Warning: Saw a brick wall in a Denver brewery patio that was laid with zero header courses

It was a 12-foot section, just all stretchers, and the owner said it was 'modern art'. Anyone else seen something that made you just shake your head?

4 comments

4 Comments

riverdavis2mo ago

Modern art, huh? That's a new one. I've seen some weird stuff in my day, but calling a clear code violation "art" is pretty bold. At least it wasn't holding up a roof.

max2232mo ago

Calling a clear code violation 'art' is pretty bold" made me laugh. My buddy had a client who wanted to keep a totally wrong deck railing because it was "rustic character." He had to explain that the wobble wasn't an artistic choice, it was a splintery lawsuit waiting to happen. The guy finally agreed to fix it, but I heard he still tells guests it's an "interactive sculpture" that changes over time. Some people just really commit to the bit.

emeryj661mo ago

That railing story reminds me of something similar that happened with a fence I built for a neighbor. The whole thing was leaning about 4 degrees off plumb, and he tried to say it added "dynamic movement" to the yard. I told him @blake792 would probably agree that calling it intentional just makes the story funnier when someone eventually falls into it. We ended up bracing it with some cheap steel brackets and painting them black, which actually looked okay and kept the weird angle from getting worse. Sometimes you just gotta find a compromise that saves face and meets code, even if the original "vision" was a hazard.

blake7922mo ago

Honestly, that's the kind of move I'd pull and then try to sell it as a feature. My own DIY projects are basically a gallery of "what not to do." At least a patio wall isn't load bearing, so the only thing it's really hurting is our professional pride.