We have been terribly busy and awfully behind, so I haven't posted in a few weeks, but here are some before and after shots of the last project we finished. The job is another for Endeavour, in the back yard of a large old house in historic downtown Thomaston. I took some photos when I originally went to look at the job, and as you can see, it was badly cracked and pitching forward dangerously.
I was struck immediately by the beauty of the place, however, and jumped at the opportunity to be a part of such a great restoration project. The owner came out with an old cigar box she had found in the attic when she bought the place, inside of which were some black and white photographs of the original structure.
Amazing! I wanted the job...
Then my good friend, Don Savarice, who was doing some interior restoration, pointed out a circular iron and concrete structure in the center of the lawn.
Apparently, when Don had started working on the house, there was a large pile of decaying wood in the back yard and the owner asked him if he could remove it. Well, he did and lo and behold, beneath it was this incredible ornate wrought-iron fountain base. Out of curiosity, they went into the basement and searched around until they found a mystery-knob, which they turned... And there was water! Right up out of the little fountain-spout. Incredible!
I left the site determined to come back and rebuild the wall and sure enough, we were doing just that two or three weeks later. It was a difficult project, due to the size of the stones and the height of the wall, but we managed. Actually, a massive hats-off to both Damon and Dave Curry, who were there much more than I was and built most of what you see in the pictures.
I can't wait to see it again in another fifty years, when the vines have grown back.
