tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44097861779995353762024-02-19T18:50:18.660-08:00My Reflections on Heritage Masonry -- A refreshing perspective for residential owners of historic brick / stone homes -- when you're the one footing the bill, not the government. --Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-82535642475764587942020-11-14T11:17:00.000-08:002020-11-14T11:17:14.535-08:00A bespoke rustic lookA customer asked me to repair his side wall. He didn't want it to look fully restored, but rather, he want it to appear "rustic".
Here are the before shots:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG7aZK4GKoNDx0ikIxQ3pq6OdIpBlbtglRAbiiL-tGjkFpw5kgG42SuyQbHHvSpMXzy6DL8yPBLr0Hf1v_U2ulo3IQ2pMsEwxha75tQax5pnxMWpMWpZp86KbbY9BYDZXTJEtYtjCUsY/s2048/Photo+2020-05-03%252C+7+36+02+PM.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG7aZK4GKoNDx0ikIxQ3pq6OdIpBlbtglRAbiiL-tGjkFpw5kgG42SuyQbHHvSpMXzy6DL8yPBLr0Hf1v_U2ulo3IQ2pMsEwxha75tQax5pnxMWpMWpZp86KbbY9BYDZXTJEtYtjCUsY/s400/Photo+2020-05-03%252C+7+36+02+PM.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDfaTFYMmxeuEj_F3Mi6qI6e3tnMGuXnlJYd3RmrCZw0g8jj_KR7Sggq5s3_ZYXZ6w1WuvS_ia0ZIefC_NHqcesHTjOTOqF-Mig4huDpeEUGElnlvuh5mipvWkaWGCTbF_BA6C7ysjdw/s2048/Photo+2020-05-03%252C+7+36+05+PM.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDfaTFYMmxeuEj_F3Mi6qI6e3tnMGuXnlJYd3RmrCZw0g8jj_KR7Sggq5s3_ZYXZ6w1WuvS_ia0ZIefC_NHqcesHTjOTOqF-Mig4huDpeEUGElnlvuh5mipvWkaWGCTbF_BA6C7ysjdw/s400/Photo+2020-05-03%252C+7+36+05+PM.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCA3l6ZRDcdCjPYW-t2CYTtZP6666b9yppYoX0ob6sB8ABQ3lmnCPvtbamVU7xX-aEXas_FaUWiQVdQeNJeD-wgKReMa81bs8VcM0TFtAVK6YuVV-w9YiKJyyXZ5UdtJDcfOTnmttKbM/s2048/Photo+2020-05-03%252C+7+36+07+PM.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCA3l6ZRDcdCjPYW-t2CYTtZP6666b9yppYoX0ob6sB8ABQ3lmnCPvtbamVU7xX-aEXas_FaUWiQVdQeNJeD-wgKReMa81bs8VcM0TFtAVK6YuVV-w9YiKJyyXZ5UdtJDcfOTnmttKbM/s400/Photo+2020-05-03%252C+7+36+07+PM.jpg"/></a></div>
This was our result:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0HNb1_abXNrATsoTyZ1f8FH7IX7sEOHw7HTtY-Lv6hF_k5XofmjXS60naJtZNDIdRHwx6JMRQQG9nNmjsyvKM6fcFMXlkJqfYvKKHecLdO1QOW3vavMwUxZjQIvfa0z6RCAtLGFHkW4/s2048/Photo+2020-09-01%252C+2+21+32+PM.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0HNb1_abXNrATsoTyZ1f8FH7IX7sEOHw7HTtY-Lv6hF_k5XofmjXS60naJtZNDIdRHwx6JMRQQG9nNmjsyvKM6fcFMXlkJqfYvKKHecLdO1QOW3vavMwUxZjQIvfa0z6RCAtLGFHkW4/s400/Photo+2020-09-01%252C+2+21+32+PM.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_jXr1JDEihEpQ0k545GFdq9cTzA0wyJ_GzMnBqOFf795PreljODjHbidQOs4PnTx5ZJz8n_6PXjmZSjxAqZon2uuSnz6vsSIxNpU7xW8R5RCz4shwT1hAPRth-_rHQkcjaT1ZSCv0xw/s2048/Photo+2020-09-01%252C+2+21+28+PM.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_jXr1JDEihEpQ0k545GFdq9cTzA0wyJ_GzMnBqOFf795PreljODjHbidQOs4PnTx5ZJz8n_6PXjmZSjxAqZon2uuSnz6vsSIxNpU7xW8R5RCz4shwT1hAPRth-_rHQkcjaT1ZSCv0xw/s400/Photo+2020-09-01%252C+2+21+28+PM.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSgF8lLMFj2LVr67Y_3DDO6SuDypcYjX5eRNRSjzR6XX7zrUYm4emWMhlux_U0bVDOnR_JFJwTJe8OmcdPpo50vaCQ3bTAL8FfQBVlZ8M8UbJVoIkSgRrdtwFRZFyERRM_6OCUJW0mPo/s2048/Photo+2020-09-01%252C+2+21+21+PM.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSgF8lLMFj2LVr67Y_3DDO6SuDypcYjX5eRNRSjzR6XX7zrUYm4emWMhlux_U0bVDOnR_JFJwTJe8OmcdPpo50vaCQ3bTAL8FfQBVlZ8M8UbJVoIkSgRrdtwFRZFyERRM_6OCUJW0mPo/s400/Photo+2020-09-01%252C+2+21+21+PM.jpg"/></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-44200087783559903422020-06-28T11:17:00.002-07:002020-06-28T11:21:47.799-07:00Damage reversal<div style="box-sizing: inherit;">
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<span style="color: #292929; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;">I came across this situation recently.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWhlUYIp9wUGm2jfQ6FXiGiaLzyx_TqFTsd6vaXi64oEQck2OXBc2o_wrbJ20Y-RSWWuwrzlC6dYx8fvaNhRpm3MWW7qstKAI25KHhIaF87wWmPOXa95rC1I6Jm5Nc6-nW2pEI0TZTH92/s1600/Photo+2020-04-13%252C+1+01+08+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWhlUYIp9wUGm2jfQ6FXiGiaLzyx_TqFTsd6vaXi64oEQck2OXBc2o_wrbJ20Y-RSWWuwrzlC6dYx8fvaNhRpm3MWW7qstKAI25KHhIaF87wWmPOXa95rC1I6Jm5Nc6-nW2pEI0TZTH92/s400/Photo+2020-04-13%252C+1+01+08+PM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Even after I removed the offensive mortar joints, there were remnants of cement smeared onto the bricks in places to still be dealt with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vfcd6AiNzgnX0UBTCvkh0MWpiiQ9MNtGXJk_QNcJTQz_wbC8NkfF_KIswdZKdwtdJtYfxUDdXHSTeTyMad8rY1ywv8FFbk0QR2tT9Tma1rCxRsyNft2T_jfUItdVPkxbMSqah3mGIp-3/s1600/Photo+2020-06-17%252C+4+12+44+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vfcd6AiNzgnX0UBTCvkh0MWpiiQ9MNtGXJk_QNcJTQz_wbC8NkfF_KIswdZKdwtdJtYfxUDdXHSTeTyMad8rY1ywv8FFbk0QR2tT9Tma1rCxRsyNft2T_jfUItdVPkxbMSqah3mGIp-3/s400/Photo+2020-06-17%252C+4+12+44+PM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Once I was able to make the mess disappear, I was left with this result and was ready for the replacement mortar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs04srJRv67R8jeFIXLkRc0h-r9nQeH1jknCAyeriPczJd6WvAdO0kZEhl_QG_fbgJsKB3MtF6vP5M461oaD1vBjx8aBSlM6cDSQzq9xZ1Maxipp9pHBj2bJkJg19-u61KSwUNOY2QqNWz/s1600/Photo+2020-06-17%252C+5+07+20+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs04srJRv67R8jeFIXLkRc0h-r9nQeH1jknCAyeriPczJd6WvAdO0kZEhl_QG_fbgJsKB3MtF6vP5M461oaD1vBjx8aBSlM6cDSQzq9xZ1Maxipp9pHBj2bJkJg19-u61KSwUNOY2QqNWz/s400/Photo+2020-06-17%252C+5+07+20+PM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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In the meanwhile, I had proceeded to figure out the proper mortar mix. The vertical joint on the left is my sample. The one on the right shows the house’s original mortar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5EXOccNsGXDyQ1OMgP5Q96_YhQqQXiNjeOBXNz-DEY4vRkdOIqwwwYM0gCeNAHIMw8AQYpOAOf_4aGiNCVmAwj64kvm7M-skH05bJD9UzBOXT-eMmawdWKu0ppk9mp1nmHoS2pNUk5j7/s1600/Photo+2020-06-17%252C+5+06+33+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5EXOccNsGXDyQ1OMgP5Q96_YhQqQXiNjeOBXNz-DEY4vRkdOIqwwwYM0gCeNAHIMw8AQYpOAOf_4aGiNCVmAwj64kvm7M-skH05bJD9UzBOXT-eMmawdWKu0ppk9mp1nmHoS2pNUk5j7/s400/Photo+2020-06-17%252C+5+06+33+PM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And this is the final result.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHWk1sfgO2GCq-kkJAw-a4zjkk_QTPuFEzHjBDXLf7IEekmp88SWFxnaXeqvYQgug-tr8A4IqQp3e5QjTwMLopUl2jxmWqp4V0RVh7mIJxg6NOIc8rWnOE5AUg02hqxLrWtpmb070GHlZ/s1600/Photo+2020-06-20%252C+1+38+58+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHWk1sfgO2GCq-kkJAw-a4zjkk_QTPuFEzHjBDXLf7IEekmp88SWFxnaXeqvYQgug-tr8A4IqQp3e5QjTwMLopUl2jxmWqp4V0RVh7mIJxg6NOIc8rWnOE5AUg02hqxLrWtpmb070GHlZ/s400/Photo+2020-06-20%252C+1+38+58+PM.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Here is the review the client has posted on my Google page, should you be curious to know just how satisfied he was.<br />
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</article>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-328944971340968592019-07-13T21:38:00.003-07:002019-07-14T19:18:21.940-07:00Making some distinctions about our pricing understood<div class="gk gl ba ar gm b gn go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx" data-selectable-paragraph="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.004em; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: -0.46em; margin-top: 2em;">
This post is admittedly long, therefore depending on your appetite for reading such ramblings, you may choose to glance it over or decide not to be bothered all together. If you feel that by now you do have a vested interest in better understanding why my price is what it is, how much consideration I have put into the matter, and what my mechanism is for arriving at a valuation for my services, then it’s all there for the reading, should you be willing to drudge through the whole thing. Otherwise, the mere fact of having written it has been a useful exercise in thought clarification for yours truly.<br />
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In the <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2019/06/harmony-versus-dissonance.html" target="_blank">last post</a>, I’ve explained the raison d’être of my company: <i>producing masonry restoration work that is considered art in its own right, above and beyond its structural integrity properties</i>.<br />
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Furthermore, I’ve been working assiduously since the onset of my business on honing my work ethic. My goal has always been for the client, to not only be satisfied, but to become elated. This requires a multi-faceted approach to customer satisfaction; every single step of the company-client interaction has to pass muster. In order words, someone embracing this level of commitment can’t be late to start a project like (sadly) most contractors often are. The work has to be delivered on time and on budget. It requires consistently showing up and working with dedication day after day from start to finish, thus demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt to the client that their project is currently the most important thing on the contractor’s mind. The property has to be kept maniacally clean throughout the project to an awe-inspiring level. The communication skills have to be above average, first class even. One has to be receptive and responsive to the client's or neighbours’ needs, and more.<br />
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I’ve personally turned this strategy into a <a href="https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/10/30/soft-asset" target="_blank">soft asset</a> over time that I’ve been polishing to a shine. I’ve quite often heard it said by our clients that we are the only contractor with whom there wasn’t even a single glitch. [If I find myself getting "rusty" in some spots -- if you will indulge me for one metaphor -- I tend to deeply self-reflect about the situation and seek to get to the root cause of the matter so as to course correct.]<br />
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But, when we started Invisible Tuckpointing back in 2001, our prices were below the median rate that well-established companies were charging during that era, eventually leading to my complete unhappiness, getting home from work between 9:00 and 11:00 pm nearly every night, and yet not earning an adequate compensation for my efforts.<br />
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In summer 2002, I had raised our prices to be within the median range, but by 2005, I was getting sick of it and ready to go back to roofing, and my wife and business partner partner — Sandy — was ready to return to being an esthetician in a nail salon. There just wasn’t enough “cheddar” for us to be motivated to continue to undergo the <i>constant pressure</i> of making sure we were <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">always</em> on time for the next job <i>all the </i><em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">while</em> matching the bricks and mortar to the existing masonry to a level that could be classified as full blown OCD — this, in addition to staying an extra hour (or two!) every single workday just to make sure that the site was being kept (ridiculously) clean.<br />
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The fact is we couldn't help ourselves: we wouldn’t have it any other way as we had become addicted to the joy of witnessing our customers get progressively elated, and at times, even “losing it” a little because they were so damn delighted. <span style="letter-spacing: -0.004em;">But we had become tired of the business in general, our happiness level was on a downtrend, and we were strongly contemplating getting out and doing something "less intense".</span><br />
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Perhaps it should be attributed to luck, random timing or “destiny” that the next few (highly) interested prospects (I recall there being three) took it so negatively that we were quitting. They no less demanded that we be doing, at a minimum, <i>their</i> project before “checking out”. Simply put, they couldn't care less about our drama: we had to do their work — only then would they “set us free”. If my account of the events sounds a little exaggerated, it could be closer to what really took place than you think. I remember pacing back and forth after one such conversation, disturbed and conflicted about what to do. The solution came to me over the following few days: we would charge what we <i>really</i> wanted to, so as to feel stoked about the prospect of giving it our 110 % — perhaps so much that nobody in the right mind would want to hire us ever again. “Problem solved”, I thought, except that we got crazy busy from that point on. The new price pushed away those who were not interested in what we best had to offer, but it apparently made much more sense to those who valued it. I remember going out to do sales calls on Saturdays in Spring 2007 and, for several weeks on end, coming back with 40k to 50k in sales every time. And with wanting to keep the team to 2 or 3 of us so as to not dilute the experience, the wait time for customers became customarily extended.<br />
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I’ve since been gradually inching up our prices to what they are today, always with the balancing act in mind of trying to ascertain what our unique offering is worth, to us on the one hand, and to the type of clients we best cater to on the other.<br />
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Our current pricing structure has had a forcing function on me of having to assume the extra responsibility of ensuring we only focus on prospective clients who definitely want our skill set. I constantly ask myself, “Does it make sense for us to do this job?” “Is it in the best interest of the client, or would it be just a sale to line my pockets with?”<br />
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For example, let us assume that a house had previously been repaired in many places with visibly unappealing grout; and now the owner wanted to repair a portion of newly deteriorating brickwork, only to leave the ugly grout intact for budgetary reasons; then I believe I should pass on that job. I could best be helpful at this point by referring other companies who are self-admittedly more suited to the task…that is unless the owners were planning to address the grout in the next year or so; which however, is most always never the case.<br />
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If, on the other end, I can bring a building back to its former glory — since the skill set is more than just rare — then I feel I should be the one to do the work, and I would do it without any qualms whatever about my price, <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">provided</em> <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">the customer concurs and</em> <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">wants the result more than hanging onto the cash</em>, if I can speak candidly.<br />
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There are clients who contact me to have work done for whom my price doesn’t even raise an eyebrow and who are happy to proceed, and even grateful that I can and am willing to do the work and have not yet, for example, gone into early retirement. Those are the people I'm meant to work for, I believe.</div>
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There are also those who <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2016/09/why-you-likely-will-try-not-to-hire-me.html" target="_blank">try desperately <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">not</em> to hire me</a>, but after having researched their options, come to the conclusion that they do need to enlist our services, based on the sheer fact that they are a stickler for a highly harmonious result. With these individuals, I always try to do a reality check and explain that the last thing I want is a situation in which, at the end of the project, I’m told that the work is great but the price too high. I further explain, that although I would otherwise be more than happy to do their project, should this in fact be their sentiment, I wouldn’t want to proceed since their feeling would indicate to me that they are prioritizing price over outcome; and while there may be nothing wrong with that, it would mean that I am not a good fit for them; and as such, they should stick to their guns and try and find another company that will be more aligned with want they truly want: an acceptable job at a much lesser price.<br />
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And at times, there are those who unfortunately have not done enough homework / due diligence and decide to hire me nonetheless not knowing fully what's involved; or one of the partners badly wants our services while the other resents the price. These last two customer profiles are the most hazardous to me as they can slip by unnoticed: it appears I’m working for my target audience, but I’m in fact not.<br />
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I’ve had one fall through the cracks this past week that was a combination of the two, which is what has prompted me to write his post.<br />
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Before getting to the details of the latter, I’ll add that by July 1st, we had done only <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2019/06/harmony-versus-dissonance.html" target="_blank">three projects</a> up to that point this year. I had initially refused to do two of them, having had doubts that we were the right fit for these clients; however, the owners of both residences did insist that they only wanted to be dealing with Invisible Tuckpointing. They convinced me and so we performed restoration work for them. Jubilance abounded for all three households in the end.<br />
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Then, having lumped a few smaller projects in July for which I nonetheless felt we were a good match, we did one such job the week before last, and the clients — husband and wife — were both effusively thankful for the result; while Sandy and I were ecstatic for having meet them and for having had the opportunity to apply our creativity to their home with an outcome that was highly pleasing to the both of us as well. There was no price tension whatsoever. With all the work mentioned thus far in this post, I can imagine how someone could either be horrified as to how much we charge per hour per person, or be fine with it because the result cannot be had otherwise and speaks for itself — all depending on what is most valued.<br />
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Then came last week’s job, a very lovely family — all of them, down to the dog. It started last summer when I showed up to provide the wife an estimate for repointing the front of their house. Actually, I immediately said I’d pass and was ready to leave, when she gave me an incredulous look and, of course, asked me why.<br />
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I explained that the brick needed to be cleaned and offered my opinion that, as my price is definitely not cheap, it would be a waste of her and her husband’s resources to go ahead and repoint the brick as it was. She exclaimed that the brick had just been cleaned. I replied that it was a poor job then, and I still felt the same way. She asked what she should do. I suggested getting someone who knew how to clean bricks and, upon request, provided her with the name of a respected acquaintance of mine in the field. She asked what my price would be. I told her. I explained what my scope of work would be if I were to do the project. Meanwhile, her husband had showed up and the three of us talked for some time longer before I finally left. I was pretty sure I would never hear from them again.<br />
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Lo and behold, I got a call from her in October 2018. She had had the individual I had recommended clean the brick for her and thanked me profusely for having made the suggestion; and she wished to go ahead with the work and wanted it done no later than by March 2019. I replied that I was booked until July or August, and couldn’t change the lineup, at least until the end of June. After a moment of silence and expressing her clear disappointment, she agreed that she would wait and mentioned that July would be better than August. In the days that followed, I checked out the property and agreed that he bricks had been cleaned beautifully. I made a couple phone calls and was able to book her around mid-July. I called back to confirm and her husband signed the contract. I had assumed, based on the above-mentioned events, that they were by now in the first bucket of client types I mentioned earlier.</div>
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Last Monday, I finally arrived and was greeted warmly by the wife who was at home that day. Theirs was a tricky job in terms of colour match, which required all of our prior experience to successfully pull off, and which I believe we did. But it wasn’t a time consuming job, as many all-too-often are. I had sold it as “1 unit” — my own methodology for selling work that IMO works better than any other method, such as pricing by the foot, by the brick, etc. One unit can range from 4 light days to 5 long days, although I’m always clear that I do not sell time, but a result. Anyway, I had seen her on Thursday afternoon and she had liked the outcome, calling it “seamless”. I mentioned we were essentially done, although we had to come back on Friday morning to do some final tweaks and to clean up the porch floor and window sills with soap and water and pick up our equipment. We made an appointment then to meet at 2:45 on the Friday so she would pay us.<br />
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The following day, as she came out with her checkbook, she mentioned that her husband felt they were overpaying, and as the work had taken less time than they had thought it would / should, she was asking for a 10 % discount — not unreasonable by any stretch of the imagination, and she was kindly asking, but definitely not what I had bargained for.<br />
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I must admit, I never get upset with customers -- not even <a href="https://homestars.com/companies/2576258-invisible-tuckpointing/reviews/218708" target="_blank">the only one who has ever screwed me</a> -- but I did initially get angry. I felt it was unfair to re-negotiate after the job was complete; and so beautifully done to boot. My personal contention was I had never twisted their arm. She had insisted we be doing their work; and as long as the result was as artful as all our other work is, we deserved to get paid what had been agreed beforehand..<br />
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She remained remarkably composed and polite, but kept shaking her head slowly while looking at me as though she <i>really</i> needed this concession. I offered to charge her <i>nothing -- </i>not a penny -- as long as she’d let me take out all the mortar joints that we had put in so she could find someone cheaper to fill them back in (good luck on getting it matched, however). She didn’t want that. I pointed out toward the second neighbour’s house where some unsettling pitch black repointing had been performed and contrasted sharply with the original mortar. I asked her whether she would honestly have preferred to pay someone else half my price to get that result. She said would not have wanted that. She mentioned that what happened was they had no idea about what was involved about this type of work and, although they were perfectly happy with the work, they simply felt it had not taken enough hours for the money charged.</div>
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So, having learned better about keeping harmonious relationships with clients than to make a big fuss about something, I calmed down and told her I accepted her offer in order to take my share of responsibility for how she and her husband felt about my pricing, and for not having seen this train coming. I was still less than pleased about the situation, but I went along with it. She wrote the cheque, thanked me profusely for having obliged her and we talked some more, rather cheerfully actually. It was during that last bit that it dawned on me what had really happened, and I put forth to her that perhaps she had been the one to insist on getting the work done while her husband had not really wanted to go ahead, and now maybe — just maybe, she had put herself between a rock and a hard place, having to pay heed to her husband’s sentiments that surfaced when our price-to-hours ratio became evident. She replied that I had nailed the dynamic "on the head". Knowing this made me feel okay about having to part with the 10%, but I'm resolved to make sure it never happens again.</div>
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I often tell prospective clients that essentially the only “downfall” with me is the price, (which usually yields a laugh or two). I then clarify my statement by promptly adding that <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">nothing else</em> will go wrong.<br />
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“<em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You do get what you pay for</em>” is often an accurate statement....<br />
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I will also say that my price may seem high, but only compared to the companies I find myself in competition with in the residential market. I don't think personally it is high at all. In fact, the very premise of this blog is that it aims to suggest to residential home owners that they can avail themselves of institutional, historical landmark level, heritage work at a reasonable price, hence this blog's subtitle, <i>"</i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.004em;"><i>A refreshing perspective for residential owners of historic brick /
stone homes -- when you're the one footing the bill, not the
government." </i>Go to the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals' <a href="https://cahp-acecp.ca/" target="_blank">website</a> and locate the firms who have worked on Old City Hall, the Ontario Legislative Building, Casa Loma and Parliament Hill, amongst others, and ask for an estimate! That would certainly offer another way to look at things. </span><br />
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Everything is relative and keep in mind, I live in a world in which clients will gladly spend $40,000 on a trendy fridge and a fancy French oven, but would consider it heresy to spend that much on the exterior of their home, save for windows and landscaping. That is just the sad reality of it, I'm afraid.<br />
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In this same world WSIB, <a href="https://app.getpocket.com/read/1380453916" target="_blank">since 2013</a>, wants up to $10,000 yearly to insure small masonry business owners on a compulsory basis, whereas in the past, only one’s employees had to be covered through them; and a $175 monthly independent insurance policy would be all that was required for the principals of the company. And we all know what the implications of income tax are.</div>
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In short, in addition to be performing the work myself with my business and life partner, I also have developed an intellectual property related to our work which I do license to others outside of Central Ontario, and which I feel I deserve to get paid for, whether I'm doing the work myself, or someone else is "upping their game" by using my system. I’m also a musician and science-fiction writer, but I don’t realistically expect to ever get remunerated for those endeavors. The masonry work is a creativity outlet I very much enjoy, but it is also the one I can and do monetize.</div>
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If you value the work we do and want to avail yourself of it, I ask that you please make absolutely sure that you are comfortable with the price we command, and focus <em class="gy" style="box-sizing: inherit;">solely</em> as your yardstick on whether we succeed in blowing you way with the result.</div>
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And we shall give you our 110%.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-92104168941160880242019-06-25T18:37:00.000-07:002019-07-14T12:02:31.387-07:00Harmony versus dissonance<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="5b93" name="5b93" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.84); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0em; line-height: 1.58; margin: 29px 0px 0px; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
I entered the masonry industry while I was still the owner of a roofing company. I couldn’t believe how ugly the majority of repointing projects getting done around Toronto at the time were.</div>
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At times, the work wasn’t too badly done, but the repair was still “visible”.</div>
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I made an effort from the onset to produce nicer-looking work than most of what I was observing being done.</div>
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I heard it being said one day that a percentage of customers wished that tuckpointing work could somehow be blended so well that it would in fact become “invisible”. That set off a light bulb to ignite in my head and I knew right then and there that I could be the one who would figure it out. That took some doing, obviously, but I got there and so Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd. became the one company that could and can be counted upon to deliver a real match every single time.</div>
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Promising that the replacement mortar would match the original to the point of customer elation was most always adding pressure to my life, but it kept me on my toes and forced me to continually challenge myself.</div>
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Came a point, though, when the endeavor crossed over into the field of the arts and the objective became to produce a result so harmonious that it could be considered a form of artistic expression, much like a musical composition, a play, a novel, etc. would.</div>
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This year so far has been particularly artful. I’ve just finished my third facade restoration of the season and I feel as though I’ve just completed three highly satisfactory (to me) paintings.</div>
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I love the creativity element of this line of work.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-43089217752519478472016-09-03T08:22:00.001-07:002019-07-14T19:18:54.465-07:00Why you will likely try *not* to hire me for your brick repointing project at first — and why you may end up changing your mind<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="a575" name="a575" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
From 2001 to 2007, potential customers would pretty much make a decision on the spot, or fairly close to it, for the most part.</div>
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I remember doing my sales calls on Saturdays in the spring of 2007 and coming back home with $40,000-$50,000 of sales every week. I can recall that by April 29 of that year, I was already booked until early November, which is typically when the season ends for me on any given year.</div>
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Since then, we’ve had the global financial crisis in 2008, the $10,000 home renovation tax credit cancellation in 2010, and immediately following that, the retail sales tax went from 7% GST to 13% HST.</div>
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As a direct result, homeowners now have less disposable income to direct towards home renovations, and they have to be substantially more thoughtful about their choices in this regard than they’ve had to in the past.</div>
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Furthermore, <a href="http://www.randyhilliermpp.com/pressrelease02281013" target="_blank">WSIB’s Bill 119</a> was the last straw to cause home renovation prices to collapse — even as the price of homes continues to rise — as it places contractors in the uncomfortable position to largely have operate in the black market in order to remain viable.</div>
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And don’t forget that there is what I call “<a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2016/08/the-homestars-effect.html" target="_blank">the Homestars effect</a>” which has greatly contributed to further commoditize the market.</div>
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The upshot of it all is that potential customers now take longer to make their decision. They no longer thank me for simply showing up to give them a quotation, as they now have 9 or 10 other estimates from contractors who are hungry to get the job.</div>
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So prices crashing is a good thing, right?</div>
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That depends.</div>
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Not if common sense fails to prevail.</div>
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If you’re not fussy about getting the repointing done to a high standard and making sure that the new mortar matches with the original on the house, then you will feel well-served as this is a buyer’s market.</div>
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But if you are seeking highly professional workmanship, you may find the process more frustrating that it needs to be.</div>
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Recent and thorough market intelligence tells me that a few estimates will be as low as 4 times cheaper than the highest quote, while the bulk of the proposals will fall pretty evenly between being priced at a 40 to 75% discount to what the top of the range is at.</div>
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You will pretty much be met with someone who will nonchalantly walk around your property with you asking you what you want done, as if they weren’t sure themselves about how to proceed.</div>
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Some of these contractors will make assessments of the situation or impose conditions that will make you feel as though they are “winging it” and are “making it up” as they go. You will be left feeling like no one has a process. For example, some shall insist that all the mortar needs to be 100 % replaced while others won’t. Some will tell you that a particular item needs attention while others will tell you the exact opposite.</div>
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Several of the estimates you will be getting will be from a masonry contractor or a salesperson who hires others to do the work while they aim to make a markup in the range of 35% of the contract amount. This will all-too-often mean that your masonry restoration project will be performed by a crew of two people paid approximately $18 an hour. You know what they say, “If you pay with peanuts, you will get monkeys”. So don’t be all that surprised if you come home from work one day and engage one of these crew members and they act like apes.</div>
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Most importantly, no one will stick their neck out and say they can accurately match the existing mortar when you press them on the issue (even though they might initially pay it lip service until you demand some assurance). They will usually say that they can “only do their best” — which means absolutely nothing, let’s be clear on that).</div>
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Now, circling back to the title of this post, let me hit you once again with this perhaps startling statement:</div>
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You may very well be the type of prospective client who will try <em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">not</em> to hire me when I first provide you with an estimate.</div>
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You’ve read correctly.</div>
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What do I mean?</div>
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When you get a quotation from me, I will most likely be the highest. It’s not that I’m gouging the customers; it’s that I’m doing the work to a whole different level.</div>
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In the “golden years” that I have referred to above, I would close jobs easily because 1) customers had more disposal income, 2) it was quite hard to even get quotes from contractors; and 3) the spread between my price and that of others was smaller.</div>
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What happens now is that a segment of potential clients take longer to make a decision as they have to justify to themselves paying what appears to be a premium to have me do their work.</div>
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But in fact, many times, I’m not more expensive at all: I’m simply pricing the job so the result is what I consider a professional outcome, whereas much of my competition might charge 1/2 the price for half-time spent to produce what constitutes, in my opinion, an abortion. (There’s no need for me to chew my words, is there?)</div>
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So a fair percentage of them charge the same per week, or slightly less, but the outcome suffers greatly.</div>
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My biggest challenge is to remain believable when I make my claim to you that, upon conclusion of the project, your house will look as though “time has only kissed it” — meaning that the brickwork will be harmonious to a degree such that it will appear as though it aged gracefully and never required restoration.</div>
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That is why I’m saying that, in the current market reality we find ourselves in at the time of writing in 2016, you most likely will try <em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">not</em> to hire me when going through the process of getting pointing estimates and are getting a wide range of prices to repoint your house from several (or many!) contractors who are hungry and more than eager to shove a quote in your hands.</div>
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But if you are a stickler for having brick mortar replacement work that truly matches the original (and is in fact art in its own right), and if you do your due diligence, you then very well may find yourself in that cohort who ultimately realize that I’m indeed their best option.</div>
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For the sake of your house — which clearly can’t speak for itself — I urge you to truly do your homework and make sure you’re making the best choice all around.</div>
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And if, for some reason, I think I’m not the right contractor for you, I’ll be the first one to let you know.</div>
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Happy hunting.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-4854613546784545162016-08-31T21:47:00.002-07:002019-07-14T11:02:58.399-07:00The Homestars Effect<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="8db0" name="8db0" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
I remember back to around 2003. Most contractors were still “offline” in their advertising and marketing efforts.</div>
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I felt as though I had the internet pretty much to myself in those days.</div>
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I had a website that was more than just a “glorified business card”, and I had a web presence through having written articles for Masonry Magazine and the Mason Contractors Association of America, among other things; thereby channeling to me the more thoughtful and research-inclined potential buyers — and they were more than halfway sold by the time they contacted me.</div>
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I had learned in the nineties, in my roofing contracting days, to stay away from buying ads in the yellow pages, unless you had a way to stand out; otherwise you would drown in a sea of “me-too-ism”.</div>
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And this is what Homestars personally reminds me of.</div>
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It might be different with other trades such as roofing, window replacement, etc., I’m not sure — although I personally gave up using it last winter for my own residence when I was looking to find a plumber and eventually had to resort to Google Ads, which I normally don’t rely on either, as I typically prefer the organic search results.</div>
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What Homestars has done, at least when it comes to masonry work, and more precisely, repointing, is to turn everyone into a commodity service provider.</div>
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Some facts have recently surfaced for me through market intelligence, for example when most — if not all — masonry contractors are pressed to answer whether they can truly match the original mortar, they will say that “they can only do their best”, explaining away how difficult it is and all. This is whether they were discovered on Homestars or not, I must add. Also, they will typically ask the customer what he or she wants in a way that imparts that they have no clear process or framework with which to approach this type of work, giving off a strong sense that they are “winging it”; and most often offering contradictory opinions from one contractor to another, as in “This wall needs to be entirely ground out and fully repointed” in opposition to “That wall is perfectly fine, I would leave it”.</div>
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The result is a range of price options and scope-of-work recommendations that vary greatly for the same project; not to mention that the result typically lands somewhere between having a “ghastly” to a “ just OK” appearance that steers clear of being “artistic”, harmonious” and “beautiful”.</div>
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The secret question that no one asks me, but that they all seem to be thinking of, is “Why is no one else emulating what you are doing if you are in fact so good at it?”</div>
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The answer is that “I can be bothered”. It is not rocket science — I’m no Elon Musk <span style="letter-spacing: -0.063px; line-height: 33.18px;"> — </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">but it does require being committed to spending hours (or days!) on every job, as required, so as to eventually “get the mix right”. Sometimes it comes easy, especially with years of experience, and sometimes it comes really hard, still, even for me; however, it’s the niche I’ve carved for myself in the marketplace. And the reason why no one has been in a hurry to “dethrone” me is that maintaining a high bar requires “keeping one’s feet to the fire” </span><em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">all the time</em><span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">. It is more pressure than anybody likes — even me — to always have to live to the promise that the mortar will closely match in color, texture and composition.</span></div>
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The “typical” masonry contractor doesn’t like that pressure, as it is certainly uncomfortable — more so at times than at other times — but it is always an extra pressure to have to be dealing with; and I’ve been intentionally putting myself between a rock and a hard place for years and years, and so I can take it.</div>
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What happens when you open Homestars on your phone, tablet or desktop, is that you are greeted with dozens after dozens of masonry contractors offering tuck-pointing, who (in my opinion) can’t factually match the old mortar that needs to be reproduced, who will offer you different and contradictory opinions, and who at times have hundreds of positive reviews and/or have been appointed “Best of Year _____”.</div>
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How is this possible?</div>
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Based on what I have learned through my interactions with Homestars, the mechanics of the site which make these dichotomies possible are as follows:</div>
<ol class="postList" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); counter-reset: post 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 25.2px; list-style: none none; margin: 29px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="graf--li graf-after--p" id="a04e" name="a04e" style="font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 30px;">1- <u>The business model:</u> as soon as a contractor has one single review up on Homestars, a sales rep of the company is guaranteed to call on this contractor and offer a premium profile (at a cost of $300/month, on a 1 year-minimum contract!). The basic (read “free”) accounts are not allowed to link to their company website or upload photos and a logo — which makes these profiles look bland.</li>
<li class="graf--li graf-after--li" id="27b3" name="27b3" style="font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 30px;">2- <u>The exposure boost:</u> if that wasn't enough, right smack in the middle of a basic profile will appear several attention-grabbing ads to promote premium profiles, just below where it says: “You might also consider…”</li>
<li class="graf--li graf-after--li" id="7d8b" name="7d8b" style="font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 30px;">3- <u>Reviews can written by the contractor as a perk:</u> you’ve read that right! Premium profiles have access to a smartphone app which allows them to <i>write their own review</i>, push it to the customer’s phone who then can post it by simply pressing “OK”. I can promise you that <i>no one naturally gets 200, much less 575 reviews!</i> It just <u>doesn’t</u> happen. I have only 16 reviews on Homestars, at the time of writing this blog post, after several years on the service, to boot. They are all organic and real, mind you, but they don’t come by very often. I have customers <i>who have physically hugged me</i> because they were so elated, but they wouldn't write a review -- no way! <i>No one has the time these days : <i style="letter-spacing: -0.063px;">since the advent of social media, </i>consumer attention is a scarce commodity .</i></li>
</ol>
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So there you have it.</div>
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I personally have always declined and still am refusing to pay Homestars $300 a month for a business model that I disagree with. Their sales personnel keeps contacting me every time a client leaves my company a review or whenever a prospect shows interest despite my having clearly and repeatedly requested not to be contacted -- deaf ears is what I'm getting.</div>
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So what is the "Homestars effect", you ask? It is the added noise of having so many contractors, all presumably satisfying their clients to the point that they all have become a commodity by having no differentiating traits of their own.</div>
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Having a review system that keeps everyone on their best behavior is a definite plus — as any seasoned eBay buyer will tell you — but I would argue that putting everyone on the same footing, <i>when there are in fact great variances in competence and outcome</i>, is <u>not</u> in the best interests of the consumer; not to mention that it is unfair to those contractors who are truly raising the bar, but refuse to be "held hostage" to the fact that Homestars ranks high in the Google results — something the company is clearly eager to monetize.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-58091951640437680372016-08-28T13:35:00.003-07:002019-07-14T10:30:04.363-07:00Let it be known I no longer work through the Toronto Heritage Grants Program<div class="graf--p graf--leading" id="5b06" name="5b06" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">
<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">Every Spring I get a good share of phone calls from potential clients who are interested in having me provide them an estimate so they can apply for a subsidy with it from the City of Toronto’s Heritage Grants Program.</span></div>
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And every time it results in a rather lengthy conversation in which I explain why I’m no longer interested. Some thank me for my time and move forward in their quest to get a grant, while others decide to not bother applying so they can have me do their work in view of my stance.</div>
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I’ve had a successful run with the Program until 2009, at which point there was an extended garbage strike — if you’ll recall — that involved the same union for both parties; and when the dust settled, the personnel configuration was very different and the beautiful dynamic we had had, had been decimated. I gave it a try a couple more times, but subsequently decided to “run the other way”.</div>
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In any case, there in no need for me to publicly get into the specifics. Suffice to say that I have contacted several individuals involved at City Hall about my dissatisfaction, and no effort has been made by any of the parties to mend my position.</div>
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They aren’t many contractors who are as skilled in artistically restoring vintage masonry as I am; and so I feel it’s a shame that some civil servants would alienate those who can best serve the interests of the residents; but as someone so directly involved, I would think that, wouldn’t I?</div>
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My message to any potential clients who I shall have directed to this post in the future is to do your research carefully about the type of result that you want. If you’ve ended up successfully vetting a contractor who also works through the Grants Program, then you’re in luck. If you can’t find what you like there, then I suggest passing on that process and you might be happier to have done so in the end. Ask neighbors who’ve gone through the program in recent years what their experience was like, and that will give you a sense of whether or not it’s for you.</div>
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Finally, I will leave you with a visual example that might give you some insight as to my position in this matter.</div>
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This first set of pictures relates to the left side of a Cabbagetown duplex that has been "restored" about three years ago through the Toronto Heritage Grants Program. Notice the dark red tint color that has been applied to all the bricks at the front of the house, as well as the condition of some of the bricks that you’d hope would have been remedied for a project to qualify as heritage work that was subsidized by the taxpayers’ purse. I've included three closeups which show the worse as well as the best of this particular job. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLSiTIUx8F1Wr5yUJVbWn1puLvZvI62-9yzDpZ13W55XQDrd5BYB7Tn2fZtXIXDY9vGMAnZYh2LBIw_pFvkT894mF5SUe_iWZnuD55Dr7zCDyv0Hc8MHXtBO29hgumKkax8fsiWOstOWx/s1600/2016-07-04+14.47.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLSiTIUx8F1Wr5yUJVbWn1puLvZvI62-9yzDpZ13W55XQDrd5BYB7Tn2fZtXIXDY9vGMAnZYh2LBIw_pFvkT894mF5SUe_iWZnuD55Dr7zCDyv0Hc8MHXtBO29hgumKkax8fsiWOstOWx/s640/2016-07-04+14.47.38.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCPP4jbiJxu3qgj9LDVTxOI6bkyqEtzUayN8OuBb7Nqas634HYAsdPnxRq0K0C754M6_qctO7RRMbY5CJvSzwNHForckMuS5yA9q6FX5LnCZMAPluDKvvkoEx6hNSeSAY4N8EtNtqstkr/s1600/2016-07-04+14.47.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCPP4jbiJxu3qgj9LDVTxOI6bkyqEtzUayN8OuBb7Nqas634HYAsdPnxRq0K0C754M6_qctO7RRMbY5CJvSzwNHForckMuS5yA9q6FX5LnCZMAPluDKvvkoEx6hNSeSAY4N8EtNtqstkr/s640/2016-07-04+14.47.49.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxH01SBwA-5iaIm18gWRrTFfsCU9dGNPfCGTZeJ4mNoN4hlAHVOQg6Mfz_zDZKJT5MXwkCdfujTWv4Mm650ENwqCjFGP2esca5dqlew4TbqBBmVGkIKEbF9C8BSQMiBGjfuvREdIi1AMe_/s1600/2016-07-15+13.42.37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxH01SBwA-5iaIm18gWRrTFfsCU9dGNPfCGTZeJ4mNoN4hlAHVOQg6Mfz_zDZKJT5MXwkCdfujTWv4Mm650ENwqCjFGP2esca5dqlew4TbqBBmVGkIKEbF9C8BSQMiBGjfuvREdIi1AMe_/s640/2016-07-15+13.42.37.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AuMWXJKsZ6xzA9zzrS0lRjKZILhKNH2mfiJcPlOiKMZoqkHIUaxUUkTH2eJfr93POvkC5tQqWzNxGca9_So4ORSthvm4S3_9v-uNoNoBLPCOCEJUF3fxHG5I7rSMP1htw8mkWFsHY0tS/s1600/2016-07-15+13.42.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AuMWXJKsZ6xzA9zzrS0lRjKZILhKNH2mfiJcPlOiKMZoqkHIUaxUUkTH2eJfr93POvkC5tQqWzNxGca9_So4ORSthvm4S3_9v-uNoNoBLPCOCEJUF3fxHG5I7rSMP1htw8mkWFsHY0tS/s640/2016-07-15+13.42.26.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Earlier this year, I had no trouble convincing the neighbor on the right side of the same duplex, to forgo the Grants Program and hire me directly to restore the facade of his house.</div>
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Here are some before pictures:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYPAO1Xa1uw8kYfxvaPo3TnlWN4y_FxyH-8ic9Db441YoLHbbNCza3z5zpniLz_BSyWwoY7hVx51PXz5p7qSsLDlRvitwwPK-zv7pNWU8cuV7a-wOJVxU6Jf06dxCHiMRB-uI-GrbtDal/s1600/2016-07-04+14.48.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYPAO1Xa1uw8kYfxvaPo3TnlWN4y_FxyH-8ic9Db441YoLHbbNCza3z5zpniLz_BSyWwoY7hVx51PXz5p7qSsLDlRvitwwPK-zv7pNWU8cuV7a-wOJVxU6Jf06dxCHiMRB-uI-GrbtDal/s640/2016-07-04+14.48.02.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWaxrccZHkVjNFD7ZGaG4Apb-UnQnP8UuN-5hTyDcP6SUUxoESLLlRFfvSHk0w5E9JaATuknxUX4pwvzNLJ3GotGR_Gr67UggYhEVzWjkx-hnO9OwRMAZYRQRCVUSAP_tSMJkCVXNlTKC/s1600/2016-07-01+15.20.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWaxrccZHkVjNFD7ZGaG4Apb-UnQnP8UuN-5hTyDcP6SUUxoESLLlRFfvSHk0w5E9JaATuknxUX4pwvzNLJ3GotGR_Gr67UggYhEVzWjkx-hnO9OwRMAZYRQRCVUSAP_tSMJkCVXNlTKC/s640/2016-07-01+15.20.50.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZ-LdXn4116ULyzKYn2jHMwTP4EeGoOxZrAhUQGBVxtKSxq8LOFQjMzSNuQAs83F8xqH9wZyfqAvWrvJZrzhPVXk6-YYv1D1V7xuBTtCZ0HPItR9nTQhz6XeKf07eZY79MhuHnLYkbs_a/s1600/2016-07-07+13.39.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZ-LdXn4116ULyzKYn2jHMwTP4EeGoOxZrAhUQGBVxtKSxq8LOFQjMzSNuQAs83F8xqH9wZyfqAvWrvJZrzhPVXk6-YYv1D1V7xuBTtCZ0HPItR9nTQhz6XeKf07eZY79MhuHnLYkbs_a/s640/2016-07-07+13.39.42.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And this is the final result that we’ve produced:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hfJb4tOwbtM5WMVuSX2TlknVYR1nkjAYiUsq6paKbJrj4k7kdgRof9eiYhILM53IpYngbS6NNthvfcws1lbZ3NDBoD7I9Bbp6E35fs-9H1WlmwWfpowQKdaDddxJn_exYaTRm5mtgOKS/s1600/2016-07-25+16.00.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hfJb4tOwbtM5WMVuSX2TlknVYR1nkjAYiUsq6paKbJrj4k7kdgRof9eiYhILM53IpYngbS6NNthvfcws1lbZ3NDBoD7I9Bbp6E35fs-9H1WlmwWfpowQKdaDddxJn_exYaTRm5mtgOKS/s640/2016-07-25+16.00.54.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4yBC0IEUohbsu2rEF8YDH6rOmHzV4UoMHjKafIKRWvNlH8rut76mL25Hrd3amm_kiHcP3iUoY3oz7DW3LQQzvHS1ceyeWF05fd7QTiYvKII1mUsJiHslgX8pqA1TOhvINXJnvAKFsByG/s1600/2016-07-25+16.00.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4yBC0IEUohbsu2rEF8YDH6rOmHzV4UoMHjKafIKRWvNlH8rut76mL25Hrd3amm_kiHcP3iUoY3oz7DW3LQQzvHS1ceyeWF05fd7QTiYvKII1mUsJiHslgX8pqA1TOhvINXJnvAKFsByG/s640/2016-07-25+16.00.59.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfOWnZzZvLGWWLToQFvI1y7BXUsUH1Qu5cnqsI1T54qBKKZIVG_a2ZivqawUMboQul2EJGC0DFauaktvgWuKghkl8D5tINrddILostHNiyM6_GKBhQzK5mdg3rhT7NaexM3XgDiPDbm78/s1600/2016-07-25+16.01.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfOWnZzZvLGWWLToQFvI1y7BXUsUH1Qu5cnqsI1T54qBKKZIVG_a2ZivqawUMboQul2EJGC0DFauaktvgWuKghkl8D5tINrddILostHNiyM6_GKBhQzK5mdg3rhT7NaexM3XgDiPDbm78/s640/2016-07-25+16.01.01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-604u52AwuLzqKsUxFE00td4YBooffPlQEuUw0gBxShSBOJZVwYnbDAWdvIPrmGtvzqZKTQ6osa7GSMxG9lnK5pM_Z2X5sPM-4m9gDwyOFcugU2vWGPqvGxEkwxZCkJTCFQonXKH8-zj/s1600/2016-07-25+16.01.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-604u52AwuLzqKsUxFE00td4YBooffPlQEuUw0gBxShSBOJZVwYnbDAWdvIPrmGtvzqZKTQ6osa7GSMxG9lnK5pM_Z2X5sPM-4m9gDwyOFcugU2vWGPqvGxEkwxZCkJTCFQonXKH8-zj/s640/2016-07-25+16.01.06.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhexfcn6bl83c_i8RgM8CkB6pwIP33Av0cAgM3di_rpf02-M7p4HHxHosCkCgZE6xVKv-ryPBTLwoSF8v1h3rYatNVwE_rMZSKzBX20B7mbOLZjY7Rk22kDR96bmg0Xx9Lmn2c2-BnaIS/s1600/2016-07-26+14.40.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhexfcn6bl83c_i8RgM8CkB6pwIP33Av0cAgM3di_rpf02-M7p4HHxHosCkCgZE6xVKv-ryPBTLwoSF8v1h3rYatNVwE_rMZSKzBX20B7mbOLZjY7Rk22kDR96bmg0Xx9Lmn2c2-BnaIS/s640/2016-07-26+14.40.05.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here you can see both side by side:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5aYaOoxZNvCXQcMJgm0l2vCOM-YIqlOOzetC-nl2HtTEUgz-CiF8U_Bu0_Oc8vpq4-es_WXf1Yb3EY8dj-0rc-wpvukqupdVj7RuS6iY_dMJ5UfOV05VjrdTcQHucChSRcaYy4vY0o-n/s1600/2016-07-26+14.42.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5aYaOoxZNvCXQcMJgm0l2vCOM-YIqlOOzetC-nl2HtTEUgz-CiF8U_Bu0_Oc8vpq4-es_WXf1Yb3EY8dj-0rc-wpvukqupdVj7RuS6iY_dMJ5UfOV05VjrdTcQHucChSRcaYy4vY0o-n/s640/2016-07-26+14.42.01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Which one do you want?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-92104402614789524392016-02-06T09:34:00.001-08:002016-02-06T09:34:10.580-08:00A little pro bono work…<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="e35c" name="e35c" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
A Chicago architect contacted me last year asking my advice as to what mortar mix was best to use in reassembling a pre-1850 rural Illinois building his firm was involved with.</div>
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I was happy to help and fired him an email.</div>
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He has subsequently sent me some pictures of the work in progress.</div>
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It’s coming along nicely it seems.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-50385914032992319462015-10-27T08:34:00.002-07:002015-10-27T09:41:12.661-07:00Why are there red lines over the original yellow mortar of my Victorian house?<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="7b92" name="7b92" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
Sometimes I meet prospective clients who own a Victorian house and who ask me why there is some sort of combination of red and white (and sometimes black) lines on top of the yellowish lime mortar with which the brick walls were constructed.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">Many people assume that it must have been done after the fact.</span></div>
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It wasn’t. What they are looking at are the remnants of true tuckpointing.</div>
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I say “true tuckpointing” as opposed to simply saying “tuckpointing” because there is a confusion about the correct nomenclature.</div>
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These days, when people say, “tuckpointing”, they usually mean “repointing”.</div>
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In Victorian times, they were very different things.</div>
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This is tuckpointing:</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">And this is repointing:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">Here are the proper definition for each of the related terms, taken from an article I wrote for Masonry Magazine over 10 years ago:</span></div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="-webkit-font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">“Jointing” referred to the process of finishing the joint as the brickwork was erected. Jointing is what all bricklayers do today.</em></div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="-webkit-font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">“Pointing” denoted the placement and careful tooling of a mortar joint between bricks or stones. In contrast to jointing, pointing was the process of raking back the mortar joint a few days after the completion of the brickwork and was usually done by a different crew that was skilled in delivering a high-quality, consistent decorative finish to the joint. Also, jointing was performed at the rear and sides of a building, with only the front façade being pointed.</em></div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="-webkit-font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">“Repointing” referred to replacing a mortar joint when it had failed, on average about once a century. This was typically the type of restoration work completed on older mortar.</em></div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="-webkit-font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">“Tuckpointing” is an interesting one, which will need further explanation.</em></div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="-webkit-font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">The word “tuckpointing” once referred to a specialized application of pointing that consisted of first sanding the bricks to a smooth, even surface, then masking the original mortar joint with a thin one that matched the brick in color, usually red. One would have created — up to this point — the illusion of looking at a solid wall of clay, as opposed to a wall consisting of individual bricks. Then, after having rubbed the red mortar with a piece of jute and dying the work to a uniform color, fine lines were cut with a knife into the “masking” mortar while it was still soft, in a rigidly symmetrical fashion to produce a perfect geometrical outline of each brick. At that point, a fine, usually white, lime putty mortar joint was tucked over the lines and meticulously manicured, you might want to say, so as to create the illusion that the wall had been laid with perfectly rectangular bricks in a mortar bed as thin as 1/16th of an inch!</em></div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="-webkit-font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">Tuckpointing originated in England in the 17th century as a cheaper alternative to gauged brickwork — which was the ultimate method of laying bricks, consisting of rubbing the stones to exact dimensions and perfect edges, then dipping them lightly into lime putty, providing a true 1/16" joint. Tuckpointing subsequently became the pointing style of choice during the Georgian and Victorian periods, minimally for the front façade of brick buildings.</em></div>
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So now you know what these red lines were and why there are there.</div>
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In most cases the tuckpointing has mostly come off over the years, and most of the white (typical) or black (less common) ribbon is gone and what you have left to a varying degree is some red mortar over the yellow mortar.</div>
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Knowing what to do with that is important in my opinion.</div>
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Some people repair the failed mortar with a yellow mortar, which makes a strong, unsightly contrast. Others use red mortar to perform the repair, which doesn’t look quite right either.</div>
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Removing all the mortar so as to repoint the entire wall is not recommended either as the original character will be lost.</div>
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So what is one to do?</div>
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What I do is I perform the repointing work, matching the mortar to the original yellow mortar on the house, and then I run a thin red line in the center of it so as to blend the work and eliminate the offensive contrast.</div>
<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="1b7e" name="1b7e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
This is an example:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQhhw883COaR-nC_CpKtL6Yr5yhBYtuYWxeIeIzQWI0SvdwLmxhluSm379rPaavz4f1b8ERuR8f33nrHYrr2jYA8CYww91tyVwgozNYKDT9xGw0aFttwRKEbXz9hcIQ0JTRcUogj7hh00/s1600/2015-10-02+15.41.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQhhw883COaR-nC_CpKtL6Yr5yhBYtuYWxeIeIzQWI0SvdwLmxhluSm379rPaavz4f1b8ERuR8f33nrHYrr2jYA8CYww91tyVwgozNYKDT9xGw0aFttwRKEbXz9hcIQ0JTRcUogj7hh00/s640/2015-10-02+15.41.26.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="1b7e" name="1b7e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">Another possibility, although all-too-often prohibitively expensive, is to remove all the mortar and redo the true tuckpointing.</span></div>
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In Toronto, at this time, I don’t know of anyone who can do it to a high level. It is a lost art. It took me 13 1/2 years of research and practice to arrive at a point where the result is good. Not exceptional, just good. And I’m still learning. Workers were surprisingly skilled back in the day…</div>
<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="bf72" name="bf72" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
Here is an example done by another contractor in Toronto who claims the ability to perform tuckpointing:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtZqPqV3FBRSXEi0fB8yuudawnUjk6W4PHeluedpKyKKesnn9mIVDR4modRAuWpIZ6l_wwmYSMnDEpfGm_9ckIz8ZA3WnrnwnbIkINzYnSd4tYDTsz9g7BpvUc-TBfLsihXsvxGJsSS8/s1600/2015-06-26+15.14.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtZqPqV3FBRSXEi0fB8yuudawnUjk6W4PHeluedpKyKKesnn9mIVDR4modRAuWpIZ6l_wwmYSMnDEpfGm_9ckIz8ZA3WnrnwnbIkINzYnSd4tYDTsz9g7BpvUc-TBfLsihXsvxGJsSS8/s640/2015-06-26+15.14.34.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="graf--p graf-after--p" id="bf72" name="bf72" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 29px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58;">As you can see, if not done properly, tuckpointing can appear messy and ghastly.</span></div>
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Here is a job I’ve just completed last week:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1OdKCcBn_q6bdnio56_etB4QcJRowQSt_x1LSWcBEvWIW-DwnCq4eXC2eNCABySyTfl1Lk0g-OiFJ5APyCOqj9zRg3pMOCMeV2Y5kk6IZqoLHUb0Eu4yr2OICKaVtESAKlUdeEU8Od0/s1600/2015-10-20+22.04.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1OdKCcBn_q6bdnio56_etB4QcJRowQSt_x1LSWcBEvWIW-DwnCq4eXC2eNCABySyTfl1Lk0g-OiFJ5APyCOqj9zRg3pMOCMeV2Y5kk6IZqoLHUb0Eu4yr2OICKaVtESAKlUdeEU8Od0/s640/2015-10-20+22.04.01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.063px; line-height: 33.18px;">Here is a short video that shows it in action:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.063px; line-height: 33.18px;"><br /></span><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vlIdKS4u_wc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vlIdKS4u_wc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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With practice, it would come closer to perfection, but the issue is that virtually no one is prepared to pay for it, and so my approach of putting a red line over the yellow mortar has been seen as a great solution by essentially all the homeowners for whom we’ve done it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-40671460539957710372015-08-13T12:34:00.002-07:002015-08-13T12:54:52.827-07:00The lowest price<div class="graf--p" id="1313" name="1313" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
We all want the lowest price when we buy something, but here’s the clincher…<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">as long as it’s for the same value on offer</em>.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="8a76" name="8a76" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
It’s obvious in the case of products. I recently went to a large furniture retail chain outlet to buy a bar stool. The one I liked was $99, with the option to buy a second one at half price; but I only wanted one. I asked the salesperson whether there was any wiggle room, and there wasn’t. I drove across the street to a Walmart and bought <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">the same exact stool</em> for $49.99.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="2050" name="2050" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
But services are a different matter.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="7d35" name="7d35" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
If a handyman (or woman) offers to fix your brick and spread cement over it with a spoon, it’s pretty obvious that would be a bad move.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="91fb" name="91fb" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
But what about a mason who has many positive reviews on Homestars who offers a low price?</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="d6f9" name="d6f9" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Is that a good deal?</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="4745" name="4745" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
How about a concrete (no pun intended) example?</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="9963" name="9963" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
I’ve had the same price structure since 2006, with only incremental increases until 2009, at which point I froze the price. So I’ve been charging exactly the same since 2009. Back in 2007, 08 and 09, I was booked up to a year in advance, so I couldn’t have been perceived as being priced outside the market then, could I?</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="e598" name="e598" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Fast forward to a typical scenario today:</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="bd40" name="bd40" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Me: “The price is $14,500.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="72a8" name="72a8" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer X: “Ouch!”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="1239" name="1239" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Me: “Your friend who has recommended you to me has paid even more for a comparable amount of work back in 2009. And she’s had even more work done in 2012 at the same rate.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="2eb4" name="2eb4" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer X: “Actually, I know, and she’s very happy with it. Fair enough, we’ll get back to you.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="4138" name="4138" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Two weeks later.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="2d97" name="2d97" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer X: “We have no doubt at this point that you are the best in the city, the only problem is the price: one contractor came in at $7,000 and the other two came in at $4,500.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="21c3" name="21c3" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Me: “It’s going to look like shit”.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="7dfe" name="7dfe" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer: “I’’m not so sure, they all have good reviews on Homestars.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="0f59" name="0f59" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Me: “Go see the work in the flesh.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="d20e" name="d20e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer X: “We plan on it.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="3829" name="3829" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Another two weeks went by.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="f7e5" name="f7e5" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer X: “We went by to look at your work once again, as well as the other people’s work, and we didn’t like the two lower quotes at all, the $7,000 was not bad actually, but we loved yours, can we workout something?</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="2d51" name="2d51" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
I did have to make a concession in view of the current market realities, but I did get the contract at the highest price, and by a long margin to boot.</div>
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So what is happening?</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="d284" name="d284" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
For one thing, it’s obvious to me we are going through a recession, even though Harper doesn’t seem to have the balls to say so.</div>
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Consequently, it’s a buyer’s market right now. When the economy is rolling, prospective customers are typically complaining that contractors aren’t even showing up to provide an estimate, and they are generally thankful when someone shows up at all. Not now. No one is currently voicing that complaint, and it is evident that prospects are getting plenty of quotes (that they sure are glad to bring up in a negotiation).</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="f8bf" name="f8bf" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
As far as I’m concerned, I’ve selected to remain true to a high standard of accurately matching the existing materials so that the work, when finished, will have a time-kissed look.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="efc9" name="efc9" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2015/05/the-places-where-masonry-contractor-can.html" target="_blank">It is easy to cut corners</a> when doing brickwork restoration, and so I am in a niche market by sticking to a longer, considerable more involved process.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="bb9d" name="bb9d" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
But there is a visible difference in the result, although not every potential customer can appreciate it.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="6824" name="6824" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
And so it is only a buyer’s market as long as one doesn’t notice or care about the difference.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="6680" name="6680" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Customer X was probably surprised that I never called her back to follow up and try to close the job.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="5fcd" name="5fcd" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
The reason I didn’t follow up is that if she and her husband couldn’t tell the difference between my work and the work of the $7000 guy, then the latter would have deserved the job, as far as I’m concerned; and I didn’t want to be pushing to take the project away from him, if in fact he would have been better-suited to do it given the circumstances and the prospect’s obvious priorities — he has a right to make money too.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="23ff" name="23ff" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
On the other hand, if someone is a stickler for as close to a perfect mortar and brick replacement match as can possibly be done, then my company becomes a very viable option indeed.</div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" id="f82b" name="f82b" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
I therefore find it important that we maintain our position as the premium choice when it comes to brickwork restoration / repointing, so as to satisfy that currently small cohort who sees the value in it for themselves.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-56246177578061441622015-05-09T09:06:00.002-07:002015-05-09T09:19:58.628-07:00The places where a masonry contractor can cut corners when repointing<div class="graf--p" id="8220" name="8220" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
Yesterday, I wrote a post titled, “<em><a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2015/05/dear-potential-client-please-dont-lie.html" target="_blank">Dear potential client, please don’t lie to yourself</a></em>”.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="89ba" name="89ba" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I want to follow that with a minimalist breakdown of the various steps involved in doing a repointing project so it can hopefully be better appreciated where an individual can cut corners when performing this type of work.</div>
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<strong>The Process</strong></div>
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<u>1 — Identify.</u></div>
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The person doing the work has to be able to identify <em>which</em> mortar joints need to be done.</div>
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It sounds simple, but you would be surprised how ineptly this can be done.</div>
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When I hire a new operator, this is always the first challenge I encounter.</div>
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I can’t yet have them apply the mortar itself and if I don’t want them to simply stand around and perform menial tasks such as cleaning up and providing me with the odd tool, then I want to start them with removing the old mortar and prepare the joints.</div>
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The problem is they have no idea which joints to take out.</div>
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They either leave too many joints that were supposed to be removed or they go overboard and remove joints which didn’t need to be touched; or worse, they do a mixture of both — a scenario of too much over here and not enough over there.</div>
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The problem is that they don’t have the mental framework to guide them along. They are confused and therefore they guess.</div>
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And I all too often see <em>the same thing in the work of other contractors as well</em>.</div>
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Sometimes a contractor insists on removing all the existing joints and do a full pointing job, which I describe as going to the dentist and removing all your teeth instead of simply fixing the cavities. Hey, it has happened to both my parents and many other people, as it was the fad in the 60's where they lived.</div>
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When approaching a potential client, there should be a clear determination of exactly what types of joint will get done, for example:</div>
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<u>All the joints which are missing, in other words, there’s just a hole left.</u></div>
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<u>All the joints beyond a certain depth.</u></div>
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<u>All the joints which have failed by being clearly separated from the brick, cracked, turning to powder, etc.</u></div>
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<u>Possibly all the joints that don’t match from previous mis-repairs, etc.</u></div>
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<u>Very small holes and cracks are left alone.</u></div>
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<u>Everything else stays as-is.</u></div>
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If I see a long hesitation in an operator when trying to decide whether or not he or she should remove a particular joint, I immediately stop him or her, and find out what they don’t understand.</div>
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<u>You can do the same when you interview a contractor.</u></div>
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Ask, <em>“Please look at my wall here and show me exactly which types of joints you propose to remove and which ones you would leave?”</em></div>
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If he or she can’t rattle it off quickly, then you know that individual can’t even accomplish the first step correctly.</div>
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If he or she starts to propose doing the whole wall, as in 100 percent, think “fraud”, and stay away. There are very few exceptions to this.</div>
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A contractor can cut corners with this step by being vague about what gets done and do much less than is necessary, and the client, not really knowing, will now be able to tell themselves a lie that they got their wall repaired and that they can now not worry about it.</div>
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But it’ll be a shit show.</div>
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<u>2 — Joint preparation.</u></div>
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This steps consists of carefully removing the mortar that needs to come out without damaging the bricks.</div>
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It is easy to cut corners there — literally! — by being over-aggressive with the cutting saw. The result is an artificial joint line which looks very ugly.</div>
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When this happens in a substantial way, the house has typically been damaged beyond repair. It gets very difficult, not to mention costly, to subsequently reverse the situation.</div>
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<u>3 — Accurately matching the mortar.</u></div>
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This step requires skills, but above all, a willingness to take the time.</div>
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My experience with contractors and subcontractors is that they are of the mindset that matching the existing mortar should be done quickly. If it takes for than a few minutes, they’ve wasted time and they need to move on.</div>
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It is safe to say that it is not part of their business model.</div>
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On the other hand, <em>I have made that feature my business model</em>.</div>
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We are called Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd. <em>because we match the existing mortar</em>.</div>
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It is for this very reason that, even if a masonry contractor tells you that they match mortar, it is most often lip service, as I would describe it, and I as I've observed it.</div>
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There have been instances when I’ve had to work hard to produce a good color match. Like the time I had to make 13 separate sample batches to get the perfect match.</div>
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Or the time that I just couldn’t get the color right on a Friday. I returned on the weekend to work it out until I had the right mix ready for Monday. <br />
<br />
Or countless others.</div>
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Most people aren’t willing to make that kind of investment, and so another corner gets cut.</div>
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<u>4 — Matching the joint profile and texture.</u></div>
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Taking the time to reproduce the original joint finish when applying the mortar is also of paramount importance.</div>
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What would be the point of having achieved a good mortar mix that matches the original if, when the mason applies it, the texture and the profile of the joint clearly don’t match the original?</div>
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This misstep is yet another common way that a mason can cut corners when doing a repointing job, as it is much, much faster to take a rounded steel rod-type of a tool and simply run that along the joint so as to “finish” the joint at blazing speeds.</div>
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And so we’re back to the shit show description.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="4ea5" name="4ea5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
It takes much, much longer to properly “manicure” the joint, as we call it at my company, with an array of tools outside of the conventional "<a href="http://www.marshalltown.com/Products.aspx?D=100&S=108&C=C1030A" target="_blank">slicker</a>".</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="fd35" name="fd35" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<u>5 — Working cleanly and sensitively.</u></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="b9e4" name="b9e4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
Not damaging the property or the neighbors’ and keeping the site clean during and at the completion of the project takes thoughtfulness and time.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="7fa4" name="7fa4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
For example, at Invisible Tuckpointing, we make liberal use of tarps to protect, driveways, decks, fences, patio furniture, etc.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="428c" name="428c" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
We also make liberal use of painter’s tape and plastic to cover window sills, lamps, etc.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="0a48" name="0a48" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
More importantly, we take the time to look around and think ahead of time about the environment we’re in so as to protect it, including flowers, garden bed, etc.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="104a" name="104a" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
We even collect the mortar cutoff from the joint into a dust pan so we minimize the mess we make on the ground, which facilitates our cleanup efforts.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="171c" name="171c" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
We take the time to co-ordinate with neighbors so we won’t aggravate them, and more.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="396a" name="396a" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
And we air-blow and rinse everything clean and leave the site immaculate when we depart; and we often do this at the end of each work day, so the owners can enjoy their property in the evening.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="f232" name="f232" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
But the above requires cleanliness and sensitivity. And it’s easy to cut corners there too.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="84b4" name="84b4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
That’s the gist of it.</div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" id="48af" name="48af" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
If you want more information, take a look at the <a href="http://invisibletuckpointing.com/industry-standards/" target="_blank">Industry Standards page</a> on our company website; as well as our <a href="http://invisibletuckpointing.com/our-portfolio/" target="_blank">Portfolio page</a> which exemplifies some of the criteria I’ve discussed in this post.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-84061585800491072192015-05-08T20:54:00.000-07:002015-05-09T09:29:29.228-07:00Dear potential client, please don’t lie to yourself<div class="graf--p" id="5f85" name="5f85" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
Having recently done an estimate for a prospect who seemed interested in doing business with me, I followed up a couple of weeks later.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="1916" name="1916" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
The job was already done by someone else.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="2861" name="2861" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I asked whether he would be willing to provide me with some details so I could better understand where I sit in the market currently.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="7d9e" name="7d9e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
He gracefully obliged. And I'm thankful that he did, even though I will come across as a little harsh if you keep reading.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="e94a" name="e94a" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
He told me that although he knew I would do the best job, he went with a cheaper option as it fitted with his current budget better; and should he have owned a Victorian house, he would then definitely have retained my services and not have taken any chances. </div>
<div class="graf--p" id="ae69" name="ae69" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I was at $4,350. One quote came in at $1,500 and the other at $1,600.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="0a81" name="0a81" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
He had no faith in the $1,500 one and so he went for the $1,600 one.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="e34c" name="e34c" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I asked whether he was happy.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="fcf5" name="fcf5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
He said he was moderately happy and at least he didn’t have to worry about it anymore. </div>
<div class="graf--p" id="ae28" name="ae28" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I asked how long it took the guy to do the job and how many people were on the job.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="dd5b" name="dd5b" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
He said, “Only him, one day, nine hours”.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="d7e6" name="d7e6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I said, “Wow, I priced this so we would be two of us for three days. I would obviously have done much more work than he did, and so I’m actually cheaper.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="1c70" name="1c70" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
He was surprised.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="e3fe" name="e3fe" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I passed by a couple of days later, and what I saw actually made me angry.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="3873" name="3873" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
I can’t even think with it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="40c7" name="40c7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div class="graf--p" id="40c7" name="40c7" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
The job is an abortion and all I my instincts were telling me was to remove what had been done as fast as possible and redo it properly.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="8199" name="8199" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
It was so ugly it disturbed me.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="595c" name="595c" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
And it disturbed me that the customer was “reasonably happy” with it.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="3c51" name="3c51" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
That customer has just burned $1,600.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="63f0" name="63f0" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
It’s not a proper outcome.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="8660" name="8660" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
It’s not a proper product.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="69e2" name="69e2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
It’s wrong.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="63dc" name="63dc" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
That customer didn’t take the time to do his research and his due diligence.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="829a" name="829a" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
The house may not be Victorian, but it is nonetheless getting close to be 100 years old and it deserves better.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="fe09" name="fe09" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
That customer has told himself a nice little story about how now the ants can’t crawl in and there are no holes and he can now sleep better and that he’s made the best choice based on his particular financial situation.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="65a7" name="65a7" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Blah blah blah.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="00d6" name="00d6" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Sorry.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="9378" name="9378" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
It’s a lie.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="3320" name="3320" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
You’ve just told yourself a nice lie.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="ded1" name="ded1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
There are many areas which have been missed which still need proper attention; for example most or all of the window sills needed to be addressed, but they weren't.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="6fd0" name="6fd0" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Furthermore the house is now defaced until someone, someday, hopefully reverses the poor workmanship.</div>
<div class="graf--p" id="4435" name="4435" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
If I were more religiously inclined, here is how I would pray:</div>
<div class="graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote" id="767a" name="767a" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-indent: -0.43em;">
“<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Dear God,</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="6676" name="6676" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">In this Information Age,</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="61fc" name="61fc" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Please make sure that my prospects use Google.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="c534" name="c534" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Please make sure they are not too lazy to do their research and due diligence.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="e362" name="e362" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">If they don’t want to use me, that’s fine.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="0264" name="0264" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">But please don’t let them butcher older homes they temporarily own through neglect and poor decisions, as someone else will live in those houses after they’ve eventually moved out of them.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" id="7883" name="7883" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">When someone lives in what constitutes a part of our collective heritage, please make sure they contribute to the legacy instead of working against it.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" id="22e1" name="22e1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.952941); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Amen</em>.”</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-32159310580805519952015-01-13T16:42:00.003-08:002015-01-17T16:38:48.517-08:00An open letter to all Toronto owners of vintage brick homes in need of restorative masonry work in the upcoming future<div class="graf--p" name="7b54" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
Below is an open letter I’ve written to all owners of vintage brick or stone homes in need of upkeep.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="affb" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="affb" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>If you are here because you have received a hard copy of it in your mailbox (You have therefore already read it) and want some additional information, I propose you read the following previous blog posts I’ve previously published: <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/10/welcome-my-name-is-mario-cantin.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/10/what-is-meant-by-matching-mortar.html" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/10/harmonious-brick-replacement.html" target="_blank">3</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/10/all-sales-pitch-are-not-created-equal.html" target="_blank">4</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/11/customer-elation.html" target="_blank">5</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/11/brick-fabrication.html" target="_blank">6</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/11/reconstructing-bricks.html" target="_blank">7</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2014/01/the-big-question.html" target="_blank">8</a>, <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2014/01/purism-is-not-for-residential-heritage.html" target="_blank">9</a> & <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2014/11/is-it-wrong-to-be-using-portland-cement.html" target="_blank">10</a>. They were intended to inform, whether you live in Toronto, somewhere in North America, or anywhere in the world, even.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e6cc" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e6cc" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>If you have arrived here via <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">le web</em>, then the open letter might be a good place start. Here it is:</div>
<div class="graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote" name="0617" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-indent: -0.43em;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0617" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">“My name is Mario Cantin I am the owner of Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd., a brickwork restoration company.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="1f22" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="1f22" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">First of all, as much as I welcome the idea of getting new business, the primary purpose of this letter is to inform consumers.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="fed2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="fed2" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">My immediate goal is to leave you with a thought and hopefully help you in your decision process, even if you end up going with a different contractor.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="2b4e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2b4e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">The way homeowners hire a brickwork restoration specialist today has changed in Toronto over the last five years or so.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e9e3" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e9e3" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">I was early on the internet (2003), endorsed by Masonry Magazine and providing written documentation that explained my process, which is to match old bricks and mortar with a particularly high of level of aesthetic quality, while the bulk of my competition was still offline.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="f176" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="f176" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">This made it easy for a search-oriented consumer to browse the web and find me and subsequently decide whether or not what I had to offer was what they were looking for, or whether it was just plain overkill for them.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="b73d" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="b73d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Two things have happened since:</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="74cb" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="74cb" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">a) the move away from traditional advertising channels and toward the internet, in general — and the advent of Homestars, in particular.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="1206" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="1206" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">b) the commoditization of “heritage work” through the now widespread availability of lime products and better imitation bricks than what had previously been on the market. I used to have to import some of my materials from England in 2002. Now there are suppliers in Toronto who carry European imports. While this is a good thing in general, I’ll say that better paint doesn’t necessarily make a better painter.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="33c5" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="33c5" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">The net result is that you now have a buyer’s market full of contractors who presumably can do restoration work with deflationary economics, and they mostly all have positive reviews on Homestars.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="3bbb" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3bbb" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">So if your goal is to save money fixing your brick home, now may be a great time for you to do so and be reasonably happy if your expectations do not exceed a certain threshold.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="ea73" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="ea73" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">The other side of this is that, if you are a stickler for perfectly matching mortar with well sourced vintage bricks, it is now harder to go online and find someone who can really perform up to your expectations, as there is simply too much “me-too’ism” and too much advertising clutter.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="261a" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="261a" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">For example, the owner of one of the last jobs my company performed in 2014, on Palmertson Blvd., had been most unsatisfied with the first three or four contractors she had asked to bid on her project after carefully taking the time to review some of their past efforts by physically visiting the addresses they had given her as references, even when they had “restoration-sounding” business names.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="8d40" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="8d40" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">So she kept getting more and more quotations.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="3f5a" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3f5a" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">I was the ninth or tenth contractor she called.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e92d" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e92d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">She ended up hiring me even though I wasn’t one of the low quotes.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e31f" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e31f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Why?</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="0a5b" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0a5b" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Because she wanted the repairs to blend harmoniously and she wanted the overall result to be very artistic. And she was acutely aware by then that those are rare skills.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="4d90" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="4d90" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">She was also willing to take the time to do her research.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="fa83" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="fa83" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">What all-too-often happens is that someone gets hired after the first three or four quotes that a consumer gets.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="9fd0" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="9fd0" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Or take the example of the individual on Shaw Street last June who had no idea who to hire, even after searching the internet. He ended up walking up and down Cabbagetown with his wife on a Sunday afternoon and eventually asking a prominent general contractor there who he should trust to restore his Victorian brickwork. The contractor kindly pointed to me (thank you Joe).</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="77a5" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="77a5" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">My aim with this letter is solely to connect with the highly-precise, exacting individuals who are seeking a company that will match materials to the levels that I have taken that skill to. These individuals would be unsatisfied with a run-of-the-mill product and would be disappointed in the outcome, not having found what they were looking for. It would be in our mutual best interest for such customers to have my company perform their work. And hopefully I’m not coming across as conceited.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e14e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e14e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">On the other hand, there are many people who do not feel they need a profoundly accurate brickwork restoration repair, such as I offer. For these individuals, there will be no regret in hiring most well-reviewed contractors on the internet. They will feel they have derived good value from it indeed.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="4c48" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="4c48" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">I have made some resources available for more information about the brickwork restoration trade in general, and about what is that I do exactly.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="2181" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2181" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">My company website is: </em><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</em></a></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e78a" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e78a" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">I also have put a blog together: </em><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.mario-cantn.com/" href="http://www.mario-cantn.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">www.mario-cantin.com</em></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em"> (don’t forget the hyphen!) I would recommend going to the blog archives on the right-end side of the page and start with the oldest post (Friday, October 18, 2013) and move forward toward the present until you’ve read enough to satisfy your curiosity, essentially.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="508d" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="508d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Call me if you have any questions.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="f4de" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="f4de" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Mario Cantin</em></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-77481284070941893562015-01-01T08:45:00.004-08:002015-01-01T08:45:50.336-08:00A typical classified ad in a trade magazine in 1895<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhxksjpX24ONplUH0e6J-buiaN8H08uv0In4JCukvaZoIOljXKUJHwudC_gQGj-7AhKW7LU5eLKsVBubF8mIZ6bZ7RJ6c65LBj2FM9miGYLVV2unyFE6RhMDOZG0xpjyj3HV2knuU2lR4/s1600/Page-full+of+Portland+Cements+Ads.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhxksjpX24ONplUH0e6J-buiaN8H08uv0In4JCukvaZoIOljXKUJHwudC_gQGj-7AhKW7LU5eLKsVBubF8mIZ6bZ7RJ6c65LBj2FM9miGYLVV2unyFE6RhMDOZG0xpjyj3HV2knuU2lR4/s1600/Page-full+of+Portland+Cements+Ads.bmp" height="640" width="533" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-66993651706253696982015-01-01T08:37:00.005-08:002015-01-01T08:37:52.023-08:00This mid-1890's article on cement reveals an already-present appreciation of Chemistry <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U407piCCQssR_aJLRH3doc2MWX9UnsPw-ETIoxy-H86UaF0toaxkMxfTytXeYQ3FJucbyW-zON8dZS37-Rmi9NJSD_i5QtEtduBIAKaWisOgxPpZv9r3cWJCyY3o3Mg9S3X9BsekZJDn/s1600/Mortar+and+Concrete+Department+--+3.1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U407piCCQssR_aJLRH3doc2MWX9UnsPw-ETIoxy-H86UaF0toaxkMxfTytXeYQ3FJucbyW-zON8dZS37-Rmi9NJSD_i5QtEtduBIAKaWisOgxPpZv9r3cWJCyY3o3Mg9S3X9BsekZJDn/s1600/Mortar+and+Concrete+Department+--+3.1.bmp" height="640" width="481" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8gLw9zcE7x_Dyp2A3OqkLHcg274QIyCbFlCtOZewlErqgr3juckYk3vpEQinzwJXAleW_fhblK2KMd5cwRWwJl7iOojQKAn9NaRzdUqSR2Y4QyIYt3QPdgg97D9j7r4e6VndMG3GzCmZ/s1600/Mortar+and+Concrete+Department+--+3.2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8gLw9zcE7x_Dyp2A3OqkLHcg274QIyCbFlCtOZewlErqgr3juckYk3vpEQinzwJXAleW_fhblK2KMd5cwRWwJl7iOojQKAn9NaRzdUqSR2Y4QyIYt3QPdgg97D9j7r4e6VndMG3GzCmZ/s1600/Mortar+and+Concrete+Department+--+3.2.bmp" height="640" width="486" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0jsCYvmcXPbSZn8-9D8BBoMZKl-ghKYQUiOViGXW-ZPwL5thTLUPQsiqJDSbqh15mSGoISciA7V6HBGGUOXvb7evuMdoJIToJ8r4DeRokD5qxbJY1wwnGR0y6DOcbc-y8CpjyYxwZKRR/s1600/Mortar+and+Concrete+Department+--+3.3.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0jsCYvmcXPbSZn8-9D8BBoMZKl-ghKYQUiOViGXW-ZPwL5thTLUPQsiqJDSbqh15mSGoISciA7V6HBGGUOXvb7evuMdoJIToJ8r4DeRokD5qxbJY1wwnGR0y6DOcbc-y8CpjyYxwZKRR/s1600/Mortar+and+Concrete+Department+--+3.3.bmp" height="640" width="490" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-24519118545904041882015-01-01T08:26:00.001-08:002015-01-01T08:27:39.271-08:00A lovely 1895 Victorian architectural drawing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-62814893622391722332014-11-17T15:19:00.002-08:002014-11-17T15:19:33.021-08:00“How to Prepare Mortar” — originally published in Engineering Magazine in the mid 1890's<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This article shows some of the complexities involved in dealing with pure lime mortars.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWJAeHUsH8TiUWynUJsP8hWrQNQgw8HJlE35IGw9vY0_Mmz4iWjdGrwIxO4gk4RPzraV5hpyAu-nVsiySyzCfFhF3ueh9rHEJhlwraC7LX99b54oW6deGQmGyIYiveugli0XsOyoO5Z2V/s1600/How+to+Prepare+Mortar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWJAeHUsH8TiUWynUJsP8hWrQNQgw8HJlE35IGw9vY0_Mmz4iWjdGrwIxO4gk4RPzraV5hpyAu-nVsiySyzCfFhF3ueh9rHEJhlwraC7LX99b54oW6deGQmGyIYiveugli0XsOyoO5Z2V/s1600/How+to+Prepare+Mortar.bmp" /></a></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-15937623989428469802014-11-17T15:06:00.005-08:002014-11-17T15:07:47.825-08:00A drawing from circa 1895<div class="graf--p" name="16d4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Here is a drawing which was originally published in “The Brickbuilder” magazine in the late Victorian era.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="d3f2" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>I think it imparts that ingenuity and engineering prowess were conspicuously present at a time when power tools were not yet in use.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2PiLUtxxe_nJxdRBO-ZwagnFynT7fDFsoWpF2SwVHYmE_3sJDbA7VrQxP3LOjhScI6dAKjp9QUlfgUIrDfNIivX_bcXOdArUxjdWAurUVm4R2rHK70ETeSB1ujPN2YGi20A5rL2muXSv/s1600/Concrete+Arch+with+Masonry.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2PiLUtxxe_nJxdRBO-ZwagnFynT7fDFsoWpF2SwVHYmE_3sJDbA7VrQxP3LOjhScI6dAKjp9QUlfgUIrDfNIivX_bcXOdArUxjdWAurUVm4R2rHK70ETeSB1ujPN2YGi20A5rL2muXSv/s1600/Concrete+Arch+with+Masonry.bmp" height="293" width="640" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-33814590204151976352014-11-04T12:46:00.000-08:002014-11-04T21:19:25.187-08:00Is it wrong to be using Portland cement in an historic mix?<div class="graf--p" name="262b" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
We tend to hear that it is very important to use a lime-only mortar on old brick homes.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="87ae" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>But so many properties get repaired with a masonry cement mix that I’d say the message has definitely not been getting across.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="143f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>And as the result in these cases is an incongruent mortar repair, the loss of heritage character — in other words, the aesthetics — in my opinion, is an even bigger issue than the potential impairment of the structural integrity.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="bf77" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>First of all let’s be clear that masonry cement is not the same thing as Portland cement.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="4f3d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>“<u>Portland cement</u>” is a man-made product which is manufactured from limestone and clay and subjected to high temperatures in the firing process which causes it to harden under water and become very dense and hard once set, unlike lime, which remains soft and porous. For our purposes, it is used in addition to lime in a given mix, and not by itself. Sand has to be added.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5tCfZR17pEFfy_C9t7BW0vvpfA0zUiCKShL4xuGx9gSyHkrnN44R-7m0zloKi-l7jrgzCVBNh3FTQk07ptAN3D9SHXJqCnjff_i1rHV7DBFFYXKtx8OXsKm3qlM5tYrp1xAUdRCtkJFE/s1600/Portland+Cement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5tCfZR17pEFfy_C9t7BW0vvpfA0zUiCKShL4xuGx9gSyHkrnN44R-7m0zloKi-l7jrgzCVBNh3FTQk07ptAN3D9SHXJqCnjff_i1rHV7DBFFYXKtx8OXsKm3qlM5tYrp1xAUdRCtkJFE/s1600/Portland+Cement.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2e7d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>“<u>Masonry cement</u>” is a preblended mortar mix commonly used in modern masonry construction. It contains a large proportion of portland cement, as well as ground limestone and other chemicals to make the mix easier to work with. It is not required to contain lime, and for this very reason seldom does. It is used by itself, with only the addition of sand. This product should not, in my best professional opinion be used on an old structure, typically pre-1940.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtm-BAGJgys4VeIHrJo-ZnXzFXPd3MeIm3hiihAnkfbXDINkzS33POdoQoj86zbhdkLBTCbPAmheffGFGHdJow18OsqUFrLALs2-78V8aobskuFtYR_ZyI6NqTLo0cIJXVq-xPX4J5SIQ/s1600/Type+N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtm-BAGJgys4VeIHrJo-ZnXzFXPd3MeIm3hiihAnkfbXDINkzS33POdoQoj86zbhdkLBTCbPAmheffGFGHdJow18OsqUFrLALs2-78V8aobskuFtYR_ZyI6NqTLo0cIJXVq-xPX4J5SIQ/s1600/Type+N.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="fcd9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>To go back to my contention about <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2014/01/purism-is-not-for-residential-heritage.html" target="_blank">purism</a>, it is very difficult to be working with a lime mortar in the same, exact way it used to be done back in the day, here in Canada — assuming you'd be doing it largely for sentimental reasons. If you do it for structural reasons, it is fine to use a lime-only mortar, but understand that it requires much more care (which translates to added costs) in order to ensure that the replacement mortar will not turn to powder after the first winter.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="025f" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="025f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>If you’re in doubt, particularly if the building has historic import, by all means, be on the safe side and use a lime-only mix (which doesn't have to be a pure lime mix, as will be explained below).</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="65a7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="65a7" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>But if the budget is simply not there, I would rather see a lime-cement-sand mix used that matches the original mix exactly in appearance, rather than a masonry cement mix which makes the repair look like an abortion.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="3911" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3911" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>In a lime-cement-sand mix (which is also referred to as a “gauged” mortar), lime is used, typically in a ratio of two parts lime to one part Portland cement (<u><em>not</em></u> masonry cement) — although there are other possible variations.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="115e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="115e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>This type of mix does not require so much preparation and care in the application, and has been recognized as appropriate for use in historical buildings.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="a92b" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="a92b" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>For example, the Toronto Preservation Services website provides the following link:</div>
<div class="graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote" name="2061" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: -0.43em; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2061" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>“U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services Preservation Briefs,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.nps.gov/tps/">http://www.nps.gov/tps/</a>".</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="82ff" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="82ff" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>This document <a href="http://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/2-repoint-mortar-joints.htm#components" target="_blank">endorses</a> the use of a lime-cement-sand mix to restore old brick structures.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="5fa9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="5fa9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>They show the link on <a href="http://bit.ly/10SqGry" target="_blank">this</a> page of their site.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="9773" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="9773" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>(Furthermore, the picture on the right side of <a href="http://bit.ly/1Acmm5O" target="_blank">this</a> page on their site features one of the projects that we have performed through their Grant Program.)</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="6575" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="6575" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Much of Cabbagetown and other enclaves of Victorian homes in Toronto would benefit from a lime-only mix, as that constitutes what has been used in their construction. But a gauged mix is still much preferable to the all-too-often used masonry cement mix. </div>
<div class="graf--p" name="6575" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Again, I’d argue that the quality of the visual match of the replacement mortar is the more important issue to weight in the balance. And that element can be achieved by a skilled applicator with a lime-cement-sand mix, which is not the case, from what I’ve seen, with a masonry cement mix. And keep in mind that many old neighborhoods in Toronto were built using a gauged mix in the first place, such as most of the Annex, for example.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="7d7e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="7d7e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>When you see an Edwardian, or Post-Edwardian building in Toronto, it is most likely a fact that the mortar that was used in its construction contains a portion of Portland cement.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="cf6a" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="cf6a" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Back in 2004, I have spent much time in the archives section of the Toronto Public library, reading masonry trade publications of the 1880’s, up to about 1930, and plotting the dates of various articles and commercial ads found inside against a timeline, which conclusively corroborates the fact that Portland cement was already in use at the time of the construction of many of Toronto’s neighborhoods, such as the Annex, Parkdale, High Park, parts of Rosedale, etc., as mentioned above. The ads in one of the publications even list the addresses of some of the locations in Toronto which were selling the product at that very time.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="821b" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="821b" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Regarding the issue with the use of lime, there are two types of lime essentially, a pure calcium lime (sometimes with magnesium too), and an hydraulic lime, which contains clay as an impurity imparting it with a quick set, similar to a cement. The pure lime makes a relatively soft mortar and requires a huge amount of preparation. Both types of lime risk to fail unless a rigorous regimen is followed, for which, at my company, Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd., we charge extra, when a particular building requires their use (for example, we repaired one of the last few Georgian house to remain in existence in the city and we used a lime-only mortar in its restoration).</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="134e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="134e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>It happens that a lot of the information that is currently in circulation in Canada about heritage work comes from England. A prominent British expert of the restoration trade is advocating the use of hydraulic lime in restoration, even where cement + lime had been used originally, as he explains that modern Portland cement is much harder that it was over 100 years ago. But hydraulic lime wasn’t used in North America at the time when England switched from a pure calcium lime to hydraulic lime. It was never used here. Instead, the United States and Canada used Portland cement with lime (and even without!) at that time, which was not only manufactured locally, but also imported, as the German version was known to be superior. As well, a natural form of Portland cement was in widespread use, called Rosendale Cement, due to the presence of a large deposit in upstate New York.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="58cd" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="58cd" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>After having weighed the pros and the cons, and after having debated many options, such as using Rosendale cement (which is rare and expensive), I do not feel that hydraulic lime always is a better choice, for the reasons given above, as it still requires much added work to ensure the work will last, and many residential homeowners will not want to pay the added cost, instead resorting to hiring lower-priced contractors who will have no qualms about using a masonry cement mix.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="c1f9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c1f9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>The properties of lime make it quite tricky to use in as the only binder, in addition to sand.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="3fa7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3fa7" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>The following was taken from an article I wrote close to 10 years ago that was featured in Masonry Magazine:</div>
<div class="graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote" name="9463" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: -0.43em; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="9463" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>“<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Portland cement, the chief ingredient in today’s masonry mortars, sets by adding water, which is called a hydraulic action. Using a quite different process, lime sets over time through a reaction with air, called the carbonation process.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="06b2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="06b2" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Limestone, chalk and seashells are essentially calcium — calcium carbonate to be precise. Lime is derived from heating limestone (or chalk or sea shells) at high temperatures, which drives off the carbon dioxide that is part of its chemical composition and turns the limestone into quicklime, or calcium oxide.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="cb5f" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="cb5f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">When water is added to the quicklime, it generates heat, called an exothermic reaction. In the trade, we call this process “slaking” the lime. If the lime is made into a powder at this stage, it will become the lime you may have seen sold at masonry supply stores, called hydrated lime. However, if you add excess water during the slaking process, the lime will turn into putty. (To some confusion, hydrated lime and lime putty are chemically almost the same, and both are referred to as “calcium hydroxide.”)</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="87a2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="87a2" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">The longer lime is left as putty, the more workable it will be in the end. Over time, the lime putty undergoes a process whereby the lime crystals reduce in size upon aging and transform into small plates that slide when rubbing against each other. This action allows more water to be absorbed, giving lime the property of being highly workable, or having “plasticity.”</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="4011" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="4011" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">While Portland cement hardens due to the chemical reaction with the water, if stored in a sealed container, lime putty will remain workable and soft indefinitely. Lime will harden over time only when it comes in contact with carbon dioxide and moisture.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="aa5f" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="aa5f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Once a lime-sand mortar is mixed and placed in the wall, the water will begin to absorb or evaporate and the mortar will appear to set after several hours. However, the lime then begins to react with the carbon dioxide present in the air and harden, a process that actually will take years to complete. A simplified explanation is that, chemically, the lime is returning to its former state of being a stone.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="1ee8" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="1ee8" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">A more complex explanation is that the carbon dioxide and moisture convert the lime on the surface of the joint back to calcium carbonate. The open pore structure of the lime-based mortar allows the carbonation process to take place deeper in the joint over time.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="438e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="438e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">When tackling a job that requires a straight lime-sand mixture, some experience — at the very least, some caution — is preferred. If the correct application method is not followed, the mortar could soon fail, literally turning to powder.</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="00d5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="00d5" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">First, the wall must be kept damp for several days after the lime-sand mortar is applied so that the carbonation process has the necessary time to start before the wall is allowed to dry out. As mentioned earlier, lime mortars can appear to have set. If you are tricked by this and allow the mortar to dry too quickly, it will not have fully started its reaction with carbon dioxide present in the air. With a lack of moisture causing an abbreviated carbonation process, the lime mortar will be so weak that harsh winter conditions could be sufficient enough to make it fall out as early as within the first year.”</em></div>
<div class="graf--p" name="688d" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="688d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>And the same caveat applies to hydraulic lime as well.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="e103" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e103" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>In summary:</div>
<ul class="postList" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); counter-reset: post 0; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li class="graf--li" name="8014" style="margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 30px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="8014" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>-the more historic significance is assigned to a particular heritage building, whether designated or not, the more care should be taken to ensure that it be properly looked after. And by corollary, this means a higher investment.</li>
<li class="graf--li" name="42a1" style="margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 30px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="42a1" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>-the last thing it should be repaired with is masonry cement (which typically says Type “N” or Type “S” on the bag).</li>
<li class="graf--li" name="81eb" style="margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 30px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="81eb" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>-beware if someone offers to use a lime-only mortar on a low budget, as chances are they will not be willing to put up burlaps and keep the wall moist every few hours for 5 days, for example, and without such care the work will be in real danger of failing after the first winter.</li>
<li class="graf--li graf--last" name="09b8" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 30px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="09b8" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>-you’d be better off, in my opinion and experience, if there is no real budget for an historic restoration-type of specification, to opt for a lime-Portland-sand mix which is soft enough to not damage the bricks (usually Type “O”, or even Type “K”), and which has been applied so skillfully that it matches invisibly with the original.</li>
<li class="graf--li graf--last" name="09b8" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 30px; padding-top: 2px;"></li>
<li class="graf--li graf--last" name="09b8" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 30px; padding-top: 2px;">Below are two relevant ads, as well as one article taken from two different 19th Century trade publications from 1892 and 1895:</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYK2HvZVsg2rzNkpeZX_OQNyUmQlrqYedkhY_0OjqHr3mTahOniN-N1feIrTkZw8s2aeqe8_USNNX9j_3GIa1MA9TNjOkXPOi8ABRKUztDQlRPxNAR7zVlU_gQ6MebLi1ab_BYzgVMD5F/s1600/Portland+Cement+Ad+%231.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYK2HvZVsg2rzNkpeZX_OQNyUmQlrqYedkhY_0OjqHr3mTahOniN-N1feIrTkZw8s2aeqe8_USNNX9j_3GIa1MA9TNjOkXPOi8ABRKUztDQlRPxNAR7zVlU_gQ6MebLi1ab_BYzgVMD5F/s1600/Portland+Cement+Ad+%231.bmp" height="640" width="572" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-6016360177248856342014-01-09T16:24:00.000-08:002014-10-30T21:56:00.524-07:00Purism is not for residential heritage masonry <div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-6264132d-7981-07d1-fffc-e64b338366c5" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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In my opinion, a heritage masonry restoration project should be done in a viable way for the benefit of the structure; but purism is out of reach, unless one has really deep pockets and is being sentimentally inclined.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="d86b" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>I’ve once met a man who, having reportedly just spent $920,000 to fix the inside of his house, told me: “When it comes to the outside, I get the restoration boys to do it my way”. And the eventual result was plain awful.<br />The type of heritage project result that is many notches up the purity scale is usually only done on serious landmark buildings, as it generally costs in the six figures for a building of comparative size to a residential home. And even then, there always seems to be some compromise, one way or the other, in the end.<br />Over a decade ago, I was pushing to sell such spec in earnest, but *never* had a taker. No one, in the residential arena is willing to push it that far. I’ve actually had several wealthy — two of them prominent — individuals tell me that all they wanted was a reasonable, minimally viable standard, to paraphrase them. And I was told that the money otherwise would rather be donated away to charity before spending it to “that” degree on restoring that particular individual’s house.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="a37a" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Such spec would require an advanced mortar analysis to be conducted in a lab at a cost ranging from $2,000 to $3,500 to get instrumental testing done, such as polarized light/thin-section microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and more.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="da1e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Following that would be an extensive research to source out, from various material libraries across North America, and re-create the exact sand, and precisely determine what the binder needs to consist of and what the additives actually need to be. This step alone is very time-consuming, and therefore expensive.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="24f2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="24f2" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Here are two pictures of sand samples, obtained in my earlier research.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="3a43" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3a43" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 933px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*aAeJelH5dAbfFxkk." data-action="zoom" data-height="1600" data-image-id="0*aAeJelH5dAbfFxkk." data-width="1200" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/750/0*aAeJelH5dAbfFxkk." style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: -webkit-zoom-in; display: block; height: 933px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
</figure><figure class="graf--figure" name="4138" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="4138" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 525px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*S0vORcb6lLrnRwYV." data-action="zoom" data-height="1200" data-image-id="0*S0vORcb6lLrnRwYV." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/1333/0*S0vORcb6lLrnRwYV." style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: -webkit-zoom-in; display: block; height: 525px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2255" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Each type of sand would have required a minimum investment of $5,000 at the time, to import into Canada, plus storage costs of $200/month. And it still would not have been a perfect match, at least in the majority of the projects.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="b3ed" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>There is no business model to justify theses exorbitant costs, as there is NO market for it.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="f15e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="f15e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>In the case of my company, Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd., which performs repointing services (also known as tuck pointing), as well as brickwork / stonework restoration, customers, including Toronto Preservation Services are more than satisfied with a “close enough” approximation as I’m doing by a “mix and match” approach of various locally available sands, based on a simple mortar analysis, generally conducted by crushing a sample taken from of the house and even dissolving it in acid. And everyone I know in the restoration field uses sands exactly as I am using, and mixes and matches them as best as can be done so as to approximate the in situ mortar — if they bother at all. The following picture features one of my matches, wherein some of the mortar is original, and some we’ve replaced. Can you tell them apart?</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="c56a" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c56a" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 525px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*jT5zjSQHr5sVBGdB." data-action="zoom" data-height="1200" data-image-id="0*jT5zjSQHr5sVBGdB." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/1333/0*jT5zjSQHr5sVBGdB." style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: -webkit-zoom-in; display: block; height: 525px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="bc21" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Furthermore, the lime (calcium hydroxide) would need to be prepared by acquiring quicklime (calcium oxide), a material now classified as hazardous, and <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhhsyEueQwc&feature=youtu.be" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhhsyEueQwc&feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">slaking</a> it (adding water to the quicklime so as to create an exothermic reaction) by concurrently adding sand along with the water so as to create a “hot mix” which is what would introduce little chunks of of unslaked lime, similar to those most likely found in the existing mortar on your house. This would require a substantial amount of testing and sieving, and retesting so as to achieve just the right ratio of lime chunks. In other words, simply using lime in the form of a bagged, ready-to-use product (even if its benefits as a hydraulic lime are being highly praised) would not be a puristic way to proceed.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="a116" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>And the list goes on, frankly.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="57ca" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Personally, I’m an advocate of aiming for an aesthetically pleasing restoration of vintage brick or stone buildings using compatible materials, with the goal to blend the repairs so well, they become invisible; while making sure the process used will not damage, ruin or deface the original masonry assembly.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="7674" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>The reason why I do masonry, speaking for myself, of course, is to make it into a form of art. At my company, our skillset lays in reversing the unwanted effects of time — or of previously poorly performed repairs — on the masonry building envelopes of older structures.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="266e" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="266e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>And while we’re at it, we also aim at creating as-near-perfect-as-possible, glitch-free experiences with our clients so as to have elated customers as a result.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="32b6" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Based on my observations, that approach seems more valuable to consumers than purism pursued for its own sake.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="744c" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Contact me:</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="b5fc" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Toronto residents: <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</a></div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" name="e6af" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e6af" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>For anyone else: <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.brickworkpreservation.com</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-33710591909959017642014-01-03T12:43:00.000-08:002014-10-30T13:25:40.074-07:00The Big Question<div class="graf--p graf--first" name="73e4" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
You are the owner of a period home, perhaps Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian or Pre-WW2. It has been finished on the exterior either in brick or stone — or both.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="0e80" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0e80" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>When you look at its outside walls, it’s obvious something needs to be done.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="b7dd" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="b7dd" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>But what is your ultimate objective?</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="3c92" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3c92" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>In a utopian kind of a way, perhaps you should be saying “I want to restore it to its original condition”.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2109" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>But there is a lot that would involve, financially and otherwise.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="190f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>It’s one thing when the government is entirely subsidizing a project, and the individuals making the final decision feel a fiduciary responsibility to ensure the work will last several generations; but it’s another matter entirely when the adjudication has to filter through the many priorities we’re all personally facing.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="00ab" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin-bottom: 30px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="00ab" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>So what ends up all-too-often happening is that the lowest price is opted for.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3c27" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>But that can create problems, as a beautiful period dwelling, which was simply is need of maintenance, can become defaced (see picture); the cost being the lost of its vintage character — a plight that’ll be passed along to all future owners of that property, I might add.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="3cec" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 22px; letter-spacing: 0.159999996423721px; line-height: 33px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3cec" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 525px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="00e7" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>For this very reason, there are homeowners who want to avoid such disasters and proceed more carefully, seeking out contractors who specialize in historic masonry. And these companies will tend to propose the longer term options, being what seems logical to them based on their experience and education.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="bbb7" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>The right balance, in my opinion is to offer what I call a “minimum viable standard” in the residential market.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="103e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>This constitutes a recommendation to only deviate from the ultimate standard in ways which will potentially not make the repair last as long, but ensuring that whatever is done will not cause damage to the historic fabric, or ruin its aesthetic qualities.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="7ae6" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Furthermore, there is also the question of intrusion. Wrapping up the entire house in scaffolding for an entire summer, while removing thousands of bricks and all the mortar joints of the structure, generates noise and a ton of dust. It tends to ruins landscaping and other valuables. It might necessitate re-painting most wood trims. You and your neighbors can’t leave windows open during that time. It clogs up the A/C system unless the latter is sealed and therefore unusable for a period of time.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="6560" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>In other word, there will be intrusion to a lesser or larger degree, and minimizing it can go a long way to improve your peace of mind as well as maintaining harmonious relations with your neighbors.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="ee43" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>This may not be something you personally care about, but I have found it to matter very much to most of my clients.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="ae11" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>This is why, we personally put a lot of emphasis, at Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd., my Toronto-based company, on keeping the job site as immaculate as possible during the project and upon its completion.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0be1" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>So ‘the big question’ might be posed as “How can I get performed what needs to be done affordably, yet properly, but without going overboard, while minimizing disruption for our family as well as our neighbors?”</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="335e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Contact me:</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="071f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>Toronto residents: <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="13d3" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit;"></a>For anyone else: <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.brickworkpreservation.com</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-24012136106798361512013-11-24T08:29:00.000-08:002014-10-30T13:18:10.048-07:00"Reconstructing" Bricks<b id="docs-internal-guid--73ff98f-8ae3-42a7-b053-254bb713ebb6" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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As I’ve mentioned <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/10/harmonious-brick-replacement.html" target="_blank">before</a>, when bad bricks have to be dealt with, there are, within my own methodologies — and also within the restoration industry — two ways to approach the issue.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="6848" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="6848" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>For one, replacement bricks can be procured, as was discussed in <a href="http://www.mario-cantin.com/2013/10/harmonious-brick-replacement.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="722d" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="722d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Another method is to “refurbish” the bricks using a proprietary material, for example<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.cathedralstone.com/products/mortars-and-grouts/terra-cotta-brick" target="_blank">this one</a>, which is a single-component, cementitious, mineral based mortar specifically designed for the restoration of brick surfaces. Furthermore, it is vapor permeable and contains no latex or acrylic bonding agents or additives.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="ce21" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="ce21" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>As with any bilateral course of action, there are proponents on both sides of the debate.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="f50f" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>In the Fall 2006 issue of “Traditional Masonry”, a former trade publication, there was an<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://authorhall.com/Historic%20Bricks,Traditional%20Masonry.pdf" target="_blank">article</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by Loretta Hall, titled “ To Repair or to Replace — That is the Question”. It begins with the statement: “‘Solid as a brick wall’ is a nice metaphor, but historic buildings are often peppered with spalled, broken, or missing brick. Restoration experts must make a few important choices. Are damaged bricks repairable, or should they be replaced? Missing bricks do have to be replaced, but with what — vintage, salvaged brick or new, custom-made replicas? Not surprisingly, opinions differ on the relative merits of each option.”</div>
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Another tidbit of interest from the same article:</div>
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“Damaged or deteriorated brick can be rebuilt using mortars formulated to match the original material in both appearance and physical properties. “Physical compatibility will give you a long-term, guaranteed repair that’s not going to change in 10 or 20 years,” says Rude of Cathedral Stone Products. He stresses the importance of matching the repair material to the original brick.”</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="35dc" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>The entire article is worthwhile reading for a more complete perspective.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="b07c" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>So “rebuilding bricks” is a bonafide method of approaching brickwork restoration, and one that we, at Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd. in Toronto, have seriously relied upon for years.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e98e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>The picture below exhibits a typical example of our brick rebuilding process / result. The two bricks on the right have been reconstructed, while the unit on the left is original.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="6fc1" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Heritage masonry is more art than science, I personally believe, and so my best advice in selecting the right mason for you is, in addition to integrity, to look for the creative type.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3dd1" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>These two qualities will largely help ensure your overall satisfaction.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3f53" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Contact me:</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3595" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Toronto residents:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="e2c6" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>For anyone else:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.brickworkpreservation.com</a></div>
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</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-91786834151317170422013-11-07T10:38:00.000-08:002014-10-29T18:07:01.554-07:00Brick fabrication<div class="graf--p graf--first" name="059c" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
At times, it would be nearly impossible to procure a specific type of brick which is nevertheless required to properly perform restorative work on a particular building. In this case fabricating the brick may be the best option. This blog post discusses how we have done this for a house turret which required rounded bricks for a heritage masonry restoration project in Toronto, Canada.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="32c7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="32c7" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 937px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*LbT30gPeGQbUg65x." data-action="zoom" data-height="1600" data-image-id="0*LbT30gPeGQbUg65x." data-width="1195" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/747/0*LbT30gPeGQbUg65x." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 937px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="285c" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>As you can see, this brick, original to the building, is slightly rounded — just enough that it would not have looked harmonious to use a replacement unit of regular shape. [The next two pictures are of the original brick.]</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="fda7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="fda7" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*Hq9B0NujduiHlPuW." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*Hq9B0NujduiHlPuW." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*Hq9B0NujduiHlPuW." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
</figure><figure class="graf--figure" name="7c47" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="7c47" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*V7boRTZjnv2UoZRI." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*V7boRTZjnv2UoZRI." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*V7boRTZjnv2UoZRI." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<div class="graf--p" name="27ac" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="27ac" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>We’ve fabricated the replacement brick ourselves.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="d778" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="d778" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 937px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*N1MBRSqEYzJsHvhM." data-action="zoom" data-height="1600" data-image-id="0*N1MBRSqEYzJsHvhM." data-width="1195" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*N1MBRSqEYzJsHvhM." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 937px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
</figure><br />
<div class="graf--p" name="7fd9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="7fd9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>As you can see in the two following pictures, it is rounded, just as the curved original Toronto brick is, and has the same texture and appearance and will fit harmoniously with the entire repointing (tuckpointing) project.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="41a0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="41a0" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*dEwqRXAmlVQygw4i." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*dEwqRXAmlVQygw4i." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*dEwqRXAmlVQygw4i." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
</figure><figure class="graf--figure" name="0e23" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0e23" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*xCpuGt-31XWksEqR." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*xCpuGt-31XWksEqR." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*xCpuGt-31XWksEqR." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<div class="graf--p" name="c083" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c083" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>And two additional pictures.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="5735" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="5735" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*PC9hejnPpTXxx_lL." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*PC9hejnPpTXxx_lL." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*PC9hejnPpTXxx_lL." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
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<div class="graf--p graf--empty" name="6b1e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="6b1e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><br /></div>
<div class="graf--p graf--empty" name="09d9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="09d9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><br /></div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="2727" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2727" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*PTYaQHbEiPUiFTeY." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*PTYaQHbEiPUiFTeY." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*PTYaQHbEiPUiFTeY." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
</figure><br />
<div class="graf--p" name="81b4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="81b4" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>The final result is harmonious, due to having been able to produce an adequate replacement brick. All too often, poor brick selection undermines the project’s overall success.</div>
<figure class="graf--figure" name="a318" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; position: relative; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="a318" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a><div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="margin: 0px auto; max-height: 523px; max-width: 700px; position: relative; width: 700px;">
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<img class="graf-image" data-action-value="0*OrFVwTSRggYNDK4H." data-action="zoom" data-height="1195" data-image-id="0*OrFVwTSRggYNDK4H." data-width="1600" src="https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/800/0*OrFVwTSRggYNDK4H." style="border: 0px currentColor; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 522.89px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 700px;" /></div>
</figure><br />
<div class="graf--p" name="d5df" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="d5df" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Contact me:</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="3f8b" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="3f8b" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Toronto residents:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</a></div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" name="dc4d" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="dc4d" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>For anyone else:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.brickworkpreservation.com</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-55415299154097575692013-11-02T08:13:00.001-07:002014-10-29T17:52:41.110-07:00Customer elation<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1f7d7fa7-1960-2123-2483-13506288d9e9" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div class="graf--p" name="059c" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
This certainly applies to any business, but I believe in not aiming in merely getting the customer to the point of being “satisfied” when delivering a service to her.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="8df8" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="8df8" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>My personal motto is “I don’t want satisfied customers: I want them … elated.”</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="b8a4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="b8a4" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>This is at the core of my business philosophy.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="99b9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="99b9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>I price the jobs in such a way that I want to do them, but then I deliver 110%, and you get what you pay for. And everything is legal and above-board, as I’ve factored all my costs into my price.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="c194" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c194" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>In order to do this, I personally find that I need to focus on the entire experience, but the main areas are punctuality, delivering what was promised, respecting the property, maintaining good communication with the owners as well as the neighbours, and superlative cleanliness of the site and adjacent properties.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="8ff0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="8ff0" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>I believe the best marketing strategy to be the Golden Rule.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="4fe9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="4fe9" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>If you’re a masonry contractor reading this, think about what I’ve just said. In my experience, it’s the most rewarding path.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="39d3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="39d3" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>If you’re a homeowner, no matter where you live, if you can identify a contractor who, by all evidence, seems truly customer-oriented — and if your gut feeling turns out to have been correct — it will make getting your project done a lot more enjoyable.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="0717" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0717" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Contact me:</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="307e" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="307e" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Toronto residents:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</a></div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" name="53b8" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="53b8" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>For anyone else:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.brickworkpreservation.com</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4409786177999535376.post-75287948489521314212013-10-29T10:41:00.003-07:002014-10-30T13:06:35.376-07:00Lobbying for mandatory recycling of heritage bricks<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-145300d9-054c-fe08-fd7a-e1e5474fdcb0" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div class="graf--p" name="059c" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I have been sourcing vintages bricks for years (to be used in my restoration work on Victorian and Edwardian brick homes), and even though I have been successful enough at it, it is tedious and difficult every time I manage to do it, predominantly due to the insurance regulations and time constraints imposed on demolition companies; who consequently prefer throwing old, precious, salvageable bricks away (more precisely, in Ontario Lake in Toronto!) In this day and age of green consciousness and recycling, this practice does not seem sensible to me.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="305b" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="305b" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Using modern bricks to restore heritage buildings with, in my opinion, generally looks too incongruent to yield a harmonious result when mixed with vintage bricks, largely due to modern manufacturing processes which can’t replicate the firing process of times gone by, due to liabilities inherent with the inconsistent strength across batches which would ensue.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="0ca6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="0ca6" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>So I’m taking steps in an attempt to get a by-law enacted in my city, which would force land developers and demolition companies to offer the bricks for auction to the highest bidder; and only throw them away when there is no buyer.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="6d63" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="6d63" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>If you share a passion for vintage brickwork, and think this would be a good idea in your area, contact your city councilor — whatever town you live in — and suggest it to her. It's a long shot, I know, but can’t hurt.</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="f298" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="f298" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Contact me:</div>
<div class="graf--p" name="1474" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="1474" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>Toronto residents:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" href="http://www.invisibletuckpointing.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.invisibletuckpointing.com</a></div>
<div class="graf--p graf--last" name="2f98" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 22px/33px freight-text-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15px; margin: 0px 0px 30px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="2f98" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;"></a>For anyone else:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" href="http://www.brickworkpreservation.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%); background-position: 0px 24px; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 2px; color: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.brickworkpreservation.com</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0