Minor Remodel...he built a wall, and it was good

Today the mason guy (Brian) came by to repair the block wall  and stair landing support, after the jack hammer finished its demo last Monday.  Within 4 or 5 hours Brian and his son Nathan were doing a final work sight clean up before calling it a day.

Now, it goes back to the cement guy (Tom), to come back once the cement dries, fill in the space where the space use to be beneath the old stairs, and build the forms needed for the remaining cement  work. What remaining cement work?  Once the stair structure void is filled with aggregate and compacted, and the front lawn area is formed and covered with aggregate. We will have cement delivered, in 2 pours. We are also going to make a small footing or foundation (2' x 3') to support the new stone column we are building on the right side of the house. The left side already has the driveway to use as a foundation.

We are going to stamp the new stairs and landings, along with the new patio, to match the stamped concrete on the driveway. Once this is done, and the new concrete is cured (slowly), the cement guy will finish his portion of this job by acid washing the driveway before sealing ALL of the cement (old and new).

Funny story...Brian and Nathan, our mason guy and his son, were finishing up after a long days work on a customers fireplace. They were going to return the next day and finish the job by installing rock over the base they created. As they were cleaning up, the son took a trowel and made a cross in the wet cement. When they returned the next day, the home owner was really upset that a religious symbol was made in his fireplace, even though it was going to be covered up with rock. The customer said that Brian needed to be more careful because he could make it really difficult for Brian to get work in the area. Brian wasn't upset with his son...instead, he was extremely proud. Once I heard this, I asked him if I could borrow his trowel. He said sure and handed it over to me. I walked over to the wall he just repaired and with two swipes, a cross was created. I was proud of his son too. I smiled while handing the trowel back to Brian. I enjoyed telling him it was his Christianity that helped me decide to hire him instead of others.

Once the cement guy finishes his pour and sealing, the job will be handed over to the carpenter to do his magic. We have the steel guy working behind the scenes now creating the beams and fasteners. Then Brian comes back to add the finishing touches...installing stone.

I love it when a job comes together...