Tom's retaining wall
Washington, DC
Tom's retaining wall in Washington, DC< flex-con
            is used here in the mortar
Paint is chipped off brick, concrete and other surfaces. Loose areas on sand brick and other
materials removed.
Plenty of flex-con is used here in the mortar to assure a good bond. First a scratch coat is applied and allowed to set two days.
Brown coat Wall is trued
Brown coat applied. Look any straighter? Wall is trued by propping rod against back side and filling in.
PVC weeps additional weeps
PVC weeps are cut through wall and patched in. These are critical to the life of the wall by allowing water to drain out. Weeps are angled down and protrude past the finished wall surface about an inch. A weep flush with the finished wall would allow water to run behind the stucco, causing failure of the stucco over time.  Tom put additional weeps in the wall using these copper tubes.
Copper pipe snow storm
Copper pipe is cut off and flared with a flaring tool. We finished the wall just four days before this
huge snow storm hit. 
Chimney chimney restoration for Tom 2009 by R T Bullard
Chimney was never finished back in the 1930's. Someone got lazy or just ran out of flues. New flue is capped with this brass plaque Tom
made. Inscription reads "chimney restoration for Tom 2009 by R T Bullard, Inc. 703-845-1565". Maybe someone will go up here one day and read this.
Safe level scaffold Bricks on chimney
Safe level scaffold is made using these plaster jacks and nailing the boards together around the chimney. Roof is covered with tar paper and drop cloths. Bricks on chimney are covered with plastic. New flues put on, chimney filled with mortar and cap formed.
Finish is REAL Portland cement I embedded my usual coins in the chimney as a time capsule. Finish is REAL Portland cement  and REAL sand. Greenish color is from EXPO stucco in San Diego.




Chimney cap color matches the retaining wall. This chimney should now last for centuries.
Chimney cap color matches the retaining wall