Tom Curren Companies

I was impressed with the company. Bryan gave us a competitive estimate very promptly. He was helpful and patient as we tried to sort through the insurance and condo needs (what was covered by insurance, what we wanted to add that was outside the scope of insurance coverage, what we had to coordinate with our neighbors in the condo). We liked that the same crew could handle all the work. They were prompt and neat, and the house looks much better. They set up a zip wall and used a HEPA vac since it is an older house and we have a toddler. Clean up was amazing-- much better than I feared from a contractor in a relatively small condo. Diego, the crew chief, was fabulous. He answered all our questions, showed up promptly, and even called to ask if they could work late one night to finish up. He was very respectful of our house and our schedule. I would recommend this company.

I first called this company several weeks ago and spoke to a person who said that they would get back to me to schedule an appointment. After getting no call back, I called them. This time I did get a call back. They told me that it would cost $90 just to get an estimate. So, we set an appointment for Monday at 4:00. I stayed at home during that time to wait for them. Instead, they call to tell me that there is a scheduling problem and they wanted to postpone to Tuesday. I decided to find another company.

On Monday, 6/22, I called Tom Curren Companies to see if they were interested in coming out to see what I thought were a lot of rotten window sills. The receptionist, Casey, said she'd have Scott, the manager, call me back. Scott emailed me that a carpenter was in a nearby town and could stop by that afternoon. Wow! Responsive! A few minutes later, I got a call from Alex in the carpentry division, who said he could be there an hour later. When Alex arrived, he was fully briefed on what I had told Casey about the rotted window sills. He went around with me to inspect the sills and informed me that they really just needed to be scraped and painted, but he discovered some rot on the surrounding frame on two windows. So, I was happy that what I thought was going to be $2K - $3K worth of work would actually be around $450. Alex said labor was $90/hour and it would take 4 hours and $60 for materials, and that he'd be back two days later to do the work. He arranged to be at my house at 10:00 a.m., but got there early, at 9:30. He was finished by 11:30, so I thought I had saved $180 in labor costs. But when Alex showed me the bill, it was for $450 -- 4 hours of work and $90 for the PVC board. I questioned why it was 4 hours of labor when he was there for only 2. He said Casey, the receptionist, should have told me that his trip to do the estimate was $90, and that the time he spent buying the materials was $90. I told him that no one had informed me that his Monday estimate was going to cost me any money and I asked to see the receipt for the board because it was $30 more than he quoted me, but he said he didn't have a receipt. I begrudging wrote out the check for the full $450 and told him I'd call Scott. Scott answered right away and I was braced for a confrontation, but I was more than pleased that Scott admitted they had not told me about the $90 estimate fee. Neither Casey or Scott informed me about the fee before arranging for Alex to come out and I said I would not have had anyone come from the company if I knew about the fee -- there are way too many other companies that do free estimates. I then questioned the $90 charge for the time Alex spent buying the board because I knew that he was at another job in Wellesley before mine, so I asked Scott if he was charging the Wellesley customer and me $90 for the trip Alex made for materials -- $180 for Alex to go to Home Depot ??! I mean, I'm sure he bought materials for both jobs at once. Finally, I asked about the cost of the board being higher than expected. Scott said he'd call me back with a solution in a little bit. I said at a minimum, I wanted $90 refunded for the estimate. Scott called back and asked if a $140 refund was acceptable and I said yes, it was very reasonable. In summary, Alex was professional and personable, and did good work. He cleaned up all the pieces of rotted wood he tore out, which were small and numerous, so I know he spent a lot of time doing it. The caulking is clean and straight, and the boards are in securely. He was put in an awkward position of having to follow company policies that I was not fully informed about, but management did right by me in the end. However, knowing that it would cost me $90 just to bring them out to look at something in the future would prevent me from using them again. Note: I asked Alex what the name Tom Curren Companies meant and he said there are a few divisions with specialized workers, like Carpentry, Painting and Roofing, but they're all under the Tom Curren name.

This is the first time that we called Tom Curren Companies to perform service on our 130-year old house. My initial contact was by e-mail, and it took a couple of weeks to respond, but once I called they were able to schedule the work promptly. The old staircases to the basement of our house were steep, old and unsafe. The carpenters came and within one 8-hour day built and replaced the old, rickety stairs with new, safe and solid stairs using pressure-treated wood. They included a safe railing on the stairs from the inside of the house to the basement. Their craftsmanship and efficiency were very fine, they cleaned up very nicely and did not leave any debris, and took the old wood away for recycling. The overall price for materials and labor was a little more than we expected, and perhaps may be more than for other carpenters, but the results were well worthwhile. We greatly appreciate the time, professionalism and care they took to build safe and esthetically pleasing stairs.

From our first contact with Tom Curren Co. to completion of the job, the appraiser and the crew were professional, knowledgeable, prompt, courteous, neat, and very careful with our walls and our furniture. The job was completed all in one block of time, and right on schedule. We had to schedule the job around a busy weekend, so we created a plan of attack with the crew for the portions of the house that were being painted. They made sound recommendations, which we readily agreed to. The crew always arrived on time and stayed until the planned tasks were done for the day. Tom Curren Co. is a bit expensive, but the quality of work and the timeliness are excellent. We definitely recommend them.

We were very pleased. Barry Eldershaw, who came by to do the initial estimate was great. Explain stuff very well. Brian Rayne the electrician also great and helpful, particularly with the placement of the recessed lights. Paint crew arrived right on time. They repaired the damaged ceiling and painted both ceiling and walls of a very large open room in one day. The whole project looks great. Crew was friendly and professional. Careful about protecting furniture and cabinets. Clean up was well done. Would have no problem recommending Tom Curren or using them again. The B grade in responsiveness was only because of the wait time between initial estimate by Barry and work getting started. I realize from talking with others that contractors, especially good ones, were very busy because of the severity of last winter in New England and the damage incurred by lots of home owners. Given how pleased we are with the results, the wait was worth it.

They were very courteous and prompt . They told us ice dams were the problem and our door was fine. They were great to deal with and honest as well. We would use them for a project anytime.

Tom Curren Companies did a great job on my recent construction project. We had multiple ice dam related roof leaks that resulted in significant damage. The crew from Tom Current was professional, very conscientious, clean, hardworking, flexible and prompt. They work crew leader even adjusted his work plan so that my family and I were able to stay in my house while the work was completed. The workmanship is excellent ?we are very pleased with the result.

Last fall our roof leaked and caused significant water damage in our bedroom. We had to delay the repair of our roof and the bedroom until after this harsh winter. Barrey from Tom Curren came to our home during a snow storm to look at the bedroom walls. He was warm and friendly. He explained the pricing and the project timeline. After we repaired our roof I contacted Tom Curren Co. to begin the project. They were extremely responsive and helpful. Initally they told me it would be late May before the project could be started; however, due to an opening in their schedule they were able to fit me in this week. I was so pleased with the work, as it was pretty extensive. Our ceiling had yellow stains, cracking paint and cracks in the plaster. Additionally, the water leaked under the paint and bubbled two of the four walls. The first day the painter primed, sanded and polished the entire room; day two he painted. The painter was timely, arriving at 7:30AM, before work, and he covered all the furniture. He removed his shoes in our home and left the space so clean. Before he left he vacuumed and entire room and dusted the furniture. I gave Tom Curren a B for price because they were slightly higher than the others I reviewed. That being said, you get what you pay for. I was so pleased with the work, as it wasn't an easy task. The left the place looking better than ever and I would recommend their services to my friends and family.

This was my second time using Tom Curren companies the first being to stain my deck last summer. Each time I am more & more impressed with not only their work but their entire operation. I called them immediately when I first noticed the damage and Bryan was prompt and came right out to assess the damage; he even came back out when the damage got worse. He was upfront and communicative throughout the entire process. The office team was prompt in scheduling and the workers could not have done a better job! They were efficient yet extremely thorough; they even repainted some minor paint chips that were not part of the water damage. It looks like the bathroom is brand new. As I stated earlier this was 2nd time using Tom Curren Companies and I already know of 3rd project I will use them for.

Every thing has always gone well. They are fabulous people!

Tom Curren Company and their staff are great to work with. They responded promptly to my phone call and sent Barry out for the initial meeting and estimate. He is very knowledgeable and professional. He looked at 3 jobs we needed done, we've only completed the doors thus far. (our choice) Barry came back to go over the final door selections with me in person, I was very particular about the finishes and details. He went over all the choices and decisions with me, I felt really confident about the project. There was a little delay between the first estimate meeting and the appointment for someone to measure our existing doors, a few weeks. I think they were very busy, and this was a smallish job for them. But we weren't in any rush. Herbert came out to install the doors, he is fabulous. He and his assistant were fast and professional. They did a great job, really paid attention to the details of the installation and cleaned up afterwards. I will certainly call Tom Curren Co. back for any work we need done in this house. Thanks Barry & Herbert.

It went extremely well. We were very concerned about our new kitchen getting any splashes spots on the new cabinetry/granite tops/floor and Barry was quick to reassure us that they would take extreme care. And that they did. Everything was very well covered. On top of that the scheduling went without a hitch - they started and finished when they said they would. We would definitely use Tom Curren again.

This is the second time we used Tom Curren Companies. Received quote quickly and work was scheduled right away. Workman was prompt and professional, he did a great job and he left no mess or plaster dust in the house.

Great experience. Handyman showed up on time and was friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. He told me up front how long he thought the job would take, and he was pretty much spot on. Also reviewed his rates prior to starting the work, which I appreciated. We were highly satisfied with the work and would definitely call again.

Their Handy Man, Joe, did a great job with the many projects that I had at home. He worked quickly and efficiently. He was very professional and incredibly nice. The work was flawless and he had great professional feedback with all of my requested projects.

Workmanship was good. Negatives were in areas I expected in a first class job, which were brought to the attention of the workers: failure to clean up the roof under under the old decking after it was removed, demo wood thrown down on newly seeded lawn, nails removed from wood deck left on roof below, etc.

I think they are extremely thorough, the package that they put together was extremely professional, they seemed to have professionals in every single venue that will hold your hand during the entire process, and they had a very impressive portfolio. I am absolutely confident that if I had to hire them to do my balcony, they would do an awesome job that I would be happy with. I however think I will go for a different company, just because they are right in line with everybody else, but I will go for a smaller outfit. I will end up saving $10,000 in the end, although I will getting all the products, and they won't be babying me. The quality of their quote was awesome, it was a really nice presented package.

The positive: We are pleased at how quickly we were able to get the work done. An estimator came to the house on 11/3/14 and thought the work might be done just after Thanksgiving. We received a confirmation email within a day or two and a follow-up phone call to let us know the work probably could be scheduled the week of November 17 but they'd get back to us that week. Since we were trying to schedule other appointments for that week, we called the company on the 17th but did not get a return phone call. We called again on the 18th but instead of the company calling us back, the contractor who would be doing the work called. He came out on the 20th, looked at the tasks to be done, went to the 'box' store to pick up supplies and spent about 4-1/2 hours completing the work. He did a great job. He was personable and professional. The original cost was $1,350 but we got $100 off the job because of an Angie's List coupon. The negative: (1) We told the estimator that we would paint the garage wall after the hole was repaired When the contractor arrived, he said he'd install the new sheet-rock and then our painter could apply the joint compound and paint. That surprised us because when we said we'd do the painting, we assumed the contractor would do everything else, i.e., sheet-rock, tape, joint compound. The Work Order does say "repair hole in wall in garage + ? (can't read the word) to leave paint ready." Perhaps the word is "plaster" but we can't make it out. The contractor said 'no problem' and did put joint compound on the area. (2) When the contractor cut out the old threshold and put in the new, we told him we planned to stain it and apply marine varnish. He said we needed to make sure we used clear, stainable caulking where the new threshold met the old wood. Again, probably our error, but we thought the caulking would have been part of the job. Luckily, the contractor had some stainable caulking left over from a previous job. (3) We talked with the estimator about the window-well sills. We have 4. We thought they were rotting. Looking down from the lawn area, he said they didn't appear rotted and just needed to be sanded and painted; however, when clearing leaves out the window well, we retrieved a broken section of the sill (or is it the bullnose?) and found it to be almost completely hollow. The estimator probably should have gotten into the window well and taken a closer look. Overall, we are quite satisfied with the quick response and with the work that was done. Although they are expensive, we would consider using them again.

I'm gut renovating a 13 foot by 11 foot kitchen in my condo which included the removal of two walls. The work for Tom Curren included repair (actually replacement) of some of existing drywall on the walls where I had removed the old tile backsplash, addition of drywall to the kitchen ceiling with cutouts for recessed lights, plastering of walls and ceiling, and painting of the walls and ceiling of the kitchen and entryway, painting of my front entry door, and painting of my closet and its door and one additional small hallway wall. The folks at Curren are very responsive and organized, and extremely good about following up with my phone calls & emails, questions, and progress on the job. I was on a very tight timeline, trying to schedule the drywall & plastering work 10 days before leaving for a long-planned 3 week Asia vacation, and under pressure to order my kitchen cabinets before leaving so that they could be fabricated while I was gone and delivered as soon as I returned from vacation. From my initial call, the folks at Curren worked with me to get to a completed signed contract within 2 days and were able to squeeze in the drywall and plastering project a week later, allowing me to maintain my project schedule for ordering my kitchen cabinets and removing a *ton* of stress for my vacation, knowing my cabinets were being fabricated while I lay on the Asian beaches and the general satisfaction of seeing covered-up walls and ceilings in my kitchen before I left. The drywall workers were very friendly and polite, and worked very efficiently as a team to remove and install new drywall on the walls and ceilings. They took special care to ensure the plaster was very smooth and it looks great. Interestingly, my plants especially appreciated the extra moisture in the air from the plaster drying while I was gone for 3 weeks and they were still lush green when I got back.. Painting was completed in just over a day, with a majority of that time spent prepping the doors, walls and ceiling (plastic wrapping and taping, cleaning, sanding). They installed a plastic curtain to shield the rest of my condo from the dust, and kept the work site amazingly clean and the paint job looks great. There wasn't a hint of paint or dust on any of my newly installed cabinets appliances or the tile, and the painters took all trash/waste with them. The painters were especially eager to please, and you can tell they take great pride in the quality of their work. My kitchen looks fantastic now, and I couldn't be happier with Tom Curren.

Gilmar and Gustavo did a very thorough and very careful job. Exterior cleaning including cleaning of all the window sills. Very thorough, excellent, conscientious and high quality job. Good at explaining the work they were doing. Cleaned up after every day of work.

They helped us finalize our colors, and actually changed my wife's mind about the right shade of blue to use. The work required several visits because of the overlay of different colors in each room (we decided to accentuate trim with multiple colors). The thing that pleased me most about the job was the attention they paid to drop sheets and taking care of our furniture and house and cleaning up after the work. The lead painter was very experienced and all team were very professional and courteous to me and my wife. You never expect painting to be fun but this actually was fun. I will use them again.

They started the work a day earlier than planned AND they cleaned up every day before they left. As the work progressed and additional problem areas were discovered (as typical with any job of this sort), the supervisor discussed each item either with myself or my wife if I was not home to be sure that we wanted that item fixed. When the job was completed the additional charges for the extra work was more than reasonable. All work, painting and carpentry, was neat and professional. I did not find a single drop of spilled paint and they left me labeled cans of every paint used.

They painted it the wrong color at first but then came back and fixed it.

I had a terrible experience with Tom Curren Companies. Three major areas in which they failed: 1. Marketing Misrepresentations. Did not perform work as stipulated in our contract, i.e., said they would hand wash the house and brush on all paint. They did neither of these. They pressure washed and spray painted. 2. Poor Project Management. Nobody from the company in charge of the painting crew. No project supervision or inspection upon job completion. There was no one to contact in case of problems. 3. Unprofessional Crew. Painters wore shirts from other painting companies. Paint drips and foot prints were left on my decking. I will not use this company again and recommend that no one else do so either. My letters and emails to the company have gone unanswered. There's no response at all.