Time Lapse of Matilda’s Brick Job
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in the rebuilding of Matilda has been the south wall. When we first bought her, waaaay back in June, that wall was covered in flaking stucco and was scheduled for demolition. Along the way, however, we realized that the porch and sunrooms could be saved.
Originally, we thought the sunrooms were late additions because of the stucco and roof line. But as we (and by we I mean our contractors) dug in, we realized that these two rooms were actually part of the house. The ribbon oak flooring was original to the house and the floor joists actually ran through, unbroken. So we were able to save them, rather than demo them.
That’s been exciting because it meant that Karl gained a dedicated room for his Baldwin grand piano, and I scored a boudoir right off the master bedroom. Sweet!
Not so sweet… was all the mold and water damage. It’s been quite the project to reclaim this space. But, here we are in November almost complete. The rooms are all framed in and walls have gone up. The veneer brick is up, and the masons are completing the grouting. On monday, the acid wash commences, eliminating all the haze and making the new brick look pretty damned close to the original brick.
In honor of this milestone, I thought I’d give you a visual tour through the phases of the back wall.
The south wall, when we first found the house:
Comparing the new brick “veneer” with the original brick on the west wall:
The back wall has come down; you can see all the way through the house. That’s Lovey (aka Karl) and our contractor there in silhouette:
More demo and opening up of the south wall:
We have plywood going up! The rebuilding starts! (This is back in August)
Windows going in! View of the backyard through the south wall windows.
And now we’re covered in Tyvek for waterproofing. Almost ready for brick! (And notice the new roof in this pic. So exciting!)
Close up of the south wall, as the masons prep for the brick veneer. This is a metal tray system, where the bricks click into place on those ridges. Plus, they get glued on and then grouted in:
Close up of the brick going on:
Brick! Slowly but surely. (This is two weeks ago):
Climbing quickly (October 24):
All the brick is there! (Sadly, the grout is the wrong color so the contractors will make the masons grind it out and change it. Slight hold up will ensue):
And here’s where we are today: brick up, grout on, just awaiting acid washing. And isn’t that roof just gorgeous?:
Amy Haimerl 
One Response to “Time Lapse of Matilda’s Brick Job”
awesome