Marini's Stone and General Masonry

Marini's Stone and General Masonry works out of Waltham, and every review on file across three platforms describes the same kind of job: a retaining wall, a foundation repair, a brick or stone walkway done right. The record is close to spotless — 5.0 stars on Angi and HomeAdvisor (17 ratings apiece) and on Houzz (2 ratings) — and the company's own profiles say it speaks Spanish and offers free estimates, though not emergency service or warranties. The written history runs 2017 through 2023, 14 reviews across four sources, and one name comes up again and again: Peter Marini, doing the actual work himself. In a 2017 Houzz review, a homeowner described a very large stone retaining wall finished on time, on budget, and over-delivering on quality. In a 2023 review on HomeAdvisor — the newest on file — a customer called the estimate prompt and the fieldstone foundation repair and waterproofing fast, with a concrete slab added for water management. Between those two dates, reviewers kept coming back to the same shape of praise: brick front steps repaired to look new, an old slate walkway rebuilt as a custom cobble paver walk, and a brick patio with stone walls added after an earlier walkway job impressed enough to get hired again immediately. Worth knowing before calling: nothing on file is recent — the newest review dates to September 2023, so there's no read on how the crew is performing today, only a consistent multi-year record of it. Houzz also lists a Massachusetts license number for the business, but that's the directory's own record, not something verified against the state registry, so it's worth confirming directly. For a stone retaining wall, a brick walkway, or a foundation that needs repointing and waterproofing, the record here is deep and consistently positive across a half-decade of jobs. Just ask for a current reference alongside the older ones, since the written trail stops a few years back.