Star Contracting Company, Inc.

Star Contracting Company, Inc. A General Contracting firm serving the Greater Boston area for over 40 years. We collaborate with Ar

We may have made this garage a little too nice to park the tractor inside of, and the third bay has become more valuable...
09/23/2026

We may have made this garage a little too nice to park the tractor inside of, and the third bay has become more valuable as a conditioned workshop space for the owner rather than equipment storage.

So we’re back adding a covered parking & storage area for John Deere, and a canopy overhang to provide the owner some cover for sitting outside the shop and enjoying the view of adjacent conservation land, no matter the weather.

Thanks to Noah Fitch at ZeroEnergy Design it will look like an original component of the architecture rather than an afterthought. The materials will all match the house and garage, with finished beam and privacy slat details playing off the design of the home’s main entry.

There’s not much better compliment as a builder than to be invited back to continue helping the client realize their vision for the property. We’re always happy to be back here!

Twelve units13,000 Gross Square FeetPassive HouseAffordable Homeownership18 Months of ConstructionAnother 18 Months of P...
09/11/2026

Twelve units
13,000 Gross Square Feet
Passive House
Affordable Homeownership
18 Months of Construction
Another 18 Months of Predevelopment

Endless hurdles cleared and lessons learned along the way

Huge effort from everyone involved

This game is a marathon not a sprint

06/24/2026

One of the biggest mistakes we see is treating solar as an afterthought.

Even if you plan to wait a year before installing panels—so you can size the system based on real energy consumption—bring a solar contractor into the project during design and electrical rough-in. Pre-wiring now is easy. Retrofitting later usually isn’t.

And the payback can be real. Each one of these arrays is projected to yield a savings of over $300k over its service life.

Solar: 
Architect: 
Developer:

Boston

Solar installation underway! This is an exciting milestone for the project. We have all our utilities connected and thes...
06/10/2026

Solar installation underway!

This is an exciting milestone for the project. We have all our utilities connected and these buildings will be generating solar credits before the first owners move in. The future HOA will own these panels and the credits they generate, which will in turn be distributed to the unit owners to offset their electric bills.

Roof orientation & offset ridge were designed to maximize prime real estate for the PV array, and we fit as many panels as we could.

All-electric + Passive House + (owned) Solar = lowest possible operating costs.





01/15/2026

At last night’s meetup with , the debate over fully sealed “barrier” window taping vs. leaving the bottom of the RO open for water drainage was alive and well!

I think it boils down to two questions:
1. Do we trust the v***r open tape’s ability to allow sufficient drying potential to manage some amount of water intrusion, if it ever happens?
2. Do we trust the installer doing the taping?

On most of our projects over the past 5 years, we have gone with the full perimeter tape and choose to trust the material and our installation capabilities. While I haven’t tested every project, I have done the ASTM-E1105 water pe*******on test on two projects with passing results.

Video 1 shows the test underway from the interior, where the window is put under depressurization at 10psf for (4) 5 minute cycles at pressure with 1 minute rest in between cycles while a big spray rig soaks the exterior of the window and wall around it. This essentially mimics a hurricane force storm focused on the window without any exterior trim or siding installed. We experienced zero water intrusion.

Video 2 shows the test running on the outside of another window where we did get water intrusion during the test. Someone forgot to tape over four screw holes (they are pretty obvious) where 2x4’s had been installed over the openings to prevent window damage in transport. We taped those and retested on a different day with zero water intrusion.

Video 3 is just for fun as I was riding up the lift to inspect an upper-story window.

It’s very true - if you don’t test you don’t know. But having seen this installation process perform well, I don’t have reservations about continuing to make it our default.

Panelization & Window install:

Architecture:

Testing:

01/13/2026

With rough Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing complete on the first building we’re moving into insulation and drywall. But before we close up the walls, we take the time to do one more test to make sure we didn’t miss any opportunities for air sealing, and that we’re still on track to hit our whole-building airtightness for certification. Our allowable CFM is 544 so we’re comfortably below the threshold.

Early planning stages for a custom home on a beautiful site in the Berkshires. As is the case with many parcels in the a...
01/10/2026

Early planning stages for a custom home on a beautiful site in the Berkshires.

As is the case with many parcels in the area, we have overlapping land use restrictions managed by different agencies. We’ve taken the time to understand the existing constraints and what options we have to amend certain boundaries to most effectively utilize the site for a new residence.

These restrictions can be cumbersome to navigate, but the fact that the land and ecosystem are so well protected here are what makes the property so special. We have the right team in place and can’t wait to see the design process unfold.

01/03/2026

Double gasket on the interior side, zip tape on the outside - makes for an airtight and watertight panel connection that is easy to execute!

12/27/2025

5 must have tools we use to set Passive House panels faster, safer, and tighter. Each one saves time and one looks ridiculous, but works.

See the full YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3_Q3lTJWbw

General Contractor: Star Contracting Company, Inc.
Panelized Building Shells: Bensonwood
Architecture: Hue architecture
Crane: Astro Crane Service
Panel Setting: Bensonwood and Juarez Construction Inc
⁠
⁠
⁠
Made with
City of Boston, Mayor's Office of Housing
City of Boston

12/18/2025

How do you meet (or beat) stricter codes and finish faster?

At this 3-building Passive House multifamily project Star Contracting Co. used high-performance panels from Bensonwood to deliver performance, reduce risk, and get lender buy-in before breaking ground.

It’s an approach that brings a new level of quality to the homes we build in our communities.

See the full YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3_Q3lTJWbw

General Contractor: Star Contracting Company, Inc.
Panelized Building Shells: Bensonwood
Architecture: Hue architecture
Crane: Astro Crane Service
Panel Setting: Bensonwood and Juarez Construction Inc
⁠
⁠
⁠
Made with
City of Boston, Mayor's Office of Housing
City of Boston

Address

1773 Dorchester Avenue
Boston, MA
02124

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 5pm
Tuesday 7am - 5pm
Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 7am - 5pm
Friday 7am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 12pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Star Contracting Company, Inc. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category