentry & General Contractor of Needham, MA dates from 2011 to 2015, and it splits hard: mahogany decks and porch rebuilds that reviewers praised, next to accounts of jobs left unfinished and deposits not returned. On Angi the company holds 4.2 from 31 ratings, with 68% five stars and 10% one star. The good jobs were mostly decks and structural carpentry. In a 2013 review a homeowner described a rotted section of deck demolished and a new mahogany deck built to a somewhat unusual plan; another that year, a Realtor, had porches raised on a three-family to satisfy the insurer and put Scott at the top of the contractors they had used for finishing on time and price. A 2013 reviewer detailed a large rotten deck torn out, timbers carried uphill to the dumpster and the old concrete footings removed. A 2012 customer had a six-year-old deck repaired with the existing railing dismantled and rehung rather than replaced, and a 2012 reviewer credited Scott's analysis of the structural rot in a barn. Several from that stretch mention punctuality, daily cleanup and clear explanations of why things were built a certain way. The complaints are detailed and serious. A 2014 reviewer stopped a job after a home inspector called the work defective and said it would have to be removed, citing Gorilla Glue used in place of a proper bonding agent. Another 2014 customer wrote that the job was never completed, that they were misled about a permit being pulled, and that the contractor left and refused a refund. A 2012 reviewer said that in 2009 they paid a deposit on a roof replacement and, after repeated date changes, the contractor stopped answering. In 2011 a porch customer was still waiting on a final inspection nine months after the work began, with the porch roof dipping and a promised step repair undone, and a 2012 reviewer described a no-show on the first day, the crew leaving for another job, and a demand for full payment on half the work. The Angi listing itself notes a 93A demand letter among those accounts. The HomeAdvisor page carries the identical 4.2 from 31 ratings and the same reviews, so it is not a second set of customers. If you are considering this contractor, the written history is a decade old on both sides, so treat it as history: ask for recent references, keep deposits small, and confirm who pulls the permit and when the final inspection is scheduled before any money changes hands.
home repair work
Another contractor noticed problems with the work, which prompted me to call an inspector. I stopped the job when the home inspector advised the work being done was defective and would need to be removed. For example, Gorilla Glue was used instead of a proper bonding agent. This oozed out and dammed up the gutters. Through-holes in the downspouts were too small and off center so they couldn't be placed properly, and the gutters were non-functional. It cost over $15,000 to have the work redone, plus the initial $6,000 I paid to Scott Harris for the work.
This is a contractor horror story on all levels. The job was never completed by the contractor. The contractor engaged in deceptive practices and deceived me about securing a permit. Not only did he abandon the job, he refused to refund the money. Thinking perhaps I could get another contractor to pick up on the work he did I discovered that not only did he not secure a permit he failed to build the project to code. The work was done so poorly and out of compliance that more than three contractors refused to deal with it. Through a professional aquaintance I found some in kind enough and professional enough to take it on. What we learned, the work was wildly out of code. Due to the lack of proper permitting the permitting cost me more to do that normal and required additional documentation. The code issues involved the framing, the stairs, the roof, the connection to the house. I won't go on but I strongly recommend if you think about using this contractor to check references including myself. I have great documentation on how poorly and unprofessionally this was done. I will be pursuing this contractor legally to reclaim all of my costs and additional damages created by his work which included interior flooding, squirrel infestation, and frozen pipes. The contractor may indicate that I fired him. I did when I learned he had deceived me. I also did offer under certain conditions to bring him back on the job if he secured permits, he chose not to do that.
Scott and his crew demolished a rotted portion of our old deck and built a beautiful new mahogany deck. Our deck plan was somewhat unique but Scott's carpenters handled it with aplomb and professionalism.
The work was messy.
Specializes in
Also offers
Languages
2 changes recorded — last scanned Aug 3, 2026.
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from Scott Harris Custom Carpentry & General Contractor. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
A typical single-level deck is 12×16 — about 200 sq ft.
Estimated range
$7,750 – $14,500
Typical carpentry project around $11,100
Came back to fix deck stairs years later5.0
Decks and porches5.0
Custom sheds5.0