Due diligence
How to vet any painter, including us
Painting is a trade where anyone can print a business card. These five checks take about ten minutes and they will separate the contractors worth your time from the ones worth avoiding — whoever you end up hiring.
Free estimate
Tell us what the house needs
Written, itemized, fixed price — usually within two business days of the visit.
What happens next
- 01A real estimate, in writing
- 02Protection and prep
- 03Paint, two full coats
- 04Walkthrough before we invoice
Prefer the phone? Call (508) 466-5846
References
What our customers say.
They came in and completely changed my musroom and my deck in the best way possible. Exceptionally professional and talented at the work they do
Google review · October 2026 · Mudroom and deck
His work was done efficiently and very professionally. The finished product looks great and we are quite pleased. We would highly recommend Edio to anyone in need of a painter. Thanks Edio for a job well done!
Google review · October 2026 · Painting
Ask us for two references in your own town. We will give you them.
The five checks
Ask every contractor bidding your job.
We are happy to answer all five in writing, and we would rather you asked. A contractor who invites these questions is usually the one you want.
Ask for the entity number and look it up
Search our name, EA Paint & Light Carpentry, Inc., on the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's corporate database — we have been on file since February 2022. It takes ninety seconds and it tells you whether the company is real, how long it has existed, and who actually runs it.
Ask for the certificate of insurance before the estimate, not after
General liability and workers’ compensation, sent directly from the insurance agent where possible. If a contractor hesitates, gets vague, or says they will bring it on the first day, that is your answer. Someone uninsured on a 30-foot ladder over your driveway is your problem, not theirs.
Ask for two references in your own town
Not a testimonial page and not a review screenshot — two actual neighbors you can call, on jobs from the last two years. A contractor who works where they say they work can always produce these.
Read the estimate, not the number
How many coats? Is prep itemized or is it one word? Is rot repair included, excluded, or silently left out? Is the price fixed or is it "plus materials"? A low bid almost always means one of those is missing, and you will meet it again as a change order in week three.
Ask who is actually doing the work
The owner, an employee crew, or a subcontractor the company has never met. Ask whether the person who priced the job will be on site. Ask whether the crew changes halfway through. You are letting these people into your house.
Two more below. We will answer all five in writing.
We answer all five in writing. Ask us the same things you would ask anyone else.
Reviews
Worked with us? Say so on Google.
A few sentences about how the job actually went — the prep, the schedule, how we handled anything that went sideways — is worth more to the next homeowner reading this than anything we could write about ourselves.
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Get a free, written estimate
Edio Aguiar comes out, looks at the actual surfaces, and puts a fixed itemized price in writing. No obligation, no sales pitch, no phone quote guessed from a photo.
Questions
Straight answers before you call.
How much does it cost to paint a house in Northborough, MA?
It depends on the size of the house, the condition of the existing surfaces and how much wood repair is needed — those three things move the number far more than the paint does. A typical Central Mass interior room, an exterior clapboard colonial and a kitchen refinish are three very different jobs. We give a free on-site estimate with an itemized, fixed written price so you can compare apples to apples.
Are you licensed and insured?
EA Paint & Light Carpentry, Inc. is a Massachusetts corporation, registered February 2022, and carries liability and workers' compensation insurance. We send the certificate of insurance before the job starts, and you are welcome to look the company up on the state register yourself. Massachusetts does not license painting as a trade; where a job needs a registered Home Improvement Contractor or a licensed Construction Supervisor, we will tell you that up front.
Do you repair rotted wood, or only paint?
We do both, and that is the point of the name. Rotted sills, fascia, soffits, corner boards, clapboard, porch decking and interior trim are replaced by the same crew, priced on the same estimate. You do not need to line up a separate carpenter.
Question not here? Ask it on the phone.
How far do you travel from Northborough?
We work a roughly 25-minute radius: Northborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Marlborough, Southborough, Hudson and the rest of Central Mass and MetroWest. If you are just outside it, call anyway — we schedule by route, not by a map line.
Do you give free estimates?
Yes, free and with no obligation. We come to the house, look at the actual surfaces, and send a written itemized estimate. Most estimates go out within two business days of the visit.
What time of year should I book exterior painting?
The Massachusetts exterior season runs roughly late April to early November, and the best slots in Northborough are spoken for by March. Booking an estimate in winter costs you nothing and gets you a real date instead of a waiting list.
Question not here? Ask it on the phone.
Do you paint kitchen cabinets?
Yes. Doors and drawer fronts come off and are sprayed flat for a smooth finish, boxes are sprayed in place behind containment, and everything is degreased and bond-primed first so the finish actually stays on.
Who will actually be in my house?
Edio Aguiar and the EA Paint crew — the same faces from the first day to the walkthrough. No rotating subcontractors, and no crew that shows up without the owner ever seeing the job.
Still have a question? Ask it on the phone — you will get a straight answer.