New home builds
Our Dennis specialty: ground-up coastal homes on elevated foundations, framed for the flood map and shingled for the salt.
Serving Dennis & West Dennis · Mid-Cape, MA
Coastal new builds, additions and renovations in Dennis, MA.
Our West Dennis project is a ground-up coastal home on an elevated foundation overlooking the water — crane-set framing and engineered beams through cedar shingles and a waterfront deck. It's the clearest picture we can give you of how a Bridgewater-based crew with 30+ years and a 5.0 rating handles the hard parts of building on the Cape.
Mid-Cape, on the water
Building in Dennis means building for the water, the wind and the flood map.
Dennis runs from Cape Cod Bay on the north side to Nantucket Sound on the south, with West Dennis, Dennis Port and South Dennis along the Sound and the Bass River marking the Yarmouth line. A lot of the housing down here is classic Cape cottages and mid-century homes on small lots near the water, and a lot of it is being rebuilt, because the flood maps, the wind and decades of salt eventually catch up with a house.
When a lot sits in a FEMA flood zone, the first floor has to be built above a set elevation. That's why our West Dennis home stands on a tall foundation with the living space lifted well above grade: it isn't a style choice, it's the map. It also changes how you build. Framing goes up by crane, engineered beams carry the open spans and the big openings toward the view, and everything from the fasteners to the flashing is specified for wind-driven salt spray off the Sound.
The Town of Dennis issues the permits and its Conservation Commission reviews anything close to the water or a wetland; for a waterfront lot that review is a given, and we plan for it from the first conversation. Then it's the Cape vernacular done properly: white cedar shingles, white trim, a farmer's porch, and a composite deck that looks out over the water and never needs repainting.
- A ground-up, elevated waterfront new build in West Dennis, under construction now
- Flood-zone foundation design, crane-set framing and engineered beams
- Dennis permitting and Conservation Commission review planned from day one
5.0Google rating
What we build in Dennis
Built for the Sound side of the Cape.
Additions & decks
Decks, porches and second-floor additions sized for the view, with composite decking, cable or painted rail and rot-proof trim.
Renovations & remodels
Bringing Dennis's cottages and mid-century homes up to date, inside and out, when rebuilding isn't the answer.
Custom woodwork
Coffered and wood-clad ceilings, built-ins and trim — the West Dennis house has a coffered ceiling going in right now.
Case study · West Dennis, MA
A waterfront home, lifted above the flood line and framed by crane.
A coastal new build on an elevated foundation overlooking the water in West Dennis. Crane-set framing and engineered beams through white cedar shingle siding, twin dormers, a farmer's porch and a composite waterfront deck, with interior finishes, including a coffered ceiling, underway now. Under construction.
Framing packages lifted onto a tall flood-zone foundation by crane, with the water right behind the site and snow on the ground.
Walls and engineered beams up on the elevated foundation, the big openings already framed toward the view.
White cedar shingles, white trim and the dormers in; inside, a coffered ceiling and finishes going on now.
What the job involved
- Elevated foundation designed for the flood zone
- Crane-set framing with engineered beams for the open spans
- White cedar shingle siding, white trim, twin dormers and a farmer's porch
- Composite deck overlooking the water
- Interior finish underway, including a coffered ceiling
What it means for your Dennis project
If you're building or rebuilding near the water in Dennis, the flood map and the Conservation Commission will shape the project before any designer does. That's fine; it's the brief. This house shows how it's done: the structure designed for the elevation and the wind, built through a Cape winter, and finished in the materials that actually last here.
Rated by real clients
"The level of detail, quality and on-time service — a breath of fresh air." — Michael O., Google review
Dennis FAQ
Answers before you even call.
In a flood zone the first floor has to sit above a set elevation, so the foundation is taller and the structure is engineered for it. That costs more than a house on a standard foundation, but it's the difference between a home that's insurable and durable and one that isn't. We design it in from the start and show you the numbers before you commit.
Yes. Building near the water or a wetland in Dennis means a Conservation Commission review under the state Wetlands Protection Act, and on a waterfront lot it's a certainty. We prepare for that filing alongside the building permit so they run together.
Because the foundation is tall and the site is tight. Lifting framing packages and beams by crane is faster and safer than carrying them up, and it keeps the schedule moving through winter. It's a normal part of elevated coastal construction.
We do it regularly. Foundations, framing and closing in the shell all happen in cold weather on our Cape projects; the West Dennis build was framed with snow on the ground. The only thing winter changes is how we sequence the exterior finishes.
Dennis is Mid-Cape, and a regular drive for us from Bridgewater. We keep a steady crew on a Cape job once it starts, so the distance shows up in our schedule, not yours.
Beyond Dennis
Also building along the Mid and Lower Cape.
West Dennis, Dennis Port, South Dennis and East Dennis are all one town; Yarmouth, Harwich and Brewster are next door. Same crew, same standard, either side of the Bass River.
Makyson Building Company
Let's walk your lot
Building in Dennis? Let's build it above the line.
Waterfront or a few streets back, new build or rebuild — tell us what you're planning and we'll give you a straight read and a real quote.