Academy Masonry & Construction
Local business · 1 Mifflin Pl Ste 400, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Their work
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Call (617) 315-4341Visit websiteSee on GoogleYou reach them directly — we don’t take a cut.
Verified record
- MA HIC licenseVerified active
- A+ BBB ratingAccredited business
- 8 reviews in the last 6 monthsNo negatives
- 24 customer photosOf completed work
Highlights
- Five-star record — all 80 Google ratings are 5 stars
- Complaint resolution — apologized fast, reinspected, and added free step caps
- Return-visit follow-through — fixed a missed wall issue within a week
- Verified license — active Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor registration
- BBB accredited — A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau
- Named drainage fixes — outside drains, dry wells, and wall insulation cited
- Sump pump redo — one customer's initial rating dropped to 3 stars before it was fixed
- Post-completion callback — a commercial client found a wall problem two days after finishing
Every one of Academy Masonry & Construction's 80 Google ratings is five stars, and the last six months of reviews name specific work rather than just stars: a reset brick walkway and cracked stone wall rebuilt for drainage, new front-and-side steps finished on what one customer called a phenomenal timeline, a rebuilt chimney stack in Somerville with new flashing and repointing, and an outside drain and dry well paired with foundation wall insulation. The company is a family-run outfit that says it has worked masonry, foundation, chimney, and waterproofing jobs out of Cambridge for more than three decades, now covering Boston and towns like Somerville, Newton, Watertown, and Arlington. It carries an active Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor license (#209272), a BBB A+ accreditation, and membership in the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. Two of this year's jobs show what happens when the first pass isn't quite right. One customer dropped an initial review to three stars over unfinished work around a cement area and a sump pump; John emailed an apology the same day, came out to inspect it, then returned with the crew to redo the area and add granite step caps at no charge — the review went back to five stars with before-and-after photos attached. Separately, a commercial customer at Yale Appliance in Dorchester found a mess behind a wall two days after what had looked like a clean first job; Academy was back within the week and finished it properly. Neither is a pattern on its own, but both point to the same thing worth knowing: this is a crew that has had to get called back on occasion, and one that shows up and fixes it when it happens. Before booking, ask directly how a callback would be handled on your job — this year it's been handled fast and generously, but it's come up more than once. Review counts also drift a little depending on where you look — Google shows 80 ratings, an outside directory citation puts it at 77 — a small mismatch more likely from scrape timing than anything else. For masonry, foundation, chimney, or drainage work in Cambridge and the surrounding towns, Academy has a license that checks out, a BBB A+ profile, and a review history — 79 reviews since 2023 across six sources — deep enough that the five-star pattern reads as real rather than a handful of favorable quotes. Confirm the job scope in writing up front, and ask how they'd handle a punch-list item if one comes up.
Read the comments
Most recent comments
- 5.0Jun 24, 2026
We recently needed some work done resetting two brick walkways and reconstructing parts of a stone wall for cracks and improved drainage.<br>John at Academy understood what was needed, walked us through the process and gave a very fair price.<br>He and his team were attentive and delivered a great job completed on schedule and budget as promised.<br>I would highly recommend Academy Masonry and look forward to working with John and his team for any future needs.
— John SarianidesView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0May 7, 2026
John and his team did an amazing job installing steps to the front and side of my home.<br>Very professional and extremely hardworking.<br>Completion time was phenomenal from quote to finished product. I highly recommend them.
— Maureen SmithView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Apr 20, 2026
Update: I have updated my review from 3 to 5 stars based on how John handled my complaints. He responded immediately via email, apologizing for the issues and asking for the opportunity to make it right.<br><br>He came out and inspected the cement area and the sump pump. Today he and his crew came back to the house and went above and beyond, far surpassing my expectations.<br><br>He offered to cap the steps in granite for no charge. I'll include before and after photos so you can see how sharp they look.<br><br>He also offered to have his crew completely dig up the cement sump pump liner they had built and replace it with a new basin. They did a really neat job and the basin is properly collecting water.<br><br>Through all of this John has emailed and called multiple times to make sure everything was to our satisfaction. I could not be more impressed with his response.<br>---------<br><br>Based on all the 5 star reviews, we hiring Academy Masonry for 3 small projects which they completed during a warm spell in February. We had mixed results and I debated on giving them 2 or 3 stars.<br><br>First, we have a corner of our basement that tends to get wet. John recommended a dry well connected to the downspout in that corner. We are keeping our eye on it, but so far so good.<br><br>Second, we wanted the hole that our existing sump pump is in to be lined. They lined it with cement and poked holes in the cement. As the ground got wet this spring, the sump pump hole was oddly bone dry. My husband checked it more closely and discovered that the holes in the cement didn't go all the way through so there was no way for water to make it to the sump pump. When I called John, he sent someone to fix it right away but that should never have happened.<br><br>Third, we have a cement area outside our basement door. The cement was was crumbling. We had them clean up the broken cement and put new cement over it. There are cracks in that new cement already (2 months later) so we will see how long it holds up. The thing that really bothers me is the workers scattered a bunch of the broken cement into our nice gravel area and onto the lawn. They should have tossed it into a bucket and taken it with them. They also poured a big blob of leftover wet cement in a corner apparently hoping I wouldn't notice so I had to clean that up too.<br><br>The owner John seems very nice but he needs to better supervise the quality of the work that his crew does.
— Sue MildrumView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Apr 7, 2026
John and his team were incredibly professional and gave my old and crumbling brick steps new life and luster! I am thrilled with their work and highly recommend them.
— Abby WaddletonView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Jan 22, 2026
I hired them for my work at Yale Appliance in Dorchester. They completed the first job flawlessly. 2 days later I opened another wall and found a mess. They were back within a week and once again did a great job
— Jeff LuttonView on Google Reviews ↗
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Update history
Added 79 new comments, added 55 new photos, verified active license, established rating 4.3
- confirmed against the state license registry
- behind the score: Sump pump redo — one customer's initial rating dropped to 3 stars before it was fixed