The Brick Is Finally Done

After months of mess, mortar, and mud, the entire house is finally bricked. Every side is finished, including the front, where the two open ends have been enclosed to leave just a small crawl space for access underneath. It makes the whole house feel sturdier, more secure, and a little more buttoned up. It also means the dachshund herd can no longer sneak under the house, which honestly feels like a win all on its own.

When we started this project, I planned to carry the brickwork around the front of the porch, too. In my head, it made sense, but once the crew finished the main part of the house and I stepped back to look, I realized it would have been too much.

The brick is beautiful, but it needed a break. I wanted to keep the original porch columns exposed instead, even though the previous owners damaged several of them years ago in what we can only guess was an attempt to remove them.

So I called it right then and there. I told the crew to stop where they were, and that decision left us with several thousand bricks stacked neatly in the yard. Mike wasn’t exactly thrilled about that part, but I’m already dreaming up smaller brick projects for later.  I’d love a little garden wall to frame the raised beds or maybe a walkway leading to the greenhouse once we rebuild it.

This part of the project made me think about how far we’ve come since the demo days. The flooring, the basement repairs, even the endless cleanup – all of it led to this. I’m already itching to get started on the porch rebuild next. It’ll finally bring back some of that old Victorian charm that’s been missing since we found her. 

For now, I’m just excited to move on to the next phase of getting this house done. It’s starting to feel like the house we imagined when we first saw it. Strong, beautiful, and ready to stand tall for another hundred years.