It Is a Brick…House

I’m pretty stoked about working on the 1905 Pope Residence in Cameron. When they said it was brick, none of us had a clue that it meant the brick is on interior walls as well as exterior walls! Every time the crew picks up a hammer to knock something else off, we find another treasure.

I’m not going to share all my photos today. If you want to read more about the house, check out Just a Few More Pope Residence Photos on my real estate blog or By Popular Request: More Old House Coolness on the Hearts Homes and Hands blog. Each is from a slightly different perspective, but they both have more pictures.

Brickly Beauty

I’ve been loving the exposed brick on the house, though. You can’t see what it looks like from the outside, because it has all been painted, as you can see above. But inside is a different story. Here’s my favorite image:

This is the brick that is above what was once a back door on the house. There is a lovely arch above the door made by some very interesting bricks of a variety of colors and quite non-uniform size. Note that some of the bricks have glaze on the ends.

Above that are the regular bricks that made the walls of the house. They are certainly not uniform, either! Even at that time, bricks were made in uniform molds and imprented with manufacturer names, but I don’t see any of that here.

And it looks like some work will need to be done by a mason in some spots. As I gaze at these quirky pieces of clay that have held up this building a LONG time, I think about what it must have been like making bricks in the blazing hot Texas sun. Did they make them nearby or bring them in? I’m thinking I might be able to find out if I study the 1906 maps some more.

Now, in this picture you see the bricks from farther away. You can see how they did the window frames, too. Note that there is a border a few feet up from the floor. That goes all around the house. Was it decorative or functional? Do I have to go find a book about bricks? I love how irregular the bricks are and how there are a whole bunch of dark brown ones in one spot. (By the way, those are original floors, too, and Cody has a source for similar wood to fix areas that are damaged! Wow!)

Though the brickwork is irregular, they made all these beautiful arches throughout the house. We’re also going to whip that stained glass back into shape!

I think it’s interesting that these two doors are not beautiful arches, but are instead normally sized doors. I could just look at all these different brick shapes and textures all day. Hmm, if I’m lucky maybe the room that will be MY future office will end up this good, too.

We can’t be sure if we can take all the walls down to brick. If we find a lot of damage, we might have to plaster it again. That’s just one more thing to discover as we renovate this place!

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PS: don’t worry, I’ll have more things to write “deep thoughts” about later. I’ve been so busy working and attending meetings that there’s no time to think.