Fresh Start Contracting Company

We engaged Fresh Start to renovate a significant portion of our house, a complete gut of perhaps 25% of the area including the installation of a new bathroom where there was no existing plumbing, reinforcement of the structure, and new HVAC for the affected floor. The house is from the late 1800s and our design called for some unusual framing in the Mansard roof, so structural engineers also had to be consulted. Overall it is not an enormous job but I think it was complex for its size and we had very detailed designs for both the function and the finish of the space. We had a good experience with Fresh Start more or less from start to finish. We liked the detailed estimate they provided, and Ben was patient enough to go back and forth with us several times as we trimmed bits and pieces and questioned others in order to end up with a project we could afford. Transparency of billing was also great, with punctual weekly invoices and prompt responses any time I asked what some particular line item was for. Change orders were transparent and clearly explained, and we came in within the overall budget. We collectively did not get the schedule right, but the supply chain snarls were real and outside our collective control, so I think it was a reasonable estimate of the time it would take under historical conditions. We had a great time with our project manager, Tom, with whom we'd certainly want to work again if we get around to the second bathroom any time soon. He handled communications promptly, and it was clear that he took responsibility for everything happening on the project. He was also flexible about us handling some of the ancillary subs (our long-time roofer, for instance) or sourcing fixtures and finishes ourselves. I think he also did a good job setting the pace, since at times we needed either more time to make a decision or to be helped along. The quality of the work was quite good both by Fresh Start's guys and their subs. It felt like they all had nice rapport with one another and worked well together. The bathroom came out looking amazing, so kudos to the whole team. The only sub I would ding were the window guys. I'm not sure who they were but they definitely could have installed them straighter. Not a huge deal on the scale of things. Overall we would recommend Fresh Start for a project like this due to their organized back-office, willingness to work flexibly, quality of work, and having the patience required to communicate and hit our detailed design.

Fresh Start did a gut renovation of our house and a conversion from two-family to single-family. They were fantastic. We found them to be consistently organized, planful, and on top of all of the details. It was such a contrast to what others had led me to expect from a general contracting company. They stayed on top of the process, carefully monitoring our budget and proactively planning so as to keep us on or ahead of schedule. The quality of their work was excellent. Our project manager, site supervisor, and others we interacted with were also lovely human beings to work with.

We have used Fresh Start for several renovation projects, a couple of them quite large. We are a large extended family and Fresh Start worked with all of our quirks and idiosyncrasies with grace and goodwill. They take great care in doing the job right.

Bottom line: I will hire Fresh Start again next time I have a construction project. I’ve done a number of significant home renovation projects over the years, and Fresh Start was – by far – the most professional contractor that I’ve worked with. From beginning to end, the entire team at Fresh Start was collaborative, communicative, and proactive in delivering my project. The scope of the renovation was extensive and complex (gut renovation of a condo in a +100 year old building). In partnership with my architect, the FS team navigated around numerous challenges. I’m now a year out from the project completion and the workmanship has stood the test of time (the two very minor issues I had were rapidly resolved at no expense under the terms of their warranty). Fresh Start was not the lowest bid that I received for the project, but in the end I’m confident that working with a professional team saved me headaches and resulted in the level of quality that I expected for my home.

Our school was so blessed to cross paths with Nick & Gina Stamos and the Fresh Start Contracting Company! They expanded and built our school a brand new playground for our children to enjoys everyday! This was the first play structure that Nick and his company built. He was professional and made sure that all the regulations required by our state licensor was up to code and safe for the children. I highly recommend Fresh Start Contracting!

It's been 3 years since Fresh Start remodeled our kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, and rear porch and, to this day, I smile each time I step into one of these rooms. Our architect solicited several bids from contractors and Ben's presentation, while certainly not the lowest bid, was the most informative, realistic and sincere. Ben and his team worked smoothly with the architect, devised an alternative plan when a serious hidden structural issue threatened to derail the project, proposed money-saving (but no less high quality) alternatives to keep the project close to its initial budget assumptions, promptly resolved some lingering issues at the close of the project, and kept us informed at every step. Although the project took 8 months to complete, it was remarkably close to Ben's initial estimate and the little down time that occurred was caused by our indecision, and not by Fresh Start. The project manager and crew were great to work with and always checked to make sure we were happy with tasks before considering them complete. We have no hesitation recommending Fresh Start to others and will certainly hire them for future renovations.

Fresh Start did a $90K project for us and we had an excellent experience. As with all projects, there were sometimes issues, with a subcontractor or some miscommunication, for example. But with Fresh Start, the project managers (first Kevin Werme and then David Morais) really had the mindset of doing it right by us, no matter what it took, a mindset that's clearly fostered by the owner, Nick. They went above and beyond to make sure we were satisfied with the result. Being able to count on them to do it right made a huge difference in this normally quite stressful time of doing a project. This is a company you can trust and we highly recommend them.

Fresh Start did an admirable job renovating my kitchen and back stairwell this past winter. The project management team was very responsive to my needs and concerns whenever questions arose. Despite pandemic restrictions, the various sub contractors were scheduled effectively and were all courteous and accommodating. This is the second project I have undertaken with Fresh Start and I highly recommend them.

We have partnered with Fresh Start on 3 projects now and couldn’t be more happy with their work. They are good with communication, timely, and quality of work is great. Will continue to use them when we tackle more home improvements!

Fresh Start did a fabulous job for us converting a 2 family into a beautiful single-family home--all while we continued to occupy the house. It was a huge job since the house was in bad shape but Mark Tuttavilla and his crew managed the process on budget and on time, all during the pandemic. Communication is so key on a job like this, and Fresh Start's was excellent. Team members were professional and courteous at all times and thoughtful about consulting us on key matters. They were also really respectful of the fact that we were living there -- first downstairs, then upstairs -- with two kids. We are so happy with the results and glad we found Fresh Start.

We had a very positive experience with Fresh Start renovating our kitchen, bathroom and several other small projects in our Bedford house (all that throughout the difficult time period of COVID pandemic) – we recommend them wholeheartedly. We are very happy with all aspects of the project: everything looks great and functions as promised. Here are some things that impressed us the most: •Communication – Setting up initial and subsequent consultations with Nick were easy, all emails with questions were answered within 48 hours and if not, there was an explanation for the delay. The same happened with our project manager, Dan, who was similarly responsive throughout the project and after. •Transparency – we were always kept informed of any deviations from the original contract in both budget and work needed areas. All add-ons that we requested were priced and approved ahead. •Workmanship – The quality of work was very good and that included the in house people and subcontractors •Attitude and worker interactions – we liked the work ethics and the attitude: “ if you want something we will figure out how to do it”. All workers were really easy to deal with, respectful and pleasant. At the end of the day, the work areas were cleaned up and accessible On the wish list, it would have been nice if the invoicing allowed a better tracking and categorizing of the expenses. The budget reports were always available but it was hard to compare them to the original contract especially with new add-ons or deviations from original estimates. We would definitely go back to Fresh Start for any other projects in the future. Working with them alleviates many headaches associated with house renovations.

My wife and I were very anxious to do renovations on our 1937 home. I have never gone through a renovation before. So this was really our first time. From the beginning until the very end of the project, the team at Fresh Start has been awesome. From the owners, to the project manager, and their in house workers/carpenters everybody did a phenomenal job. Communication and transparency is key to everything and Fresh Start has been on point at every step of the project. We absolutely love the renovations done on the first floor and will definitely contract once more Fresh Start for future projects to our house. Thank you again to the team for making our home so beautiful and so secure for our little boys. Our project included renovations of family room, dining room, living room, sun room and entrance/foyer.