Walked past a job site downtown yesterday and just stared at the brickwork for 10 minutes

I was grabbing lunch near 5th and Main in Portland and saw a crew working on an old building rehab. The way they were laying roman brick with really tight 3/8 inch joints reminded me of how my grandpa used to do it back in the 80s before everyone switched to those quick-snap spacers. Made me wonder if you guys still see crews taking that kind of pride in their lines or if that's just gone now. Anybody else catch themselves rubbernecking at old brick jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

morganhill26d ago

You ever watch those old guys on a scaffold and just feel like you're watching a dying art? I caught a crew in St. Louis a few years back doing a full repoint on a 1920s school. They had this old timer who still wet the bricks first and buttered each one by hand. Took three times as long as the young guys using a grout bag, but that wall looked like a solid piece of stone when he was done.

eric72325d ago

Man I feel that. I tried laying brick once for a friend's patio and my "art" looked like a toddler stacked blocks. Ended up hiring a guy who still mixes his own mortar by feel. Took him an extra day but I swear you could park a truck on that thing.