# Pretty pathetic



## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Next to one of the Lowes I goto they are building a Marketbasket. I was pretty surprised when I drove around the building. Is this common for commercial? I know it might come out in the wash and all, but the heads are too big, I can see where someone built leads on one of the cleaned up sections, lippers galore....sad

Not to mention they froze in the top 3 feet, you know, where repointing is usually needed first!


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Those are just the smooth faced K&F red bricks, not the red matts the other ones. shrug...


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

That looks pretty rough.


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## 2low4nh (Dec 12, 2010)

I bet I could name the company in under 3 guesses. usually done by the same contractors.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Im not sure, its not really near NH. I was going to look for the GC's # and call him, but whatever...


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## Cole82 (Nov 22, 2008)

I thought I had seen some piss poor masonry before but that is top three for sure.

Cole


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## Rockmonster (Nov 15, 2007)

Is it common for commercial? Not necessarily.......Some of the best bricklayers I've ever met never stepped foot on residential projects.

Having said that, it is pretty rough.....not the worst I've seen, but rough. Some bozos came out here a few years back, and did a veneer on a new hotel......I* think* it was meant to be Flemish bond....that's how bad it is......It looks like nothing I've ever seen.....I've got to figure out how to post photos here......be a good thread actually......worst masonry photos.......:w00t:


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## brickhook (May 8, 2012)

You see bad brick work like this in commercial and residential. All of those white joints probably are't frozen, someone laid alot of soaking wet brick. They might be able to blend the joints when they wash it, but it sure looks like crap until they do.


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## brickhook (May 8, 2012)

There's not much commercial work within a 100 miles of here now. So when a big job comes up like a school or strip mall, instead of 3 mason contractors bidding, there's '17' contractors bidding!!! The winner of the bid is broke for he ever gets started. It's bidded so cheap they can't get good masons and/or they can't take their time to do a good job. That's the reason why there is so much bad work out there.


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## dbrons (Apr 12, 2010)

One thing I remember from my years in big projects back east is that the distances between control joints, and sizes of openings are firmly set and modular. You have no ability to tighten a section up to make it work.

Say you have a pop-out that is 64" wide, that's 8 bricks.....but not really because 8 bricks lay to 63 5/8hs. So you open them up a little. Then, after buying a 100,000 or so bricks you get a truck load that are a bit shorter so you have to open them up some more. 

And yeah, with 30 or so bricklayers, you have lots of different personalities. You have a section that's big and then the lead man lays his lead with perfect 3/8ths joints leaving the apprentices who fill in an inch back on an already huge bond. 

And thanks for reminding me what it's like up on the scaffold in winter. 

Not saying that's good or acceptable work, just that there are reasons some of which brickhook mentioned. I think many of us who are more into the craftsman end of things move on, and away from building big box stores.

Dave


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

It's sad state of affairs in masonry when you have reasons for terrible work other than a lack of skill.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

dbrons said:


> One thing I remember from my years in big projects back east is that the distances between control joints, and sizes of openings are firmly set and modular. You have no ability to tighten a section up to make it work.
> 
> Say you have a pop-out that is 64" wide, that's 8 bricks.....but not really because 8 bricks lay to 63 5/8hs. So you open them up a little. Then, after buying a 100,000 or so bricks you get a truck load that are a bit shorter so you have to open them up some more.
> 
> ...


I can appreciate the restrictions that guys are under sometimes. I myself have had the tape measure picking out the long bricks in different situations a time or two. But I can assure you I could tighten up what is there and fit a half in the wall, maybe even a whole nother brick lol. 

In contrast a Market Basket was just finished about 25 minutes from this one and the work is exceptional, although it is part of a whole strip mall, so maybe they had a differnet company brick it. 

You guys know when you drop a little mud and it skips off the face of the brick, well how many time has that ruined your day? You probably have the helper brush it off, maybe even with water depending on the brick. 

Imagine building this? I would be in freakin therapy.


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## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

Good thing you guys know what your looking at. Looks great from my house


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Pretty messy and some of those heads are huge but beyond that it looks like typical production work to me. When I was a labe I worked for a production guy. I pointed out a few twisted bricks one time, he said thanks. I pointed out a bunch more and he got pissed and asked if it looked good enough to get paid, I said probably and he said carry on. 

If you think that's bad though you should have seen the subdivision I was in the other day. I've been super slow so i was helping out a guy I know a bit. He's been laying brick for 3 or 4 years and he's doing houses in this subdivision with a guy who's been labing for 2 years and laying for 1 and they have a labia. Drunken soldiers, 1/2-3/4" joints that are all over the place. Frozen joints, arches that aren't gauged at all, cuts when they hit the top of doors and windows and very obvious patches where I guess even what passes for quality control wouldn't pass. They were laughing the whole time about who cares, they're still getting paid. I couldn't wait to get out of there


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Rockmonster said:


> .....It looks like nothing I've ever seen.....I've got to figure out how to post photos here......be a good thread actually......worst masonry photos.......:w00t:





PLEASE guys,do not start an ugly masonry thread. I see enough of it in real life. The stuff i see makes my stomach do flips,i do not want to see even more on CT!


I truly enjoy the beautiful job pictures you folks have taken the time to post. Please,let us not wreck a good thing.


Keep the beautiful pictures coming,do not waist your film on the garbage. Thank you in advance.


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## brickhook (May 8, 2012)

I have some more pictures I could post later fjn ,but I don't know which thread to post 'em under! lol


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## brickhook (May 8, 2012)

Hey dom-mas! I checked out your web site, you've got some awesome pictures posted on there ! Great work! And I appoligize for high jacking the thread!


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

fjn said:


> PLEASE guys,do not start an ugly masonry thread. I see enough of it in real life. The stuff i see makes my stomach do flips,i do not want to see even more on CT!
> 
> 
> I truly enjoy the beautiful job pictures you folks have taken the time to post. Please,let us not wreck a good thing.
> ...


Couldn't agree more!:thumbsup:


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## Rock Headed (Nov 8, 2007)

dom-mas said:


> .... and they have a labia. Drunken soldiers, 1/2-3/4" joints that are all over the place. ....


Sorry guys, I don't know much about brick. Drunken soldiers: makes sense. But labia? If your "pussy footing" around on the job, the bricks just may grow vaginas?

Bewildered.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

I think its a Canadian thing ...shrug


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