The Aulson Company, Inc.

Aulson has been working in Methuen since 1969 — 57 years by BBB's count, still with Alan P. Aulson as president and about 15 employees, plus a Haverhill branch office. It is an unusual company to find in a homeowner directory, because the residential side is only half the business. The same crews handle lead paint and asbestos abatement, mold and PCB work, interior and hydro demolition, bridge painting, industrial coatings and flooring. The company also says it is a DCAMM-certified contractor for historic building restoration, which is the credential Massachusetts public agencies look for on preservation work. For a homeowner, the practical read is that the residential roofing, siding, window and carpentry work sits inside an outfit built around hazardous-material and heavy restoration jobs. The public customer record is thin for a company this old: Google averages 4.2 across 22 ratings, and only one of those carries any written account. Its BBB file is an A+ with no complaints published, though it is not BBB-accredited. It also shows up as a Methuen Chamber of Commerce member. The thing to settle before hiring is licensing. Its Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration, number 168953, is expired according to the state registry. That registration is what gives a homeowner access to the state's Guaranty Fund on a residential job, and the trades here — roofing, siding, windows, carpentry — are not among the specialties Massachusetts exempts. Ask directly whether the registration has been renewed, and get the current certificate along with proof of insurance before signing. A reasonable call for the harder jobs — deleading, abatement, historic restoration, anything where the paperwork and containment matter more than the finish carpentry. Confirm the registration status first, and ask for recent addresses of comparable residential work, since the online review trail is too short to judge from.