Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Bricks are Heavy


I've been wanting to tear out this walk and replace it with brick for quite some time now. It was, at one point, near the top of our priority list because water would wash right down the thing into the basement.

While a new curb solved the water problem it did nothing for the ugly except move it waaay down the list. Sitting there on the porch looking at the pretty flowers and then that awful cracked concrete I realized something had to be done.

I searched through my brick stash but there wasn't nearly enough to do the job. Besides, busting up all that concrete would take several hours. I needed instant gratification. Plus, I only had a few hours until it would be time to sit on the porch and drink beer. What's a girl to do?

Paint is always the answer.

I did this with a four-inch roller and some brick-colored exterior paint. We painted our chimney a while back (it was country blue when we bought the house) and I had paint left over. I have no idea how long it will hold up, if it does at all, but it sure changed the view.

7 comments:

Jennifer W. said...

OMG! This must have taken forever, but well worth the effort. I hope it holds up, 'cause it looks really nice! How'd you get the lines so straight?

Scarlet Tanager said...

Thanks. I saw this in a magazine a while back and I remember the lady saying that she tried a stencil and it was too perfect so she just used a little roller. It worked great. The hardest part was figuring out the design.

Shanna said...

when i first saw the pic i thought you had actually laid brick! looks great! the paint might wear a little over time but i think it will make it look even more realistic.

i remember my dad cementing over our walk. he bought some stencil/cement-make-you-own-cobblestone kit. it worked pretty well, held up for years!

teedle. said...

I agree with pink rocket! I thought you actually laid brick as well!! Awsome job with the roller and paint color... muy bueno!!

Anonymous said...

i can't believe you painted this. wow! i hope it lasts a long time. you're so clever. i would never have thought to do this.

Megan said...

What a fabulous idea, I thought it was brick at first. You did a good job replicating the look.

Lori said...

I had to take a second look, you sure fooled me. It looks great!