8.30.2016 - Brick is done!

This was definitely a RED letter day - the brick work is ALL done!  Plus, it really came out perfectly so we couldn't be happier.  Here's how the day progressed...

Jim headed out early to get things started.  One of the jobs on his agenda today was to prepare the old calipers from the box truck brake job to be send back.  They charge you a core charge when you buy them, which you get refunded when you send them back.  But these are old, oily, rusty parts and you need to return them in their cardboard shipping box.  So to prevent leakage, Jim really wrapped them in layers and layers of shrink wrap, lined the box, and got them ready to go.  I'll try and take them to FedEx tomorrow so we get our money back.

Then he got the truck ready for a trip to Lowe's.  We had some leftover block, cement and a pallet to take back so that we could get our deposit back from that.  We ate lunch on the way and picked up our last bag of mortar while we were there!

Back at Angel, we got ready for brick work.  Jim had to cut the bricks in half for our last row over the garage door.

The last bricks to put up!

Mortar is ready...

While the mortar was very fresh, Jim wanted to use the mortar bag to do the very top row between the pour stop and the brick.  It's really important to get under the overhang done so that Jim can move on to building the rest of the overhang structure.  So it's back to smacking his head while he's working!

After he got underneath the overhang done, we moved on to finishing the brick.  First piece up...

Last brick in the structure!!

And it's in place!

Yay - time to celebrate!!

But no resting allowed - time to use up the rest of the mortar to seal the top edge.

Last bit on the front!

Finishing the top edge...

Jointing the brick - the entire front is done with all the masonry work!!

 

So time to move around back...

 

My job is to fill the mortar bag with trowels of mortar.  I told Jim that I felt like a lunch lady in a prison cafeteria slopping the gruel onto plates!

 

Finishing up the last of the mortar. 

 

Clean up time!

Brick work is done!!

 

We'll have to make one more batch of mortar tomorrow to finish up with the mortar bag work in the back.  Then it will be time to pack away all the masonry supplies!

 

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