Stories Etched in Stone One of the great things about masonry is that the building technique has been around for millennia and every stone whispers tales of the past. Whether you’re uncovering signs of how your direct ancestors built their houses of worship, like the teams working on the restoration of the historic Salt Lake
Picking Up Broken Pieces Building restoration is a precise business — some may even consider it an art. You should understand not only the physical nature of the structure you’re fixing but you must also have a respect for its spirit and the work of previous builders. The work of Abstract Masonry, Utah’s premier restoration
We’re all familiar with the childhood game to avoid cracks in the cement or we’ll break mama’s back. As we get older, however, and wake up to the historical nature of our town’s buildings and yards, it’s not the threat of inadvertent spinal trauma to our guardians that has us scrambling to repair cracks in
Appreciating Our History It is often said that space is the final frontier, as big a mystery as our deepest oceans but infinitely more vast. And yet, what is the one thing that every traveler to space can’t help but do? Turn their eyes to earth and think about their lives. In fact, one might
Truly Timeless Construction The adobe style is a construction technique that is instantly recognizable to anyone who has spent time in the Southwestern United States. Tanned, sun-dried walls; flat roofs; exposed wood framing, such as beams or eaves extending over the roof. All of these characteristics evoke the Mexican Pueblo- or Spanish mission-style of building
Each state has its own rich history, full of the stories that tell of those who came before us — their lives, their struggles, their hopes for the future. Such testimonies are still preserved on the buildings they left behind, just as our own dwellings give an accurate look at what’s most important to us.
If human history tells us anything, from the pharaohs of Egypt to the earliest inhabitants of Mesa Verde in Colorado, it is that we are a people who build. Yes, the potsherds in the sand tell that we were interested in small, beautiful things, but the ancient monuments and cities swallowed by sand and forest
Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.“ While he was talking about fire prevention in Philadelphia, the advice applies to numerous aspects of life. Building restoration is a booming industry because all masonry materials are prone to wear and tear. Whether due to improper installation or
To classify as “historic,” your structure should have at least 50 years of life. Building repair and restoration are important for preserving architectural styles, as well as representing the culture of people and places. Masonry in architecture can include brick, terra cotta, stone, concrete block, cast stone, and the mortar used to bind these materials.
As restorers of historic masonry, we love discussing not only the historicity of ancient building techniques and materials but also how they can be utilized today. As we’ve documented in the past, the history of brick-building is an interesting one, manifesting as a sort of “unintentional cooperation” between different civilizations to make bricks the dominant
