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Question about masonry work I need done

 
 
 
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rousseau

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A month or so ago I had an electrician in who accidentally put a hole through the brick wall of our house that now needs to be repaired.

From what I can gather, because I live in an older house the size of brick I need (11 1/4) along with the style is hard to track down. The job is also small so the first few masons I contacted weren't interested in making the repair.

Finally yesterday I managed to find someone who offered to do the repair, but who also said he'd be using bricks that were the wrong size (but that it'd look better than the mess the electrician left the wall in)

So in my position, would people normally just go ahead with the repair, or should I try to push forward to get the job done with some semblance of invisibility?
 
rousseau said:
A month or so ago I had an electrician in who accidentally put a hole through the brick wall of our house that now needs to be repaired.

From what I can gather, because I live in an older house the size of brick I need (11 1/4) along with the style is hard to track down. The job is also small so the first few masons I contacted weren't interested in making the repair.

Finally yesterday I managed to find someone who offered to do the repair, but who also said he'd be using bricks that were the wrong size (but that it'd look better than the mess the electrician left the wall in)

So in my position, would people normally just go ahead with the repair, or should I try to push forward to get the job done with some semblance of invisibility?
Click to expand...

It really depends on how visible the damage is. If it's right by the door bell button, that's one thing. If it's around the back, that's another.

If there's no hurry, take your time and find a brick that suits you. If no brick can be had, the void can be filled with mortar and painted to match the original brick.
 
When I had the house repointed about 20 years ago I was able to find brick here and there in the landscaping to make repairs. Mine were also very distinct and of course after they weather for 70 years that changes everything.

So maybe some twins are just lying about.

I also agree with the paint/hide suggestion. I did a lot of that where sloppy painting had made the masonry look bad. I just found the right color and dabbed here and there. It made all the difference and you don't notice anything unless you're really looking close.
 
Where is it located? Is it somewhere that might look alright with some kind of decoration inside the hole, you know, kinda how some mailboxes are built into brick? Perhaps you could do something similar, with a flower pot and flowers in it or something? If it's really small, get a brick that's intentionally conspicuous and engrave the family name or names on it or something. Though, I kind of have my doubts of the location since an electrician made the hole.

Last idea. Make a small time capsule.
 
Bronzeage said:
rousseau said:
A month or so ago I had an electrician in who accidentally put a hole through the brick wall of our house that now needs to be repaired.

From what I can gather, because I live in an older house the size of brick I need (11 1/4) along with the style is hard to track down. The job is also small so the first few masons I contacted weren't interested in making the repair.

Finally yesterday I managed to find someone who offered to do the repair, but who also said he'd be using bricks that were the wrong size (but that it'd look better than the mess the electrician left the wall in)

So in my position, would people normally just go ahead with the repair, or should I try to push forward to get the job done with some semblance of invisibility?
Click to expand...

It really depends on how visible the damage is. If it's right by the door bell button, that's one thing. If it's around the back, that's another.

If there's no hurry, take your time and find a brick that suits you. If no brick can be had, the void can be filled with mortar and painted to match the original brick.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It is in the back of our house but also in a noticeable location, just to the left of our back porch about chest height.


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Guessing this would be a bit too big for a paint job
 
joedad said:
When I had the house repointed about 20 years ago I was able to find brick here and there in the landscaping to make repairs. Mine were also very distinct and of course after they weather for 70 years that changes everything.

So maybe some twins are just lying about.

I also agree with the paint/hide suggestion. I did a lot of that where sloppy painting had made the masonry look bad. I just found the right color and dabbed here and there. It made all the difference and you don't notice anything unless you're really looking close.
Click to expand...

Yea gotta wonder if there are any out there. The house is about 60 years old so who knows. The people before us lived here for a long time.

- - - Updated - - -

braces_for_impact said:
Where is it located? Is it somewhere that might look alright with some kind of decoration inside the hole, you know, kinda how some mailboxes are built into brick? Perhaps you could do something similar, with a flower pot and flowers in it or something? If it's really small, get a brick that's intentionally conspicuous and engrave the family name or names on it or something. Though, I kind of have my doubts of the location since an electrician made the hole.

Last idea. Make a small time capsule.
Click to expand...

Yea not the best spot to play with.
 
Had someone else recommend taking brick from a more inconspicuous spot and moving it to this area. Seems like it might be a good option.
 
I'd temporarily fill it or just wait. There are folks who collect and resell all sorts of old stuff. You'll find it eventually. When you do, you'll replace it yourself and look at it each time you walk by and say, damn that looks good.
 
TV and credit cards said:
I'd temporarily fill it or just wait. There are folks who collect and resell all sorts of old stuff. You'll find it eventually. When you do, you'll replace it yourself and look at it each time you walk by and say, damn that looks good.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I don't trust myself to do the work, but the hole is sealed pretty good so it's not really a problem until we decide to sell, if that ever happens.
 
One thing you can do is remove bricks from a less visible place and use them to patch the high visibility place, while using the mismatched brick to patch the low visibility spot you took the bricks from.

We used that trick at the St Paul Union Depot. I dare you to try and find the unmatched brick!

http://www.uniondepot.org/about/what-is-union-depot/

Also, we were able to get non standard brick sizes from the makers of paving bricks.
 
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Two years later I finally got around to tracking someone down. It was a struggle, but a guy came out and did it on the spot (probably helped that we had already bought matching, albeit smaller, brick)

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61763238_10156387365427194_8998038918427312128_n.jpg


Can't really tell how good of a job is yet but it looks decent, hoping that the mortar settles and matches that on rest of the wall. Now we just have to clean all of the crap left on the other bricks by our electrician.
 
And then I call the electrician who caused the problem two years later and he covers the cost of the repair, then about doubles it. I guess it pays to be polite?
 
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