I block up a doorway to a basement, that is not needed anymore. All my videos are my ways and ideas, I always suggest anyone doing any type of work to consult professional help. www.amazon.com...
@@MikeHaduck I would also be interested in purchasing a no big deal shirt. If it had like a cartoon mike haduck guy holding a block trowel, saying no big deal that would be....a big deal!
I'm not about to do any masonry work around my house, but should I ever have to I now know how to get it underway - your videos are wonderfully instructive! On T-shirts you should also add "If you want it to stick you have to wet it first!" and "That's old school."
Being from Upstate NY I can completely understand everything you say about being from the N.E. My house was built in 1920 and has been in my family since. I found your videos when I encountered a waterfall in an old window in my basement after about 3 days of rain. I applied your knowledge to building up broken stone, putting in a new window and stopping the leak. Since then I have sealed up two windows, parged and patched almost all of the walls in my basement. I think I have used about 8 bags so far... It looks outstanding and my grandparents would be proud. Thank you Mike!
Great video! Very cool! THANK YOU! Keep the vids coming! My father, a construction worker ditch digger and cement mixer, filled our basement door in 50 years ago about 1950 after his drunk buddy fell in the hole. Ha Ha! They just threw some big boulders in the hole, then filled the rest in with dirt. It always leaked, they did not even take out the door. About 1990 my parents took out the door from the inside and cemented the wall, but it still leaked. About year 2010, I dug out some of the dirt from the outside down to the first step, the step was still solid. Then I cement plastered the doorway about three inches. It still leaked. Come to find out, the water was getting in the foundation about 5-10 feet away and running in some how. That finally stopped the leak when I plugged that hole. It's an old house, built about 1890.
Mike, I am always amazed at how quick and easily you get these jobs done all the while explaining in easy to understand layman's vernacular. The experience you have is a real plus in making this work "No Big Deal", that I know I am grateful for. Keep up the "strong work"! p.s. I have one of those 123yo stone foundations in PA that is great on the outside but beginning to see age on the inside of an (earth floor) unfinished basement. Yep, using a dehumidifier the last 12 years continuous. Thanks again!
I wanted to thank you for the video about installing lintels. my dad learned masonry work from his dad (my grandfather). My grandfather was a stone mason from Italy. My dad used several 2" x 8" x 48" joists as lintels over 1 window and 2 doorways. from the weather the wooden lintels rotted out. when I was a boy I use to mix cement for my dad. we did it the old way using portland cement, lime, and sand. (1973). I installed 6 concrete lintels now it will pass the building code. lol
Hi Mike I enjoy your videos as the maintenance person at our church/daycare I have to do cement repairs from sidewalks to no expansion joints in the old building and have to chisel out the cracks and use a very elastic caulking to seal the crack. But I like the old school methods when I can and in Canada there’s always repairs to cement. Those little job videos are a great and I mean a great help to maintenance guys like me that do these little jobs so keep it up.
Hi Mike I've been a bricklayer for over 40 years figured I've laid around 3 million units between brick stone and block still fun and still going . Keep going as well ! Thanks for the fun videos ! Maybe we'll do a job someday just for fun!
Mike thanks for the time you put in. You have a wealth of knowledge that can only be aquired with blood sweat and tears. Always take away useful notes for the library upstairs. Thanks again.
it looks like a small job but even big jobs are just small jobs all rolled into one. Mike you use that trowel better than i use a knife and fork. Real thing of beauty to watch. Thats how a lot of this country got constructed, one trowel full at a time. Have a nice week!
Thank you Mike for sharing your expertise, knowledge & thoughts with us. It is a pleasure to hear a tradesman , referring to the OLD WAYS. That is how I learned , THE OLD WAY. And I believe that the OLD WAY is the RIGHT WAY. Thanks again for sharing . Rick
😊 my first time visiting your channel 👍 i appreciate your practical approach... I have a habit of overthinking things and then worrying lol really appreciate your carefree and relaxed attitude 🍻 you demystified the 💩 out of it ♥️
Hi mike.it might be a small quick job but we like watching all your work they are very educational and if we want to do similar work we can learn of you so thanks for taking the time to show us
Thanks for the video - the variety of jobs you are involved in is fun to see in itself. Little projects can be very instructive because of some of the things you have to work around to get them done (like that pipe). If you ever do any brick veneer work that would be interesting! Most of the brickwork I find here tends to be from the UK where they build quite differently (as I'm sure you know). So for US DIY'ers with that type of house, not a lot of information is available... best regards!
Thanks David, your right, in the UK brickworrh is still alive where here in the USA it is becoming a slow death, everything is going to premade and pannels, where the cost is cheaper, best regards also, mike
Great work Mike. I'd rather watch anything you post versus what passes for TV entertainment these days. I can see why your clients keep calling on you. Keep slinging the mortar and keep the vids a comin'.
I'm watching you smack that block to shorten it and I'm thinking back a year ago I was helping a friend on some steps. I hit a brand new block from a store I won't name and the whole thing just disintegrated in my hands. lol Thanks for the content, Mr Haduck. Always appreciated.
I like the small jobs, they are at my skill level. What is a Big Deal is the way masons use a trowel. Somehow whenever I load a trowel, the cement falls straight off. It's how it is, so now I don't bother and hire someone who can, its No Big Deal !!!! Great videos, really great.
Great Information Mike, You have taught me a good deal about Mortar, Concrete, & Rebar. I am a electrical engineer, but enjoy building things out of duct tape, construction adhesive, wood, brick, and then more duct tape. I have noticed here in Iowa where they are pouring new sidewalks that they are using a composite fiberglass rebar. As far as blocking up this basement doorway here in this video if you had more time and more money for the project would you consider installing some vertical rebar in the block and doing more work outside of the wall for drainage? Enjoy your videos and plan to watch more of the Master working in his medium. All the Best Mike !
Thanks Robert, I don't know if I would add anything else, I just did the fill in I don't know what the deal was with the drainage but I am sure what I did will stay, yea I would start using that fiberglass rebar here and there, thanks Mike
It is good to see how you do the small job that spmeone like me would only do once maybe although i kind of knew what to do thanks a lot Mike,from Pat in Dublin Ireland.
Mike has me feeling like a freemason out here 😆. In all seriousness thanks for the content and the work you do to put these videos together. I have to tackle this job on my house built in 1861. Love from Wisconsin!
That type s is probably the least sticky mortar I’ve ever used. I’ve found getting a bag of masonry and mixing with sand to be way nicer to work with. When he butters the vertical joints of the blocks already laid and the mud sticks that’s a sign of loads of experience. 👍
How wonderful! I just wanted to know how to block up a doorway, and who did I find? The best master of blocking and other masonry staff. I,ve learned so many things from this artist of building!
I recall the idea about block not needing water to make mortar stick but I have never understood why. Especially because during repair of block etc you always wet it. Would you mind explaining why no wetting of new block? I appreciate the videos and all your efforts. I would also buy a No Big Deal tshirt in a heartbeat.
Thanks mark m basic block and brick work never gets wet because it causes a mess that is hard to clean, Gravity does most of the trick there, but if the brick or blocks have some moisture in it , they do sick a lot better, but yea, water causes a big mess, thanks, mike
in our area most open below grade entrances are a bigger problem than one with a roof or cover... half of the older homes we work on have them and besides water drainage problems, build up of sediment and trash, they have accelerated weathering to the joints. those cracks you pointed out are very common wall defects where the stairs are open to weather...
Hi Mike. It's interesting what you say about rebar. There is a channel by "Blancolirio" that covered the Oroville Dam disaster in California. In rebuilding the spillway, they took out the old concrete with rusted rebar and replaced it with new concrete but with epoxy coated rebar. Seems like they see the same thing you do. Love the video. All the best. Tony in Australia
Hi Tony, good to hear from Australia, I think they are starting to realize than when you use rebar it has a time stamp on it, they are starting to try different things up here also, thanks, mike
@@wakes_inc 20:16 Yeah I did...made the comment while watching the video when he posted it. Even though he says he will, doesn't mean it'll actually happen. A lot of people just don't want to bother and will fill it in and flip the house...and let it become someone else's problem.
Do this all the time Mike just like your doing it, I have 3 to do next week. However on many jobs they require rebar on each end drilled and epoxied to floor and header, with wall ties 16" O.C. so either you have to cut an a or u block on each end, or you epoxy one rebar in the floor and drill the top holes, then drop a second then leave a clean out on the middle and top, then pull up and epoxy in after your filled in. The next day you hand grout. But only once have I ever had to put rebar horizontally.
Nice video Mike, you're right about re-bar and and the care you need when building metal into masonry. In the UK they started using angle iron over doors and windows about 25 years ago, and now builders are finding it's starting to rust and swell, often busting up the brickwork if fitted too tight - creating more work, of course, in replacing it. In stonemasonry, we sometimes use little bits of old iron for tightening up the top mortar joint when rebuilding under window cills, replacing sections of wall, etc. - if you tap in some bits of iron it swells in time, which tightens the joint (too much and you risk cracking the mortar). Regards.
Great Video. My home flooded over the weekend because of the rain in Florida. I have been toying with the idea of getting rid of that door for years. Now I have the courage to do it. Question, how much concrete did you use? Need to plan my shopping list.
