Humble Beginnings

Serving Muskoka for 3 Generations

Josh McDermott & Sons Construction is a third-generation Muskoka business. Our roots go way back to 1937, when Josh McDermott, who was born and raised in Muskoka, started the company by stepping in wherever he found an opportunity. This included general maintenance, hauling, digging, and road building throughout Muskoka. Through hard work and determination, Josh’s business grew, and he was soon able to purchase bigger and stronger equipment and hire a crew. 

Eventually, Josh’s sons, Steve and Pete, would join him in the business. By then it was truly a family affair: Josh’s wife, Ruby, cooked for and boarded some of their employees, and Steve and Pete’s wives, Annette and Peggy, formed the administrative arm of the business, working out of Peggy and Pete’s house. Josh, Steve, and Pete ran the business together for a long time, with Steve and Pete incorporating the company in 1978, and further establishing the name and reputation of Josh McDermott & Sons through their public sector work in water and sewer construction and repair and road reconstruction around Muskoka.

In the early 2000s, Steve’s sons, Andrew and Matthew, joined the business, and since 2014 have been partners in ownership of the company. Under their watch, Josh McDermott & Sons has continued to grow in personnel and equipment, but Andrew and Matt hold fast to the family traditions first set down by their grandfather in 1937 and upheld by their dad and their Uncle Pete. Now specializing in municipal, commercial, and cottage work, Josh McDermott & Sons takes pride in the quality of their workmanship and in providing the personal touch in each and every project they take on.

You’ll find Matt and Andrew on the tools and in the holes with the crew. Uncle Pete, too, still comes to work three or four days a week. It’s just how they do things, because it’s how they’ve always done things: dig in, get dirty, and do the job right.