House Demolition
We take whole houses down to the ground across Weymouth and the South Shore. Garages and barns come down too, and we clear the debris off the site.
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Lynn was the world's largest shoe manufacturing city by about 1900, and a building boom came with it. Today, 45.7 percent of the city's homes date from 1939 or earlier, by Census estimates. Two-families and three-deckers fill many small blocks and narrow streets. When one of them is past saving, the teardown happens close to the buildings next door.
MJ Masonry is a demolition and masonry contractor, and Lynn is part of our service area on the North Shore. In Lynn, our house demolition covers homes and garages, and our building demolition covers whole commercial and multi-unit buildings. On the masonry side, we lay brick and concrete block (CMU) and pour the concrete footings they sit on. Call or text (617) 838-0280, and we will look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Tell us about the demolition or masonry work and where it is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
In Lynn, the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) at City Hall issues building and demolition permits. As of November 2022, most permits can be filed online through the ISD portal. The ISD office at City Hall has public computers and staff to help. A building inspector is also there in the afternoons to review plans.
The ISD says approvals from boards like the Conservation Commission must come before it issues a permit. That goes for the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board too. Once a permit is issued, work must start within six months.
Before demolition or renovation, state rules call for an asbestos inspector's survey of the building. An asbestos abatement contractor removes any asbestos found before the teardown starts. MassDEP also needs ten working days of notice before a commercial building comes down. The same rule covers residential buildings with 20 or more units.
The city's open space plan calls Lynn the most densely settled community on the North Shore. Census estimates count 37,960 homes here, and 62.9 percent were built before 1960. Only about a third are detached single-family houses. Another third sit in two-family buildings or in three- and four-unit buildings like three-deckers.
Vision Lynn, the city's long-range plan, describes dense areas of small blocks and narrow streets lined with duplexes and three-deckers. It says much of Lynn's housing is older, and a large portion needs code improvements. For a three-decker that stays standing, our interior demolition guts the units ahead of the renovation. Non-structural walls and old fixtures come out, and we carry the debris away.
The open space plan places Lynn's two densest residential areas in East Lynn, near Lynn Common and Lynn Beach. In southern West Lynn, it describes multi-family buildings, with vacant sites and abandoned structures in places. The city's rodent control guide asks that abandoned buildings stay boarded up. When one is past saving, a full teardown clears the structure and its debris from the lot.
The city's open space plan describes volcanic bedrock under Lynn, with rocky outcrops across central and western Lynn. NRCS soil maps put about a quarter of the city in a Chatfield, Hollis and rock outcrop complex. Hollis soils sit only about 10 to 20 inches above bedrock. In the Highlands, the plan notes terrain steep enough to call for unusual siting of houses.
The southern edge is softer ground. The plan says the land from the Saugus River northeast toward Nahant is fill placed over salt marsh. It puts the worst flooding south of the Lynnway (Route 1A) along the harbor, and along the Saugus River. Both ledge and soft fill can change how footings and foundation walls get built, and what they cost.
Old industrial land raises one more question. The plan counts 464 sites in Lynn in MassDEP's cleanup database, at various stages. It says work on former industrial sites, mainly along the waterfront, will involve extensive cleanup. On a lot like that, learn its cleanup status before you set a teardown date.
Lynn is growing again. Its population peaked in 1930 at about 102,000, then fell in the second half of the 1900s. The 2020 Census counted 101,253 people, about 12 percent more than in 2010. The Census Bureau's 2025 estimate is 104,236.
Most of Lynn is built out, and recent growth has centered on downtown and the waterfront. Downtown, vacant industrial buildings have been turned into housing. On the harbor, a new apartment complex opened in 2022 beside Lynn Heritage State Park. In 2023 the city approved a design for the South Harbor portion, with 850 new apartments proposed.
Where an old building stands in the way, it comes down first. MJ Masonry takes whole buildings down with machines and clears the debris from the site. For the new building, our commercial masonry covers block walls and elevator shafts. Much of that work comes through bids from general contractors, with brick veneer where the drawings call for it.
Communities and areas we serve around Lynn: West Lynn, East Lynn, The Highlands, Pine Hill, Wyoma Square, Diamond District, Central Square, Market Square, Lynn Common, The Lynnway, Lynn Shore Drive, Lynn Woods Reservation.
Lynn ZIP codes served: 01901, 01902, 01904, 01905.
Lynn is part of our service area. We look at the job first, then put the quote in writing.
(617) 838-0280 We take whole houses down to the ground across Weymouth and the South Shore. Garages and barns come down too, and we clear the debris off the site.
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We knock down commercial and industrial buildings, warehouses and apartment buildings around Weymouth and Greater Boston. The debris leaves the site as part of the job.
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Interior demolition for houses and commercial spaces around Weymouth and Greater Boston. We handle gut-outs and selective demolition ahead of a renovation and carry the debris out.
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We lay concrete block (CMU) buildings and the elevator and stair shafts inside them. Brick and brick veneer go up on the same commercial jobs, priced in writing from the plans.
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We lay new brick walls for homes and commercial buildings, both structural brick and brick on concrete block. Brick steps and landings come with the building work, and we put the quote in writing.
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Concrete block (CMU) walls for commercial buildings and foundations, reinforced and grouted to the drawings. We pour the footings under the block walls we build, and we lay elevator and stair shafts in block.
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We lay brick veneer over wood-frame walls on homes and additions, and over concrete block (CMU) on commercial buildings. Metal ties hold it to the wall, and flashing and weep holes let water back out.
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Footings, foundations, slabs, pads, steps and landings for homes and commercial buildings. We pour the concrete that goes with our masonry work.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Lynn. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Use the form to tell us about the work and the town it is in. You can also call or text (617) 838-0280 and send photos or plans.
Tell us about the demolition or masonry work and where it is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.