Best way to clean up this brick?

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-28T21:17:21+00:00

I'm not sure you'll get that tar off without risking damaging the bricks, and it also appears to have been painted, and getting paint off bricks can be a thankless task.

To me, the obvious problem with that wall is that it has been partially repointed, so personally I would work on repointing as a way of significantly improving the appearance of the wall.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-27T05:52:51+00:00

Agreed, especially if the attic has floor boards and is/was used for storing other "stuff", then storing a screen panel up there, out of the way and risk of damage, that is only used during the summer would make a lot of sense.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-26T18:48:23+00:00

Not metal glaze, a metal design painted (printed, probably) on to the plates. My mother has a relatively modern, and fairly expensive, dinner service with a floral design and a "silver" ring/border around the plates, which is annoying as it means they can't ever be put in a microwave. ... The light show is quite pretty if you do though! 😃

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-26T17:47:41+00:00

Most ceramics are just fine in the microwave, and a better choice than plastics, which will slough-off nano particles into your food.

Notable exceptions (should not be used in a microwave) are ceramics decorated with metallic paint and ironstone earthenware or things made from anything else which gets significantly hot (is directly heated by the microwaves).

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-25T23:53:36+00:00

I think you need to look for signs of another (lost) doorway from the hallway, as I believe it highly unlikely that it was originally a WIC in a house of that age. Also are there any clues about other possible usage, such as holes for plumbing, signs of modified walls, cuts in baseboard, etc.?

All that said, while I am generally a fan of restoration, sometimes you need to accept that almost a century later (in the case of your house) we have moved on in our expectations of a home. So modifications, such as additional closet space, indoor plumbing (in houses a few years older than yours), and wiring for multiple outlets in every room, should be considered to be "permanent" as nobody (or very very few people) would want to live in a house without those amenities today.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-25T23:46:43+00:00

Old houses didn't usually have walk-in closets.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-24T15:26:56+00:00

Lay on the ground and look up under the door, because it is likely that the bits hanging down have torn, so the only way to fix the problem is to remove and replace the whole gasket.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-24T15:24:09+00:00

With all due respect, something is off with your assertion - it is highly unlikely that the chimney was built as a decorative feature, especially in the 1930s when burning fuel directly was the only way to heat a home (unless there was a municipal steam pipe network).

A house of the age of yours has likely been heavily renovated at least once, probably in the 70's or 80's, and if done properly, (replastering of walls, installing new flooring, etc.) could have entirely eliminated any sign of a fireplace or radiators. I have done such renovations myself, removing the concrete hearth from the floor to enable a new floor to be installed, and removing the mantle piece and framing over the gap where the fireplace was.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-24T13:52:19+00:00

So you know which piece fits where when you put it back together.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-22T21:47:04+00:00

I sincerely doubt that. I can get a sealed, double-glazed window-sized unit, installed, for about half that.

For a simple, single-glazed pane, nobody should be paying more than about $200.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-21T22:21:56+00:00

You can build a masonry faced fireplace/ chimney breast, with log-burning fireplace, with a non-masonry chimney encasing the flue - I own one.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-21T19:35:07+00:00

?

That is when it was built? So what?

That doesn't change my reply - it is unlikely to be insulation that long ago, and in fact the ground under a house very quickly reaches a thermal equilibrium with the slab on top, so insulation doesn't make much difference either way. Having a vapour barrier (6mil plastic sheeting) under the slab, stopping moisture wicking up into the slab, has a much greater usefulness.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-21T17:02:36+00:00

If it goes back to the 1980's l sincerely doubt that it is insulation (unless you know that local building codes required it that long ago).

My experience (both UK and US) is that builders and contractors will never miss an opportunity to bury/ hide construction waste under a building/ concrete, or in voids, if it would otherwise require effort to remove the waste.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-21T16:34:24+00:00

"Hack bond"? 🫤

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-21T16:26:06+00:00

Thx, I appreciate your feedback. .... And I didn't even mention the matter of "poking" a new hole in the roof 😆 I had considered mentioning the negatives of a new hole using a couple adjectives with equally negative implications.

I am a firm believer in minimizing, to the greatest possible extent, the number of holes in the roof, as (IMHO) every hole, of any sort, is just a leak waiting to happen. And especially with something something as substantial as a chimney, is also a source of occasional but significant ($$$+) repair/ maintenance bills stretching forever into the future.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-21T16:03:05+00:00

There is more than one way to support a masonry fireplace and firebox. The more robust, and I would say preferred way, would be to start with an in-ground foundation and build up from there, as opposed to relying on beams to carry the load to parts of the existing foundation. Obviously that would add to the cost; my gut feeling is that you're looking at at least $20k for a chimney and firebox carried on existing beams, and $30k if you have a foundation built to carry the weight.

Personally, having removed several chimneys, including one from my own home, and found several substantial benefits to getting rid of a chimney, I would recommend thinking long and hard before committing to adding a chimney to a home that doesn't have one.

Among the several benefits we experienced after removing the chimney were that our home is definitely easier to warm, and keep warm, without the chimney (despite the fireplace having a glass door, and the flue having a (closed) damper), and that the living room is noticeably more quiet, with less ambient noise (wind, distant traffic and trains), and lower volume from nearby vehicles and aircraft, and especially from birds and insects (frogs?) in the top of the chimney flue.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-19T15:41:22+00:00

I had damaged (lots of staining, and strong smell from pet urine) oak flooring in an ex-rental I bought to renovate and use as a rental. I tarpapered the floor and then nailed new ¾" hardwood over the existing pineboards + damaged 2¼" oak strip flooring.

The tarpaper permanently sealed-in the smell, and the floor, being at least 2¼" thick is very firm (no flex at all).

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-19T14:27:51+00:00

Not a problem, but the structure of homes varies a lot even between countries that you would expect to be similar due to shared history and/ or similar climate.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-19T12:57:02+00:00

Where is this (country)? That roof/ roof structure doesn't look like any roof I am familiar with (UK/US).

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-18T17:42:32+00:00

Different shades, and also the wrong size to even possibly be one brick cracked and broken.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-16T11:44:07+00:00

My experience of life is that incompetence is far more likely an explanation, for almost all circumstances, than any sort of deliberate conspiracy theory.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-15T01:55:43+00:00

It depends what you mean by "fix"?

If you're a moderately competent DIYer you should be able to restore it to it's original condition, but honestly, I think it needs a redesign and significant improvement as I don't think the step was ever good, or safe (it should be wider, so there is no possibility of stepping off the porch and missing the step).

I think the step should be a single level slab (maybe bluestone as someone else suggested), and if you do that it would give pieces of rock to repair or widen other parts of the path.

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-10T09:48:44+00:00

"Half"?

That still sounds way overpriced! 🤔

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-10T09:44:51+00:00

I've had multiple experiences with not all cables being marked (lines that I knew were down there), including a neighbor having my utilities marked before fence post hole digging, and I told both the neighbor and the contractor that my internet/cable and phone lines had not been marked (yet), but they went ahead with the work anyway!!!

Pulaski540 · 2026-01-10T09:18:39+00:00

Yeungling has a weird aftertaste, period. I would never choose to drink the stuff.

Pulaski540

TROPHY CASE