Construction Tip Number 1010

Masonry Garage Door Construction Tip No. 1010

The John's Manfield no-itch insulation will allow the I-beam header the room needed to expand and contract without pushing against the concrete masonry units (concrete blocks) that would cause a crack to develop in the upper corners of the garage door opening.

Brick Building Earthquake Warning

Update 10-15-2017 New Madrid Fault Activity

Should the people of St.Louis be concerned? 2017 Solar Eclipse follows the line of the North American Rift and since the New Madrid Fault line is located in this general area. Yes, I feel it is proactive to be aware of the situation at the minimum.

Solar Eclipse and the North American Rift will it affect the New Madrid Fault?



I hope, have prayed, and will do a little more praying in the days to come that the Madrid Fault does not move from its current location. The Brick and Masonry buildings around town that were built during the World Fair held in St.Louis years and years ago were not constructed with steel reinforcement when the brick buildings were built.

StLouis Worlds Fair Brick Building History Lesson: There were many clues for determining the age of the building. When St Louis hosted the Worlds Fair.  The city planners realized that housing was going to be needed for everyone and started building many of the brick homes that are still being utilized all over the city today....Either way when you have the type of brick as the ones in this building you have a building using bricks that were made in the Late 1800s or early 1900s. 

This means that any lateral or sideways movement could allow for the collapse of many of the brick buildings around town. The Buildings were not constructed using modern day building practices and did not have metal support or bracing in the mortar that holds the bricks in place. 

Masonry / Brick Buildings without steel reinforcement are made for compression strength. When steel reinforcement is added it will support lateral or sideways strength see image Masonry Constructed Safe Room Design.

Masory Lateral or Sideways Support is provided by the Steel Reinforcment

Here is what could happen to the Buildings in StLouis in an Earth Quake:

Brick Wall Collapse Images and Repair St Louis Masonry Buildings

1. When the ground moves the buildings will also move: up, down, sideways, back and forth. 
2. The movement will cause the mortar or glue that holds the old bricks together to come loose. 
3. This could cause the walls of a masonry brick building to come tumbling down as in the image above. 
4. For your own safety: Vacate or Leave the Premise or Move away from exterior walls and vacate the top floor of the building if an Earthquake does happen in St.Louis.

St.Louis Brick Building collapse images used in infographic were copied from ONSL.org http://onsl.org/



Thank You for stopping by the Green Blog. If additional information is needed or you have a question let me know by posting a question, comment, contact form, or by email. Together we can make a difference and create a future that will benefit everyone.

Tuck-pointing and Acid Clean-Up of Shady Jacks Building Preservation Front Entrance Make Over

Just Finished the Tuck-pointing and Acid Clean-Up of Shady Jacks Building Preservation Front Entrance Make Over.   Getting another 100 years of Service from this Masonry Brick Building will not be an issue now!  

There are some BIG plans for this building.  Stay Tuned for further details. Hint: #Sports  and #Fitness 

No rest for the wicked and its onto another project Tuesday!  We will be finishing up the project started last summer- I'll be performing: #weldingservices  #carpentryservices  and #flooringservices  as well as a little #hvacservices  while we finish up the Benton Rehab Project- to see the prior projects photos and details of work completed so far check out the Green Blog at the last blog posting here: http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/2013/01/benton-rehab-flooring-custom-floor-patch.html


Thank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotts Contracting- St Louis Home Improvement Projects and Energy Reducing Needs Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

StLouis Building Preservation-Tuckpointing-Architectural Arches

Day 1 Work Photos showing the Architectural Details and how the Brick Mortar had eroded away in the 100+ year life of the building.  


Note: Mortar has eroded to the point that the Key Stones will loose their position and start the Domino Effect and allow the Entire wall to collapse.

When #MortarJoints  have deterriorated to this point it takes quite a bit of effort and patience to completely fill the voids {Tuck-pointing} to hold the #Bricks  in place.

#architecture   #BuildingPreservation   #Keystone  #BrickBuildings   #Tuck-pointing   #MasonryServices  #StLouisMo   #ShadyJacksSaloon  #DowntownStLouis  #Keystone #Springer #Voussoirs #StLouisArchitecture 

With 65%+ of the Mortar gone Keystones, Springers, and Voussoirs fall out of place creating a Domino Effect and will eventually lead to #BrickBuildingCollapse

Side View of Overhead Architectural Details in need of Tuck-pointing

View of Overhead Architectural Details in need of Tuck-pointing

Mortar almost completely eroded from Bricks-
Luckily the Keystones are still in place and the
Architectural Arches are holding their own!

Scaffolding is a must have for Brick and Masonry Work

End Day 1-StLouis Building Preservation-Tuck-pointing 

Here is a video of the view of the Downtown, StLouis Area from the perch on the Scaffolding in the Prior Pics.  Rather than listen to the Traffic on I-170 we have our Radio Dial on KSHE95.

Here is one of the many final pics on the Project:

Tuck-pointing and Acid Clean-Up of Shady Jacks Building Preservation Front Entrance Make Over

Just Finished the Tuck-pointing and Acid Clean-Up of Shady Jacks Building Preservation Front Entrance Make Over.   Getting another 100 years of Service from this Masonry Brick Building will not be an issue now!  

There are some BIG plans for this building.  Stay Tuned for further details. Hint: #Sports  and #Fitness 

No rest for the wicked and its onto another project Tuesday!  We will be finishing up the project started last summer- I'll be performing: #weldingservices  #carpentryservices  & #flooringservices  as well as a little #hvacservices  while we finish up the Benton Rehab Project- to see the prior projects photos and details of work completed so far check out the Green Blog at the last blog posting here: http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/2013/01/benton-rehab-flooring-custom-floor-patch.html

Thank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotts Contracting- St Louis Home Improvement Projects and Energy Reducing Needs Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

Tuckpointing Interior- Rehab of 4 Family Part 3

 How we  brought the Old Western - Old South St Louis Architecture- Decor and Feel into a Modern Day Apartment- Benton Gut Rehab

We performed extensive tuck-pointing on the Building for: 

• Aesthetic Purposes -for the Interior-see Soulard* Red Colored Mortar in this picture below ) and 

  Structural Purposes  (see upcoming Green Blog Post) both of which have Energy Saving Benefits!

  

  Soulard Red Decorative Tuck-pointing

  
  

Materials/Tools Used for the Project:

• Type N- Masonry and Tuckpoint Mortar Mix
• Red Coloring (Soulard Red)- Dry Mix
• 4 in Diamond Plated Grinder Wheels
• Various Tuck-pointing tools- Concave Pointers
• Hudson Sprayer
• Step Ladders and Walk Boards
• Safety Glasses / Dust Masks
• Wheel Barrow and Garden Hoe

Before During and After Pictures of this stage of the project

 

  

After we Ground out the Mortar Joints we then Tuck-pointed the Soulard Red Decorative Mortar Mix into the Mortar Joints.  Type N Masonry Mix "Pro Mix"

• Before We Removed the Damaged Exterior Wall.
• We First Tuck-pointed the Brick Walls of the Building.
• We could then Safely Remove the Damaged Lumber and Walls- after shoring up the existing Ceiling Joists (upcoming post in the Series)
•  Rebuild the 2x6 Walls (upcoming post in the Series)

   

  
  

  
  

Building the 2x6 Walls and Door Frame

1. Removed all the old plaster from 2 walls int the Apartment then
2. ground out all the mortar joints to a depth of one-half to three-quarters of an inch
3. We then blew all the loose mortar from the area -To clean out the joints and prepare the Mortar Bed for the New Mix
4. Dampened the area with a Hudson sprayer filled with water- before applying the Masonry Mix -On older buildings this is a critical step as it will help the Masonry Mix adhere to the Bricks while the New Mortar cures.
5. We then filled the cracks with Type N Masonry and Tuckpoint Mix
6. Brush the area for a consistent look
7. Clean Up the area and enjoy the Decorative Look of the new Red Accent Walls

 

   

Scotts Contracting Decorative Interior Accent Wall Tuckpointing with Soulard Red Type N Masonry Mix

 

Scotts Contracting Decorative Interior Accent Wall Tuckpointing with Soulard Red Type N Masonry Mix

 The 'Soulard Red' Decorative Tuck-pointed Accent Walls- when combined with: 

• Modern Drywall that has a 
• Smooth Textured Finish and a 
• 'Refinished Douglas Fir Wood Floor' which Mother Nature has provided a natural reddish tint will give this kitchen and bedroom area the:

Old Western - Old South St Louis Architecture Decor and Feel into a Modern Day Apartment- Benton Gut Rehab

See More of the  

Benton Gut Rehab Green Blog Series

Part 1: History

Part 2: Stone Foundation Repair

Part 3: Tuckpointing the Brick Walls pt 1

Part 4: Tuckpointing the Brick Walls pt 2

Part 5: What were they thinking?

Part 6: Paint Pro Tip #35

Part 7: Repairing Water Damage-Exterior Wall

Part 8: 1st Floor Weatherization

Part 9: See the Difference a Little White Paint Makes

Part 10: Interior Framing-Plumbing-Laundry Room

Part 11: Kitchen Framing Tip #36-Benton Rehab Project

Part 12: Water Main Repair- Benton Rehab

Part 13: Benton Rehab Project Drywall Installation and Tip: Number 1172

Part 14: Custom Flooring Patch Hardwood Floor Repair-Benton Rehab

Thank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotty for any Home Improvement Projects or Energy Reducing Needs and Scotty, Scotts Contracting will respond ASAP. Company Web Address: http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com