Murray Masonry & More, Corporation

Murray Masonry & More is a Peabody, MA outfit that treats brick and stone as a craft, not a commodity — the company says it's been at this since 2007, founded by Brendan Murray, who still runs it as President. The work reviewers describe isn't drywall-and-paint quick fixes: century-old foundations, chimneys due for a rebuild, retaining walls and patios meant to outlast whoever ordered them. The last six months brought eight new reviews and not one complaint, a run that echoes a pattern reviewers have described for years. One recent account describes trusting the crew with extensive restoration of a 19th-century basement, and says that before any work started, the crew made sure the homeowner understood and agreed with the plan, then came back afterward to inspect the results together. Another recent reviewer names the project manager, Brad, along with two crew members, and calls out the cleanup after a brick patio job. That habit of naming people, not just praising the company in the abstract, shows up again and again. It isn't a one-project relationship for everyone either — clients who've hired the crew more than once turn up repeatedly across the years of reviews. The numbers back up the pattern: 4.8 stars from 34 Google reviews, a perfect 5.0 from six on Houzz plus three Houzz Awards, and an A+ grade with the Better Business Bureau — though the company hasn't sought BBB accreditation, which is a different thing from having complaints on file (none show up here). One thing worth knowing before calling: a smaller directory, Awwhouse, rates them at 3.6, meaningfully lower than everywhere else. It's a single outlier against a much larger and more consistent body of reviews, but it's there. For a homeowner sitting on an old foundation that needs repointing, a chimney that needs rebuilding, or a patio project that calls for someone who won't rush the stonework, this is a reasonable call — worth confirming scope and timeline up front, the way past clients say the company already walks people through. Its Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor license (HIC #169898) checks out active in the state registry, so the credential side is squared away too.