Masonry

The top of the facade of my 115 year old house fell out this spring crashing down and destroying my ugly ass early 50's awnings. My insurance company, Liberty Mutual, would not cover the damage so I had to figure out how to do brick work myself. Not only that, the a-holes said they would drop my coverage by the end of the year if I didn't fix it. Every contractor quoted the cost of repair from 7 - 25k. I did it myself with the help of some really great friends for a mere 2500 bux, plus or  minus a few hundred. I could not find a replacement for the decorative brick in the middle so I had to come up with decorative end pieces to fill up the empty void.  The guy that owns city museum sold me a couple of those bricks. He was really proud of them and gouged me for them to tune of 50 bux Xo|. They look good. Now that the ugly awnings are gone the place looks 10 times better just from that.  I still need to clean it with some muriatic acid but for a first time attempt I am pretty pleased with it. I was able to learn something new and spend less money than a rich guy might have.

Setting up the scaffolding is some scary stuff. It only took a day or two to get over the height issue. I think I gained a couple of pounds of muscle in the process and I got a sweet tan.

I want to thank all those that helped me out: Matt, Sumo, Gary, Rusty, Justice, Colin and especially my wife for watching kids more than anyone should have to.

Thank You Thank You Thank You