Franca Services Inc.

I was very happy with their work overall - their communication was good, they managed the whole job with minimal damage to the surrounding plants (this was quite challenging, as I have a small and densely-planted yard in Cambridge), they cleaned out all the rot from the side of the house and did a very solid repair+flashing job, and the new ipe deck still looks fantastic a year later. The only reason this review is four stars not five is that I did have to correct them a few times, e.g. they incorrectly said the city code required a widening of the stairs (which would have meant a change order and the uprooting of some established plants), and they initially charged me for 40 hours for the extra work to remove and repair the rotted part of the house, when it was actually 20 hours or less (2 workers for 1 day). The good news was when I pointed out the issues, they addressed them and did not get defensive. So overall I would recommend them, but you will need to provide some oversight.

Really great quality - the teams they send take great care and really know their crafts. They replaced wood siding with Hardie board and replaced all the windows in the back of our house. Flexible with the timing of future phases.

The guys performing the physical work were hardworking, efficient and cleanly. There were some unexpected complications with the project which were not the company’s fault but they were flexible with their schedules and worked as quickly as possible around the unexpected delays. My yard was left clean and safe for my kids at the end of each work day. The end result is better than expected.

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Great experience overall. Frank Services performed a pretty big job on my house this year. The quoting process went very smoothly, even as they worked with me to finalize details. It definitely felt like a partnership. Everything turned out great. I am very pleased with the high quality work but also how they treated me as a client. Very professional, friendly, responsive, honest, and those things go a long way. Would definitely recommend.

OCTOBER 11. 2022 From my first meeting with Dave Franca in spring 2022 I felt that he understood what I wanted and could do it well. The work his crew did to replace the failing clapboards at the rear of house then prime and paint them was so impressive that I asked for an estimate to paint my entire 1895 Victorian home. Over 2 weeks beginning in June 2022, his crew scraped, caulked, primed and painted the whole house. They staged the ladders carefully to insure safety for themselves and protection for windows, especially impressive since the surrounding ground sloped down on one side. The crew arrived on time each day, cleaned up every bit of debris before leaving each day. Each man was friendly, worked purposefully, and paid attention to detail to get the job done right. The crew chief answered every question I asked. I knew the whole crew by name after a few days. When I asked for suggestions about adding an accent color, Mr Franca suggested a great color, suggested using it around each window molding. It had just the effect that I wanted, makes my house look proud. At the painting neared completion, Mr Franca sent another crew that did a first rate job installing aluminum gutters around the the rear of my house, fabricating the gutters on site and installing with expertise in one day. They gave my house a lot of love and it looks it. My house looks fabulous. I recommend Dave Franca and Franca Services without reservation. Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Franca Services performed siding, trim and window replacement to the front of our barn, then finished the project by painting the new work. It was done professionally and promptly, only delayed by supply chain issues, and original project manager not estimating siding requirements properly (he is no longer with Franca). Once construction started, the work progressed well, the workers were attentive to the needs of the boarders and the horses. The siding shortage did result in a brief, but understandable pause, and a solution was worked out. The project had some tricky details, and the crew handled all of them to our great satisfaction, the job looks great. The front of the barn is good for another 40 years!

From my first meeting with David Franca in spring 2022, I felt that he understood what I wanted and could do it well. The work his crew did to replace the failing clapboards at the rear of house then prime and paint them was so impressive that I asked for an estimate to paint my entire 1895 Victorian home. Over 2 weeks beginning in June 2022, his crew scraped, caulked, primed and painted the whole house. They staged the ladders carefully to insure safety for themselves and protection for windows, especially impressive since the surrounding ground sloped down on one side. The crew arrived on time each day, cleaned up every bit of debris before leaving each day. Each man was friendly, worked purposefully, and paid attention to detail to get the job done right. The crew chief answered every question I asked. I knew the whole crew by name after a few days. When I asked for suggestions about adding an accent color, Mr Franca suggested a great color, suggested using it around each window molding. It had just the effect that I wanted, makes my house look proud. At the painting neared completion, Mr Franca sent another crew that did a first rate job installing aluminum gutters around the the rear of my house, fabricating the gutters on site and installing with expertise in one day. They gave my house a lot of love and it looks it. My house looks fabulous. I recommend David Franca and Franca Services without reservation.

Franca Services made our vision a reality and transformed what was essentially an unusable backyard area to one of our favorite spaces in our home. Our deck project was challenging from the beginning: a tricky, sloped yard teeming with tree roots and shrubs, a large oak tree cutting straight through the permittable boundary, and narrow access points. And we also wanted a spiral staircase instead of traditional deck stairs given the space. With their experience and professionalism, Franca Services took on this challenging project and created such a wonderful space for us. We now have a beautiful deck that has truly improved our quality of life. Thank you, Franca Services!

Awesome work performed at our house. Definitely if I ever need to get anything done we will hire Franca Services. They work really well on what they do. Thank you guys again.

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We interviewed 8 painters and received estimates ranging from $12,000 to $22,000 to prep, prime and paint (2 coats) of stain on our home (including a front porch and two back decks.) David Franca arrived to quote the project. His conclusions on the best way to approach the house and what materials to use were in line with other painters. David was direct and honest from Day 1 regarding his expectations for timing and trouble spots on the house. He recommended a flat fee for painting and a reasonable hourly charge for small woodworking projects.
We selected David based on his approach to the project and his competitive bid.
We hit some nasty weather for a week and a half which delayed the start of the project. David Franca kept in touch with us on weather and kept communicating with us about start dates. In fact, he sent a team to start prep the house during a brief break in the weather to help move things along. His team arrived on the first good weather day and finished prepping the trim. I was very impressed with the quality of their prep. Most painters during bid said they would not sand/prep the trim back to wood given their age and condition (lots of paint build up/flaking over the years. Franca went above and beyond and spent extra time with the trim which looks almost new now - impressive given the house was built in the 20's.
On painting days, each morning the crew tested the wood for moisture and waited until the numbers were right before starting. They used the right combination of spray and hand painting on the house to keep quality high and cost reasonable. We saw no overspray at the end of the project - a very clean job.
The stairs and woodworking were all done quickly, efficiently and to a very high level of quality. Franca's on-site project manager was smart, fair and consistently found ways to save on expense and time for us. I was home during the entire project and can safely say that we did not waste money or time on unnecessary woodworking projects. The project manager really treated our home improvement like he would treat his own - fix what really matters. They also worked straight every day, taking a small lunch break on site and often finishing when the sun was over the horizon.
Given the home is split into two condos, Franca had to work with both owners with different expectations and opinions during the entire process. David was a complete professional and handled every interaction with a calm, steady hand. He communicated frequently and visited with both owners several times to ensure that expectations were being met and managed. He was patient with both owners, even when last minute changes came at him.
I was more than impressed with Franca. I give them my highest recommendation. When we first interviewed painters, I wanted to go with another provider. I read the 'F' given to Franca this past summer and was concerned about hiring them. My neighbor insisted we give Franca a second look given the competitive bid and the positive reviews they had gotten first hand from a friend. I am very glad that we got on board. David and his team were outstanding.

Terrible- See above.

I had contacted Franca Services for an estimate to replace the cedar shingle siding on two sides of the two-family condo I live in. I realized that they also did painting, so I had requested an estimate for exterior painting in addition. Alan Franca came promptly (within a few days of initial contact) to do an estimate and discuss aspects of the job. An estimate was provided within less than a week after that, and it corresponded very well to what was needed. The price was also reasonable, compared to other estimates obtained (this refers to siding), and the painting cost was quite competitive. The initiation of work took longer than expected, due to weather and vagaries of scheduling, but I do not hold Franca responsible for that.

The siding work took approximately 3-4 days. A crew of three workers diligently stripped off the old shingles, added a layer of Tyvek and then put on the new cedar shingles. The quality of the carpentry was excellent.

Alan's brother David, who is in charge of painting, became involved during the shingle replacement to discuss the exterior painting job. Several sets of sample spots were painted on the side of the house, and a decision was made. Initiation of the paint job after this was fairly quick, delayed a bit again by weather and scheduling, since Summer is a very busy season for exterior work on homes. A crew of four painters (one was foreman) was dispatched, and the job proceeded very professionally. I appreciated the attention to detail and care the crew took in the work. The building now looks beautiful. The property was cleaned after work was completed, and David Franca made sure that a punch list and final walk-through were made prior to requesting payment of the balance, which I gladly paid.

In addition, we had noticed that the back porch deck boards on the first floor were in very poor shape during the work that Franca was doing. I contacted Alan and provided him with measurements, and he quoted me a very reasonable price to replace the all of the decking on this porch. During a subsequent phone call with him, I was pushing on a few of the boards, and the wood crumbled in my hands, revealing rotted 2X6 support boards that would also need to be replaced. Alan first told me that he wouldn't be able to make it out to the job to take a look, but the next day, he showed up, with his lead carpenter. They looked at the condition of the porch and supports, and Alan immediately went to the lumber yard to purchase the wood needed while the carpenter and his assistant removed the rotted wood. This additional job was complete that day, and the cost was materials plus labor, extremely reasonable, and the work was excellent. I am sure we were lucky, that this doesn't happen every day, but I greatly appreciated that Alan went ahead and accommodated us because he had the opportunity. He also spoke to me about the general condition of the porch, which was very helpful for future reference.

Since this work has been done a number of friends have contacted Franca Services for painting and carpentry. Based on my very satisfactory and positive experience, I highly recommend the Franca brothers for the quality of work, professionalism and customer service.

They showed up every day and worked very hard. The quality of the finished product was outstanding. Everything they painted looked beautiful. However, they were not as good at coordinating with us about what they were doing when so that we could clear out rooms beforehand for them to work, nor at letting us know when each room would be finished. They did not do a good job of protecting our floors and furniture against paint and dust, nor did they do a good job of cleaning up afterward.

Excellent. They were there early in the morning the day they said they would be. They remained faithful to all terms in the contract. Very pleasant guys, who were very accomodating.