Spent a whole afternoon fixing a bad brick arch at a job site in Portland

I was working on a house off Division Street and my arch came out crooked because I didn't check my string line after setting the first few bricks. The whole thing was leaning about a quarter inch to the left by the time I noticed. Had to pull out about 10 bricks, clean them off, and start fresh with a proper plywood form. Has anyone else made a sloppy arch mistake and found a better way to avoid it?

3 comments

3 Comments

fisher.thomas1d ago

I mean, is a quarter inch really that big a deal on a residential arch? Maybe it's just me but I've seen plenty of old houses where the arches are slightly off and it just looks like handmade character. Pulling out 10 bricks seems like overkill unless the homeowner is measuring everything with a laser level or something.

grantw4121h ago

Aw man, I used to be right there with you. I figured a little wobble was just part of the charm, you know? But then I actually had to frame out a new arch in my own place and saw how a quarter inch off on the left side made the whole thing look twisted when you stood back. It's like a crooked picture frame, it just bugs you once you notice it. I get the handmade character argument, I really do. But after fighting with mortar and bricks for a weekend, I'd rather pull ten now than stare at it for ten years. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

aaron88015h ago

And I guess that's where I get off the train a bit, Tom. I see what grantw41 is saying about how it can gnaw at you once you spot it, but a quarter inch over a whole arch just sounds like normal old house stuff to me. Pulling ten bricks for that feels like fixing a doorbell by rewiring the whole house, especially when the next owner might not even have a level.