LaPorte Masonry & Waterproofing Inc.

Old Boston brick is the whole business here. Nine of LaPorte Masonry's sixteen written reviews describe repointing — a 135-year-old stone and brick foundation, an 1894 home, a house past its hundredth year, a brownstone with three large areas that needed work — and the crumbling mortar under all of it. Richard LaPorte runs the East Boston shop himself. By his own account he trained through the Bricklayers and Allied Craftsman apprenticeship program and worked on projects for Harvard, MIT, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Rose Kennedy Greenway before going out on his own in 2008. His Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration is active. The site names brick and stone restoration, repointing and basement waterproofing as the trade, residential and commercial, across East Boston, Boston, Winthrop, Danvers, Charlestown and South Boston. Google puts him at 5 stars across 35 ratings, and the written accounts are specific. A May 2026 customer had an old brick wall repointed that hadn't been touched in decades — spalling brick, crumbling mortar — posted before-and-after photos, and wrote that the wall is now totally secure. A March 2026 reviewer with a century-old home said the repointing went quickly and the crew left the space very clean. In a December 2025 review, a homeowner with a 135-year-old foundation described a full repointing at a reasonable and clearly stated price, with a mason named Rudy heading up the team. Water is the other half of the work. A June 2026 review describes a condo building where water was getting into one of the units, with the finished job and the price both landing well. In a September 2025 review, a customer in Boston's South End had a wall repointed that had leaked during windy sideways rainstorms and spalling red bricks replaced. A December 2023 customer credited Richard with figuring out a tricky basement leak. Four reviewers between 2024 and 2026 singled out how much he talks to them — "friendly and communicative," "open communications," a team that explained its process and plan — and three more mention the crew finishing on time. In an April 2024 review, a homeowner who called Rich out to quote foundation work and cracked-brick replacement said he helped them decide whether they actually needed the repair, and called it a straight-up and fair operation. This is the call for a century-old brick or stone building losing its mortar, or a basement wall taking on water. Check that your town sits inside the listed service area, and get the scope and price spelled out before the staging goes up, the way the customer with the 135-year-old foundation described getting it.