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Monday, May 16, 2011

One brick at a time

Another week in the addition project.
Monday morning, one of my brothers came to finish the concrete.


First, he washed off the top powder dye.


Then he power washed the concrete.

Finally he brushed on a sealer. Now the true color of the concrete came out. It was sort of a guessing game of what the final result will be. And with concrete there is no changing your mind, unless you want to grind it off and start over! I'm very happy with the way it turned out.


Ed's spare time this week was laying brick in the chimney. I would never recommend anyone tackle a do-it-yourself project like this unless you are willing to give up all your evenings and Saturdays for an undetermined amount of time. Ed acts like he is still enjoying the project.


Saturday was rainy, so he moved inside at the fireplace.

Fewer angles and less brick cutting means this project went quite a bit faster then the chimney.


I've never seen a mason tender in an apron and braids but our daughter was tickled to "help Daddy" by raking out the joints.  Or maybe it was just the fun of standing on the scaffolding!

And speaking of help, our mason neighbor has been incredible. He has lent us scaffolding and other tools but more important, given wise advice. This project would have been impossible without his help.


The fireplace was almost finished on Saturday but Ed ran out of light, time, and energy. More work for another day.

8 comments:

  1. your family is going to make so many amazing memories gathered around that fire place in the years to come! so excited for you and this new addition. i'm sure you can't wait for it all to be finished!!!

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  2. Gina and family,

    Good morning! The addidtion looks great! I love the cement work,and the fireplace is coming along! Great job!

    Blessings,
    Debbie S.

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  3. Wow, Gina - it is all looking SO good!

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  4. Loved the picture of your precious little girl helping on the brick work. So sweet!

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  5. It's looking so good! I hope you are all maintaining sanity. House projects are hard, but you look like you are humming right along! Ed and your brothers are doing a fantastic job!

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  6. I can see many a marshmallow being toasted in that fireplace while family is gathered around it. Plus few places beat being curdled up with a good book by the fireplace. Enjoy

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  7. Hello Gina,
    Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. It's so nice to meet you!

    And your new fireplace is just lovely!

    God bless,
    Kim

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