Verified record
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from Academy Masonry & Construction. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Not sure which you need? Start with an inspection — many reputable companies assess free, and independent assessments run up to $500.
The wall run getting the drain — a full 30×40 ft basement is about 140 ft.
Estimated range
$7,600 – $15,000
Typical waterproofing project around $11,300
Academy Masonry & Construction is a Cambridge-based crew built around one person's name — "John" shows up in nearly every review, whether it's a chimney rebuild in Somerville, a foundation crack in someone's basement, or a paver patio going in ahead of schedule. The written record runs from 2023 to today across 79 reviews, and the range of work is wide: brick steps, retaining walls, stone walkways, chimney tuckpointing, and basement waterproofing all show up repeatedly. The specifics back up the range. A Somerville homeowner described a full chimney rebuild — damaged brick removed, the stack rebuilt, repointed with proper sealing, flashing checked, finished clean. A different customer's foundation crack repair came with a lifetime warranty, sealants described as the best available, and confirmation the crack stayed dry through the following night's rain. In a 2024 review, a Dorchester homeowner with a 100-year-old house had a basement leak traced to a seam where brick met a cement-block wall; the fix held through an overnight rain test. Communication comes up constantly and specifically — reviewers describe daily updates during a steps rebuild, before-and-after photos on a chimney job, and a homeowner walked through the finished work before signoff. When something did go wrong, the response held up: one customer who raised their review from 3 to 5 stars described John personally inspecting a cement and sump-pump issue, then capping the steps in granite and redoing a sump-pump liner at no charge. Its Massachusetts home improvement contractor license is active, and its BBB profile is an A+ accredited listing. One thing worth knowing: a notable share of the review volume clusters tightly on just a handful of dates — seven reviews posted March 30, 2024, and five more on March 27, 2024 — rather than spreading out naturally over time. That doesn't undercut the specificity of the individual accounts, but it's a pattern worth being aware of when weighing how much the sheer review count says about this company. Before calling: the last six months brought just four reviews, so ask about current scheduling and crew availability for a bigger project. A good fit for chimney, foundation, and hardscape work — brick steps, patios, retaining walls — especially on an older Boston-area home.
We recently needed some work done resetting two brick walkways and reconstructing parts of a stone wall for cracks and improved drainage. John at Academy understood what was needed, walked us through the process and gave a very fair price. He and his team were attentive and delivered a great job completed on schedule and budget as promised. I would highly recommend Academy Masonry and look forward to working with John and his team for any future needs.
John and his team did an amazing job installing steps to the front and side of my home. Very professional and extremely hardworking. Completion time was phenomenal from quote to finished product. I highly recommend them.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. --------- 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. 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. 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. 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. The owner John seems very nice but he needs to better supervise the quality of the work that his crew does.
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.
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
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Added 79 new comments, added 55 new photos, verified active license, established rating 4.3