Just realized how much the old brickwork in my hometown library is holding up

I was back in Springfield last week and stopped by the old library on Main Street... the one built in 1925. I must have walked past it a thousand times, but I finally really looked at the brick. It's all common bond, and the pointing is still sharp as a tack after all this time. No spalling, no real cracks to speak of, just a little natural wear. They used a lime mortar back then, and you can see how it's let the wall breathe and move. It made me think about some of the fast-set stuff we use now and how it might look in fifty years. Makes you wonder if we're building things to last anymore, or just to get the job done fast. Has anyone else worked on a really old building and been surprised by the craft?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_murray2mo ago

Yeah, that bit about lime mortar letting the wall breathe is so true. I mean, I helped repoint part of a 1910 factory wall once, and the old lime stuff was almost crumbly in places, but the bricks themselves were perfect. The new cement mix we had to use for the repair just felt so hard and brittle by comparison. It really does make you question the whole idea of progress sometimes.

diana1551mo ago

Laughing at that whole "progress" thing, right? We're over here slapping cement on everything like it's a miracle cure, and the old stuff is just sitting there outlasting us all. I bet in 2070 some poor soul is gonna be chiseling out our modern repairs and cursing our names, while the 1920s brick just shrugs it off. Progress, my foot. We're just making better future headaches.

harperschmidt2mo ago

That factory wall from 1910 is a great example. Elliot_murray, did you notice if the new cement mix caused any new cracks in the bricks around your repair over time?