Gage House Restoration

01/27/2026

01/26/2026

12/21/2025

TLDR: No cement mortars should be used in repairing historic brick and stone walls

lime mortar is needed. Hot lime mortar or lime putty mortar is optimal. NHL mortars are okay. Cement mortar of any kind is detrimental.

This is not yet common knowledge among masons in the US. I hope that changes soon. Many of our historic buildings will not survive another generation of improper repairs.

One of the most damaging myths in masonry:

“Stronger is better.”

It isn’t.

Historic brick and stone were designed to be sacrificial systems.
The mortar was meant to fail first — not the masonry unit.

When we introduce overly strong modern materials, we don’t strengthen buildings.
We transfer stress into the brick and stone.

That’s how you get:
• Spalling
• Cracking
• Irreversible damage

Good masonry isn’t about power.
It’s about compatibility.

The best repairs disappear — not because they’re invisible, but because they work with the building.

12/20/2025

Here is the second bat we found sleeping behind the plaster. He would fall asleep when you pet his head lol

12/20/2025

You never know what you’ll find in these walls. We found 2 bats alive and well. they were released without harm 👌🏻

12/13/2025

Spent some time yesterday patching up some subfloor. Patching the subfloor can be difficult due to the odd dimensions. Luckily, we found a floorboard in the wall during demo.

The other pieces were planed down from southern yellow pine 2x6.

11/28/2025

Today I learned to look twice anytime you’re pulling trim…

While relocating some of the original trim I found some faint pencil writing. It too me a while to really see what it said.

It reads “Sandwich Station”

This would have been written two years before the city of Sandwich was established. Before people settled on the name Sandwich, the town was often referred to as Newark Station. So cool to see them put together during this town founding.

11/12/2025

How it started to how it ended

The very top crown piece was made by a carpenter with actual skill in Wisconsin.

The rest I made of salvaged old growth lumber from OCD Barn Wood

11/12/2025

Mortise and tenon frame of cedar with a heart pine top and leg vice. Did a wedge style leg vice as opposed to the traditional pin style