Exterior Brickwork - Part 2

Work on the exterior brick of the house commenced last winter - the dead of winter, with all the snow and ice storms that plague this area of the country.

After negotiating all the particulars, the job commenced with the building of scaffolds around the north and south sides of the house.


The scaffolding is almost complete on the northside of the house. Fortunately for us, we experienced unusually sunny days for this leg of the job.


Here's the loftier area of the northside.


Scaffold building commences on the southside of the house. Note that the stone edge of the brick wall has now been returned to its original color, after a thorough acid-washing. Notice the difference from my previous post?

Since the upper portions of the brick walls have been free-standing (unattached to the main structure) for the entire life of the house, these areas required the most intensive treatment. Solution: tear down the upper 8-feet portions of both walls and rebuild with original bricks, new bricks, and mortar.

An army crew descended upon the house, working on and off (weather permitting) for two months. In Part III, I will show you the amazingly seamless results.

Exterior Brickwork - Part I

"VEGETATION ON NORTHSIDE OF HOUSE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. CAN DAMAGE BRICK AND PROMOTE ROT AND MILDEW GROWTH"

This item on the house inspector's report had now been taken care of. Here's a final look at the entire north wall of the house just before all the vines were removed:


See the dead vines? These were infinitely easier to remove than were the live vines just a few weeks earlier.

Another item was:
"BRICK AT TOP OF SOUTHSIDE WALL ABOVE THE ROOF IS LEANING SEVERELY TOWARD ROOF AND NEEDS IMMEDIATE REPAIR"


Timber?

Here were other troublespots on the exterior:


This was the north wall of the house, accessible at ground level. Note the amateurish and glaring attempt at tuckpointing.


Here's the entire north wall again, sans the vines and ready for a facelift.


Here's an upshot of the south wall. At one time, an attempt was made at tuckpointing. Upon closer inspection, the mortar in many areas was applied merely as a 1/16-inch thinset. This is not nearly enough to rebond a brick to the wall. At least they got the mortar color right.


Here's another view of the south wall. You wouldn't know to look at it, but those are stone inserts on the edge of the brick wall. I doubt they had ever been cleaned, as they should be much closer in color to the adjacent stone.

This indeed was to become the biggest restoration job for the house. Fortunately, we were able to procure the services of a mason from Quincy - one who not only specialized in old houses but boasted expertise passed down generations within the family.