Soma Construction

Nearly every written account of Soma Construction is really about one man. Manoel Da Silva — "Manny" in the reviews, and often named alongside his earlier company, Primus Company LLC — runs through 29 customer accounts stretching back to 2012, and the North Reading company he owns holds an active Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration in its own name. What customers describe is broad general contracting done by a small crew: carpentry and rot repair, tile, whole bathrooms, doors and windows. In a 2014 review a homeowner described a 500-square-foot tiled floor delivered on budget after a flood; another that year credited Da Silva with correcting floor joists and beams and coordinating a plumber for the sewer and vent pipes. In a 2016 account, the carpenter pulling out rotted wood found ants and told the customer to have the area treated rather than sealing new PVC over it. The same beats repeat across those years — showed up on time, worked quietly, cleaned up. The catch is when all of that happened. Angi shows 4.7 across 87 ratings and HomeAdvisor 4.9 across 16, but HomeAdvisor's written accounts all date from 2012 to 2014 and Angi's thin out after 2020. The newest one is not good: in June 2025 a customer wrote that the work was left half-done, that nobody came back to inspect it, and that immediate payment in full was demanded anyway. A February 2025 repeat customer wrote the opposite — consistent communication, a second hire, no hesitation about a third. Two current accounts pointing in opposite directions is not a trend either way, and it is the main reason to hold this rating loosely. Two things are worth pinning down before you call. The profiles disagree about how long the company has been at it: HomeAdvisor says 13 years, Angi's structured highlight says 17, and Angi's marketing line says 25-plus. The trade mix depends on where you look, too — HomeAdvisor lists only door and window installation, Angi lists carpentry, painting and general repairs, renovations and tile, and the company's own site advertises general construction alongside bath and kitchen work. A reasonable call for a homeowner who wants one small outfit to run a multi-trade job — a bathroom, rot and carpentry repairs, tile — with the owner on site; Spanish is spoken. Get the scope, the payment schedule and a final walkthrough in writing first, because that is exactly where the one recent complaint landed.