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Brendan Murray, Owner and President of Murray Masonry & More, has established himself as a prominent figure in the realm of historic masonry construction and restoration. Since founding Murray Masonry & More Corp. in August 2007, he has dedicated over sixteen years to perfecting his craft. Specializing in historic brick and stone masonry, Murray’s company excels in the installation and restoration of various structures, including flatwork, walls, chimneys, stairs, foundations, and building facades.
Murray’s expertise and attention to detail have been showcased in several notable projects, including the reconstruction and restoration of two chimneys on a nationally registered Back Bay historic landmark. This house, originally constructed in 1870 by the renowned architect H. H. Richardson, now stands as a testament to his commitment to preserving architectural heritage. Additionally, he has contributed to the restoration efforts of Salem’s historic landscape, notably collaborating on the facade and two chimneys of the “oldest commercial building” in the area during a brief association with Cabot Money Management in early 2012.
As a professional mason contractor, Murray embodies a dedication to excellence and a passion for preserving the rich history embedded in architectural marvels. His company’s reputation for providing detail-oriented, educated, and highly skilled craftsmen underscores his commitment to delivering exceptional results in every project undertaken. With a profound respect for the past and a vision for the future of historic masonry, Brendan Murray continues to leave an indelible mark on the architectural landscape.
Murray Masonry & More, founded in 2007 by Brendan Murray, is a distinguished masonry contracting firm renowned for its expertise in historic brick and stone work. With a dedicated team of skilled masons, each specializing in various areas, the company excels in landscape masonry, building restoration, and commercial construction projects. Committed to delivering superior craftsmanship rooted in integrity and customer satisfaction, Murray Masonry & More stands as a beacon of quality and professionalism in the industry.
Laura Siclari: Welcome to the Think Factory podcast. I’m Laura Siclari, a partner at Outside General Counsel Solutions and the hosts of today’s episode. I’d like to welcome to the show Brendan Murray, the owner of Murray Masonry and More, which specializes in historic preservations in and around the Boston, Massachusetts area. Welcome, Brendan.
Brendan Murray: Thank you. Glad to be here.
Laura Siclari: Yes, I- me as well. Tell me about how you got started with your business, Murray Masonry.
Brendan Murray: So I’ve been in business now since 2007, going on 17 years. And I started basically right after college. I got into doing masonry while I was in college as a summer job opportunity. A friend of mine was working for his uncle and asked us to join. Asked me to join the company just in so far as laboring and just basically carrying things was concerned. And despite the low level of skills required, I immediately took to it and really enjoyed the work and what it was producing. So that’s when I got started and the business was something that I was always keen to start as a entrepreneurial minded person throughout college. So when I graduated, I went to work for a couple of other companies just to learn some more of the skills required. And then in 2007, I had the opportunity to start my own business with just purely because I had too much side work lined up at the time and it was a good time to get going on it. So I started the business then and that took off and here we are today.
Laura Siclari: That’s great. So you started off, if I understand from our one of the last ones we talked was really doing kind of the landscaping, hardscaping, side of things as kind of your entree into the world of masonry. Is that right?
Brendan Murray: That’s correct, yes. So the first few years, I really worked doing driveways, patios, walkways, things like that, low retaining walls. And slowly but surely, due to my client base, which was primarily in historic neighborhoods in the Salem, Massachusetts market, I was asked to do other things like repair staircases and chimneys and foundations. And so slowly over the course of, I’d say, six or seven years, the company transitioned from doing primarily landscape construction work to doing primarily building restoration work. And that is our main business today.
Laura Siclari: I see. And what is it that you like about the historic preservation work that you do? And actually, let’s take a step back first. When we talk about the phrase historic preservation, what does that refer to as certain type of building, certain age of building?
Brendan Murray: That’s something that has always been somewhat tough for us to define as well. But but I’ve come to define that as over the years is our specialty really is in preserving homes of historic distinction as what we like to say, and we also restore landmarks in museums. And so really what that encompasses is buildings that are typically either on the local or national historic register, which means they’ve been designated as historic landmarks. And those can be both assets, residential houses or commercial locations, or they could be things like nonprofits such as museums or churches and really covers a lot of bases. And we have a lot of these types of neighborhoods and buildings in Massachusetts, as you might imagine.
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