Bricks and Pavers, or Learning about the Money Pit

My parents bought the ranch house in 1972
Note the television antenna!

We live in the house my folks bought in 1972 and which I inherited at my father's death nine Decembers ago.

Mom and Dad

My folks bought the house in January. Dad finished the basement right away. That June our wedding reception was held in the back yard!

My younger brother grew up in this house.

It's been through a lot of changes over the years. Dad planted a lot of trees.

When our son was born we lived in a Philadelphia rowhouse. So visiting my folks meant he could have some yard play with a swing in a tree and a little pool. Below, my dad is spraying Chris with a hose.

Three Generations: my grandmother, son, and mother.

Dad put in an above ground pool. Our son loved it, too.

Dad enjoyed his home and was proud of it. In 1990 my mother died. It took some years, but dad made changes to the house. He brought in pinball machines and the basement became his 'man cave.'

Dad's last Easter

After I inherited the house we made changes. We removed dying and overgrown trees, upgraded for energy efficiency, installed a new electrical system. We remodeled the finished basement and began to replace the old appliances.

My brother gave us a tree when we moved in four years ago.

Our second year we remodeled the kitchen. The third year we needed new HVAC and water heater and a garage roof.

Last fall we had new siding and gutters installed and replaced the original toilet.

The house was built in 1966 of Old Chicago Common brick, reclaimed from Chicago buildings that were constructed in the 19th c. The bricks were made along Lake Michigan by hand. They are becoming harder to find as fewer 19th c buildings are being torn down.

 
These bricks are porous and more fragile than common red bricks. We had a lot of decay along the ground and in the chimney. Plus, the front steps were buckling and bulging, even though we had them remade five or six years ago.

We used Home Advisor and listed our needs and All Brick Design answered. The project manager came out and gave us a bid. It was going to cost a lot more than we had budgeted but the work had to be done.

They were in within a week, first demoing the front steps. What they found was a huge hole! And the 'footing' was not poured concrete but some slabs set in the dirt and some plywood. It threw the workers and the project manager for a loop. They would have to seal the wall and fill in the hole before they could proceed.

 

The new steps were to be made with concrete pavers which require a packed base with crushed stone. The landing pad was increased in size to be square with the steps. They were also planning to make me side door steps to replace the concrete formed one that was there since the house was built.

 The finished steps and landing pad!

The project manager was going to have to charge us extra for the project but offered a suggestion. My father had laid the back patio forty years ago. The patio blocks were discolored and the patio did not drain well, collecting a pond of water every hard rain. The railroad ties that dad used around the patio were unsightly and insects were enjoying the rotting wood.

Kamikaze on the old patio last fall.

The project manager gave us a bid on the patio, lower because they were already doing work at the house, and he would not charge extra for the step project. We already had one bid for the patio rebuild. We shook hands on the offer. Day two, along with brick replacement, they tore out and replaced the patio!

The patio bricks have been removed, showing the plastic Dad had installed underneath.

leveling the sand base

What an improvement!

So, over three twelve-hour days, we got a new front step, side step, brick replacement, and a new patio! Which looks great. The next day it rained and the rain did not pool, but ran off the ends of the patio, away from the house.

In a few weeks, we will have some landscaping done and there is still work to be done in the back yard. Next year we will install a new fence to replace the one Dad put in when he put up the first swimming pool.

Meantime, the robins love our birdbath so much they have built their nest in the apple trees!