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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Census estimates show about 41 percent of Worcester's homes were built before 1940. About half went up in 1951 or earlier. About one home in four sits in a three- or four-unit building, the size class triple-deckers fall in. When one of these has to come down, the first question is often whether it sits on a historic list.
MJ Masonry is a demolition and masonry contractor, and Worcester is part of a service area centered on Weymouth. Here we take on house demolition for single-family homes and garages, and building demolition for triple-deckers and commercial buildings. We also lay brick and concrete block (CMU) and pour the concrete that goes with them. Call or text (617) 838-0280, and we 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.
Worcester's Historical Commission runs the city's Building Demolition Delay Ordinance, and the rule turns on listing instead of age. It covers buildings in a local historic district and buildings on the National or State Register. A building inside a listed district counts, and so do buildings pending listing or on the commission's Eligible List.
The Building Commissioner will not issue a demolition permit for one of these without the commission's approval. The commission holds a hearing within 45 days of the request. If it finds the loss would hurt the city's heritage and sees no undue hardship, the delay applies. The building then waits 12 months from the date the request was filed.
The ordinance also counts pulling down a historic part of a building, such as a porch or the siding. The city's housing needs assessment reports that most delay cases end with a waiver. After the vote, the signed decision follows within one to two weeks. The building permit needs that decision, so the waiver comes first.
Only about 32 percent of Worcester's homes are single-family detached houses, by Census estimates. The city's Worcester Housing Now program says the neighborhood multifamily stock is mostly triple-deckers. Most of those buildings are over 100 years old, and many carry deferred maintenance. In Main South, the city notes, triple-deckers were built for workers at nearby factories.
A single-family house or a detached garage comes down under our house demolition. A triple-decker or anything larger is a whole-building knockdown, and we clear the debris either way. Worcester's ordinance defines a building broadly, so a garage or a shed on a listed property can count. The commission's own examples of what it reviews include carriage houses and barns.
When the building stays, the job is a gut-out. Our interior demolition takes out non-structural walls and ceilings ahead of the remodel, and we carry the debris out. The city also reminds owners that paint in homes built before 1978 may contain lead.
Worcester is a city of hills, and its open space plan puts the airport on a hilltop near 1,000 feet. The lowest ground runs along Lake Quinsigamond on the city's eastern edge. The Middle River forms at Webster Square, and the plan notes a history of flooding there. In the south of the city, the Middle River meets Mill Brook to form the Blackstone River.
NRCS soil maps show Paxton as the most common natural soil in the city. Paxton formed in glacial till and has a dense, very firm layer below the subsoil. Water can perch on that layer for short spells. About a tenth of the city maps as a rock outcrop complex, where bedrock sits shallow or breaks the surface.
NOAA normals give Worcester's airport about 73 inches of snow and about 130 freezing nights a year. Logan, on the coast, averages about 49 inches of snow. The state building code sets the frost line at 48 inches. Ledge and frost depth both shape the work and the price of footings and foundation walls.
Worcester counted 206,518 people in the 2020 Census, second in New England only to Boston. The Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate is 213,862. Census permit data show 945 new homes authorized in the city in 2024 and 470 in 2025. In both years, most were in buildings of five or more units.
Polar Park opened in 2021, and the city calls it the centerpiece of a revitalized Canal District. The EPA says the ballpark sits on an 18-acre former industrial site. More than 150,000 tons of soil came off that site in the cleanup. Downtown, the city lists CitySquare and an Urban Revitalization Plan for under-invested properties.
A new building on an older lot usually starts with a knockdown. Our building demolition takes the structure down by machine and loads out the debris. On the new building, our commercial masonry covers block walls and the stair and elevator shafts. We do that work for general contractors, much of it as bid work.
Communities and areas we serve around Worcester: Main South, Canal District, Kelley Square, Shrewsbury Street, Grafton Hill, Vernon Hill, Union Hill, Webster Square, Tatnuck, Greendale, Burncoat, Quinsigamond Village.
Worcester ZIP codes served: 01602, 01603, 01604, 01605, 01606, 01607, 01608, 01609, 01610.
Worcester 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 Worcester. 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.