Just in Time for the New Year – Bricks, Pavers, Hexes and Beams

Happy New Year! Welcome to our first blog post of 2024, with apologies for our absence these past few months. Here at our Golden Gate jobsite, we’ve had weekly challenges with rainy, stormy, icky weather saturating our steeply graded property. Fortunately, the hardscape elements we built on our precipitous hillside have successfully protected us from serious mudslides.

Adding to our weather woes, we had a Marin Municipal Water District failure in our cul-de-sac that caused flooding and thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to the property. Yes, it has been a wet, drizzly, surprised-filled fall and winter for us here in Northern California!

Artful Masons, Tile Setters and Carpenters

Newly-built reclaimed brick structure
Newly-built reclaimed brick structure

But there is sunlight in this saga as well. Our team of skillful masons, gifted tile setters and masterly carpenters now has a roof over their head as they install the historic architectural elements you’ll soon see on the upper two floors of the house. The rugged architectural bricks, pavers, hexes and beams not only support the framing, but also embellish the floors, walls and ceilings in truly magical ways.

Brick is Back

Pile of 100-year-old bricks
Pile of 100-year-old bricks

The image above is of a crusty, smoke-tinged pile of 100-year-old American bricks and rubble that we saved from the original 1927 turret. Although the reclaimed bricks are primarily rusty red, we found a source for distressed vintage bricks in black, white, yellow, orange, pink and cream. We interspersed the original battered blocks of red clay with multi-colored vintage bricks, creating a distinctive new structure that emulates the earlier turret’s presence in a new way.

2023 newly built turret
2023 newly built turret

On a recent afternoon at the jobsite, our mason, Jon Smith, announced that “brick is back” as he described the new homes his company is working on in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. And while I don’t follow trends, my heart skipped a beat when Jon spoke the words “traditional architecture.” I was thrilled to hear homeowners in Napa and Sonoma were actually building classical homes again with authentic brick facades.

Jon’s crew has just resurrected our 25’-tall, old-world turret. It had cracked during excavation, requiring the whimsically unique fairy tale structure to be torn down and lovingly rebuilt.

Antique French Pavers

Shipping crate of antique French pavers
Shipping crate of antique French pavers

We were fortunate in our search for historic architectural materials to discover antique French pavers at the San Francisco Design Center. The century-old 9”x 14” terra cotta pavers in colors of butter-yellow and creamy-peach had shipped from France and were perfect for the two main floors of our home. They beautifully re-created the look of old Spanish flooring that I have admired for years in my collection of books on Spanish Revival architecture.

French pavers installed ungrouted
French pavers installed ungrouted
Grouted pavers installed in west bedroom
Grouted pavers installed in west bedroom

Antique French Hexes

Crate of dusty French hexes
Crate of dusty French hexes

We were also lucky to locate crates of dusty, dirty, multi-colored antique French terra cotta hexes at Country Floors in San Francisco. They came in 6”x 6” sizes, varying in thickness from ½” to 2”. However, unlike the pavers, these ancient hexagonal gems dazzled when their dull beauty was washed and the myriad sumptuous colors emerged – red, pink, orange, yellow, black, white and cream.

Antique hexes installed ungrouted
Antique hexes installed ungrouted
Grouted French hexes installed in entry
Grouted French hexes installed in entry

Antique Belgium Bricks

Crate of antique Belgium bricks
Crate of antique Belgium bricks

A trove of 3” x 7” antique bricks from Belgium has been individually sliced in half by our consummate tile setters. The raw and unpolished rectangular blocks will be installed in the three bathrooms on the upper two floors. They are truly beautiful in any light, but will look positively resplendent when lit by the wall sconces and ceiling fixtures we’ve chosen for the bathrooms.

Antique Belgium bricks installed
Antique Belgium bricks installed
Antique Belgium bricks grouted
Antique Belgium bricks grouted

Structural Architectural Elements

On a day trip to Sonoma County last year, Marshall and I auspiciously discovered a lumber yard where we met the owner, Steve Turner. Steve’s penchant and business is searching for unwanted trees from all over the Bay Area. When the old San Francisco Transbay Terminal was rebuilt in 2011, Steve was contacted to remove a bounty of Douglas fir trees that had been excavated from the Bay under the terminal. According to Steve, the cold water of the San Francisco Bay had miraculously preserved the integrity of the submerged wood.

Doug fir beams, lintels, pilaster and post
Doug fir beams, lintels, pilaster and post

Steve not only hunts for unusual trees, he also mills the wood, and offered to mill the stunning Doug fir to our specifications of 6”x 6”and 8”x 8” beams, in addition to creating lintels, posts and pilasters in sizes needed for many other design and architectural applications.

Kitchen Annex beams
Kitchen Annex beams

Some of the ceiling beams are structural, as are the ridge beams and lintels. However, most of the beams on the upper two floors are decorative and present a beautiful caramel color we love.

Yellow beams brighten lower level
Yellow beams brighten lower level

A portion of the Doug fir beams arrived on the job site with a yellow color rather than the caramel color. To our delight, they were perfect on the darker lower level as their brilliant straw color provides a bright, glowing presence that will harmonize beautifully with other elements.

Have a Happy and Healthy 2024

Linda, Marshall and Toby
Linda, Marshall and Toby

Once again, thanks for your patience with our arduously challenging completion of Golden Gate! We have rounded the proverbial corner and hope to move in this spring. Although we said that last fall, our lives have been full of twists and turns. But fingers crossed, barring any atmospheric rivers, giant waves destroying the West Coast or failed water mains, we promise to keep our word this time!

Toby - Christmas 2023
Toby - Christmas 2023

We so appreciate you following our progress and hope you stay tuned for our next blog revealing kitchen cabinetry, slabs and fanciful finishes. Have a healthy and joyous 2024 and pray for peace on the planet!

Much love and blessings to all of you,
Linda, Marshall and Tobywan-Kenobe

Showing 24 comments
  • Rosemary Kinder
    Reply

    Hey cuz. So happy to find this site and see you again. Still beautiful 😍 Happy New Year

    • patricia
      Reply

      Each post and beam, each brick and stone, put you closer to your dream. We are excited for you!

  • Jeri Muhich (formerly Jeri Lacy)
    Reply

    Love you Linda! I’m so proud of all you have accomplished and hope in the process you have held on to your faith journey over these many years.

  • Janice Weickum
    Reply

    So much amazing progress!! Can’t wait to see this all come together.

  • Laura Miles Ogrody
    Reply

    Wow! So beautiful, your undying patience will be richly rewarded, can’t wait to see finished product! Bravo! 😍

  • Deborah
    Reply

    Happy New Year Ms. Linda. Can’t wait to see the results!!!

  • Karen Lamoree
    Reply

    Looks like great progress is being made. Hope you move in in ‘24. Love the resurrected fire chimney.

    • Diane Clark
      Reply

      Absolutely beautiful. Truly your Masterpiece

    • Edd Vinci
      Reply

      Totally Agree with your Comments!
      Nothing but Respect for the journey and Wonderful progress they have achieved.
      GOLDEN GATE STRONG!
      Linda & Marshall thank you for sharing.

  • Danelle Carpenter
    Reply

    This is going to be a show stopper! I can only imagine what is going on in that creative mind of yours.
    Love it all,
    Danelle

  • Jackie Schaeffer
    Reply

    Amazing! Your talent and tenacity for finding and using treasured artifacts know no bounds!

  • Jeff Lamoree
    Reply

    Looking forward to seeing the finished product. You have great patience! That property has many memories growing up in that house. Thanks for all your hard work.

  • michelle derviss
    Reply

    looking great ! Dreams really do come true.
    all the best, michelle derviss

  • francis rico
    Reply

    This is SO beautiful – and your writing is exquisite! I’m sharing this with everyone because it is a complete course in beauty. Linda you are a gift! Much love – Francis

  • Karin Peters
    Reply

    Linda, your house looks amazing! I love the reclaimed materials you are using.

  • Joan von Weien
    Reply

    Your home will have such heart; such a welcoming spirit upon your hill overlooking the bay! Thank you for bringing us along with you. Toby…!

  • Marsha Butler
    Reply

    So happy for you…thank you for sharing

  • Kirby Kendrick
    Reply

    Oh my goodness! What a jewel. What a treasure. A work of love and art that one doesn’t see very often. Congratulations Linda & Marshall. You both have created something of beauty for our world.

  • Sandy Spargur
    Reply

    You’re back! So much progress, beautiful bricks, colors and designs. I can almost smell the Douglas Fir beams that look so amazing above the tiles and bricks. Thank you for sharing your exciting Labor of Love.

  • Jenny Duffy
    Reply

    “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”….Keats

  • Keith Dishman
    Reply

    I scanned your article this morning. Will go back and read it in detail a little later. What thrilled me the most was the rebuilt turret, the heart and hearth of your home. I look forward to following your progress.

  • Lynn
    Reply

    Oh my, Linda, this is glorious! What an amazing trove of treasures you have found which have been so beautifully installed by your talented tradesmen. I couldn’t wait to scroll down to see each one below its description and it always exceeded my expectations. Your house will be a glorious celebration of perseverance, talent, and whimsy under your artful eye. Thank you for taking us along on this journey – and wishing you, Marshall, and Toby the happiest of New Years – you deserve it!

  • Marla Patterson
    Reply

    Such challenges Whoa!!! However it’s clearly going to be an exceptional and gorgeous space. Keep these blogs coming when you can. I’m so glad you made your apartment pretty! It’s been a long haul. Happy New Year!
    Love Marla

  • Jo Adams
    Reply

    Linda, you and Marshall have worked wonders! The blog is so easy to follow. Describing the photos of each piece for the floors, then the finished work. The beams, brick work, all a masterpiece! What a treasure.
    Happy New Year!
    Jo

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