The project
This is a small facade rebuild we completed in 2022 in South Riverdale. The homeowner saw us working on the street and told us they wanted to restore the brick facade. So we did. The proximity of the facade to the sidewalk made for tight working confines but we wouldn’t want it any other way. Best not to spoil ourselves. We reclaimed 50% of the original brick while dismantling and used them in the rebuild along with new matching brick to maintain an authentic aesthetic. New Indiana limestone sills and lintel were also installed.
The approach
As you can see this is a single wythe brick facade with wood board sheeting behind it. The brick was originally tied in with nails. We used brick ties. Like most projects, the trickiest part of this rebuild were the arches. In order to secure the form for each arch we used a pole clamp to secure a 2×2 to the jamb and then screwed into that 2×2.
A full dismantle and rebuild was the most appropriate option here. Enough of the brickwork needed replacing. Trying to strip paint and go down that avenue would have been less feasible and more unpredictable. We talked through our reasoning with the client and laid out all the options. They also felt a rebuild was the most appropriate approach. While dismantling the facade we reclaimed all the good brick to be used in the rebuild.
We were fortunate on this one that we found 20 odd plinth bricks as we were dismantling. The guys who built it originally must have over ordered the plinths and laid them at the top turned around to use them up. We didn’t complain. Thanks lads. We are not sure the exact date this was built. Could be as early as 1870’s.
