Boston Brick & Stone

Where is your favorite place?

Jo Lauricella — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:31:14 +0000

As a kid my favorite place in the summer was Suzie’s backyard. Suzie was the oldest of 7 kids. Her mom wanted all her kids in her backyard. She welcomed all the neighborhood kids to join them. Suzie’s mom believed that kids do better with simple things. Her answer was a ton of dirt dumped to one side of the back yard close enough to be observed from the kitchen window. There were days when as many as 20 kids would be swarming the dirt pile, playing “little people” a game that combined playing house, war, school, space invaders, cowboys and Indians and any other idea a 10 year old could come up with. The garden hose was frequently employed to construct rivers and lakes. Toward the end of the day Suzie’s mom would attach the sprinkler so we could run through it, cool off and wash the day’s accumulation of dirt and mud off.

Suzie’s parents had a large vegetable garden in the far end of the yard that was off limits to all children. Anyone who violated this rule earned an off limit on the dirt pile for all of us for the rest of the day. Heavy punishment, but we learned not to invite frequent violators back to play.

Today a swimming pool replaces the sprinkler. We worry about curb appeal and work out ways to expand our living space with outdoor kitchens and lounging areas. Home grown vegetables have become more and more popular. However 10 year olds haven’t changed.

Boston Brick & Stone recently completed a patio and pergola located near a backyard pool. The owners wanted a place to relax while they kept an eye on their rollicking children in the pool. The pergola provided the shade, the patio a level and aesthetic setting for their chaise lounges and side tables. Its position catches the breezes that keep the setting cooler than the rest of the yard. When I saw the pictures of the completed work and how the owners had beautifully decorated it, I thought, I bet this is their favorite place to be.

Boston Brick and Stone Re-Defining Daycation

Jo Lauricella — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:21:51 +0000

LOS ANGELES-Boston Brick and Stone (http://www.bostonbrick.com), a Southern California leader in chimney inspections, chimney brick repair, brick restoration and landscape and hardscape design, announces simple outdoor solutions to improve your next Daycation.

Boston Brick & Stone offers a list of simple outdoor improvements on their new Twitter site. As the economy begins to recover, many people are taking one day off for an adventure, a Daycation. Boston Brick & Stone wants to help extend that Daycation by suggesting affordable improvements in outdoor living to extend that Daycation to a TwoDaycation or a Weekendcation.

Dave Laverdiere, owner of Boston Brick and Stone, stated “Our team works very hard during the week and looks forward to our time at home. Because of our expertise in improving out door living, we pooled each of our successful affordable outdoor improvements that upgrade our home time to Daycations and beyond. See our suggestions on Twitter, DacationatHome.”

Founded in 1993 by Don Hall and now owned and operated by Dave Laverdiere, Boston Brick & Stone is a business that has become a trusted name in chimney inspections and hardscape design amongst Southern California homeowners and real estate agents. The company has been a featured contractor on HGTV’s “Landscaper’s Challenge” and on “Backyard Brigade.”

Located in Pasadena, Boston Brick & Stone serves all communities in Los Angeles County. For more information about Boston Brick and Stone, call 866-612-6786 (Toll-Free) or 626-296-7700 (Local). You can also visit the company’s website at www.bostonbrick.com. Masonry License (C-29); General Builder (B) #783578.

Two Ton Elephants

Jo Lauricella — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:02:35 +0000

I was chatting with a couple of realtors this morning at an Association meeting. I commented that it seems that so many of the problems we are all having are under cover. Sometimes I feel like we each are living with at least one 2 ton elephant sitting in our homes and offices that we simply chose to ignore and walk around. I am tired of it!

I am ready to try something different. I am convinced that the only way we will all come out of this mess is to dig ourselves out. But we do not have to do it alone. I called a few of the successful realtors in the area and asked them what sets them apart, why they are successful? Here is what they said:

Referrals are the key. This must be in constant development and constant updating. I hate it when I call a customer and find out they used some else because they did not know we provided that exact service.
Follow up is vital. Jim Rohn, motivational speaker says that 80% of all sales happen after the fifth contact. That is a lot of persistence.
Knowing exactly what the customer wants and getting exactly what they want.

Many years ago someone told me that sales was a numbers game. If you call enough people you will close deals. Jim Rohn calls it the law of averages. For every X number of people you call you get a sale. If X is 10, then the law of averages is 10 to 1. If you want 10 sales, you have to call 100 people. Someone else may have an average of 10 to 2. That just means they are a better sales person. Mr. Rohn says if someone wants to get better, just make more calls and work at getting better.

Grant Cardone talks about making a list of objections, and working out a response to each objection. Then try out the new responses. Some will work, some won’t. Keep the ones that work and try different responses on the rest. Don’t worry about losing the sale, if you don’t have a workable response you are not going to get the sale anyway! He says, “Hey, you have nothing to lose and you could make a sale”

The members of the Boston Brick & Stone, Inc. team know that we are only as strong as the Realtors we support. We will do whatever we can to help. I will post this blog in the Agent Services Corner of our website. I invite all who read this blog to comment and add your suggestions. I will post your suggestions on our website.

Together we can help each other climb out of this crazy economic situation. We can continue to ignore the elephants, or march all our elephants out of our homes and offices and take charge of our future.

Boston Brick and Stone Expands Again

Jo Lauricella — Thu, 12 May 2011 23:23:51 +0000

Meeting the needs of Realtors and Home buyers

LOS ANGELES-Boston Brick and Stone (http://www.bostonbrick.com), a Southern California leader in chimney inspections, chimney brick repair, brick restoration and landscape and hardscape design, announced the company has now expanded to four certified chimney inspectors.

All of Boston Brick & Stone chimney inspectors are rigorously trained and must meet all qualifications both for certifications and the company’s own stringent standards. Four certified chimney inspectors ensure that Boston Brick & Stone can provide prompt and accurate chimney inspection reports for every customer.

Dave Laverdiere, owner of Boston Brick and Stone, stated “Our Company has very high standards for chimney inspection. Our chimney inspections cover four categories, Structural Integrity, Fire safety, Health hazards and proper operation. We take the time to explain to our clients that a chimney and fireplace are not useable unless it can pass all four categories. Boston Brick and Stone’s strong reputation as expert masons is based on our technical expertise in all masonry fields and our superior customer service. A safe and fully operational fireplace is one of the pleasures of homeownership. We take pride in participating in making your house a home.”

Chimney Inspections Cover Four Basic Categories

Jo Lauricella — Thu, 12 May 2011 23:10:56 +0000

Chimney Inspections cover four basic categories: Structural, Fire Safety, Health Hazards, and Proper Operation. All certified inspection companies cover each one of these.

Earthquakes make structural integrity an important issue in Southern California. Structural cracks or encircling cracks cannot be repaired. The chimney must be rebuilt. This is the most expensive type of chimney repair a homeowner will face. If the house is more than 80 years old a chimney rebuild is in its future. The type of building materials used before 1940 did not include steel reinforcement and were built with ash mortar.

When a Chimney Inspector tells a home owner the chimney is structurally sound, he is only telling them it is not likely to fall down. Too often home owners assume this means there is nothing wrong with the chimney. This is not necessarily true.

Masonry chimneys reaching the 50 year mark need maintenance. As the fireplace is used, the bricks expand from heat and contract when the fire burns out. The mortar surrounding the bricks is made of different material and expands and contracts at a different rate. Over time the mortar wears away leaving gaps and the bricks will crack. The flue may be subject to even more erosion from rain water mixing with Creosote which forms an acid that wears away the mortar. We are seeing many mid-century houses requiring the portions of the inside of the fire place rebuilt and the flue relined. There are often gaps around the sides of the fire place where it meets the facing and the mantel.

These situations are fire and health hazards. Remember the byproducts of fires are sparks, heat, noxious gases, and smoke. These byproducts should move up the fireplace and chimney into the open where they dissipate quickly. However, they will take the path of least resistance. The heat becomes super heated as it passes through a gap and if a few sparks are already on the wood frame it will smolder and eventually ignite. This is how a fire starts to crawl within the walls of a wood structure.

The noxious gas, Carbon Monoxide, is a very dangerous by-product of wood and gas fires. It is important to make sure it leaves through the Flue into the open air, not moving about the house through gaps and cracks. Carbon monoxide detectors are the best way to detect this silent killer.

Finally the chimney inspector insures the fireplace is operating properly. There is nothing relaxing or romantic about a smoke filled room. There are many solutions that a chimney expert can give you and yours for a wonderful, cozy, inviting, safe, and smoke free evening by the fire.

For more information go to www.bostonbrick.com

A perfect new driveway

Jo Lauricella — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:30:39 +0000

Boston Brick and Stone is back with us for a second project — this was the first, a completely rebuilt chimney. Now the company is replacing a 1921 cracked and shattered driveway. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have this completely organized and skilled company on your side. The work is impeccable, workers and supervisors operate at the highest level — we breathe easier when they are around. We know our job will be delivered perfectly and on time.

~Paula P., Los Angeles

Angie’s List Super Service Award

Jo Lauricella — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:17:04 +0000


Fourth year in a row!!



Driveways are part of the neighborhood
Jo Lauricella — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:17:14 +0000
As a child I drew on that large flat surface of my family’s driveway with big chunks of colored chalk.  I would play Hop Scotch with my friends and later Jacks.  Driveways were the line that marked the end of my yard and the beginning of some else’s yard.  They marked boundaries for games, down to Jim’s driveway and over to Mary’s driveway and up to mine.  Driveways were better for jump rope especially double ropes because they are wider then sidewalks.  We would use the longer drives to learn to balance on a bicycle.  Driveways were perfect proving grounds for learning to Roller Skate.
There was one driveway nobody played on because it was broken and cracked.  You could hear the car tires push and grind the battered concrete when the owner pulled in.  We all had our fair share of scraped knees, but none of us wanted the deep painful gouges and cuts from an unsafe and vengeful cracked driveway.  Besides, it made the whole yard seem ugly.
I remember the day the men of the neighborhood (my dad included) got together one  Saturday morning with pick and shovels and took out our revenge on that old driveway.  That night the neighborhood had a block party to celebrate the barren dirt driveway.  There was plenty of beer for the grownups, Kool-Aid for the kids, and hamburgers, chips and watermelon for everyone.
On Monday strange men came with levels and stakes and string and smoothed out the ground.  Word went out quickly and we all took our bikes over to see.  It wasn’t long before we lost interest and created another game to play.  We were so absorbed we almost missed the best part, the arrival of the revolving cement truck.  We raced over to see the cement slide down the shoot to be spread over the sand and gravel and steel reinforcement that had been laid while we were busy fighting dragons and tilting windmills.  We wanted to help, we wanted to water, we wanted to be involved.  No this needed to be done by the professionals.  We stood back, we waited.  “Oh no, you mean we can’t do anything for two weeks?”
My family moved to another city in another state a year later. Not long ago I visited the old neighborhood.  I saw that beautiful driveway and remembered how much fun we had.  The driveway had been well built and all these many years later it looked strong with plenty of life still in it.  I smiled as I noticed the uneven lines of Hop Scotch drawn in colored chalk in the middle of that driveway.  It was no longer the driveway nobody wanted to play on.  It had become part of the neighborhood.
The life of a driveway is determined by the quality of the initial installation.  For more information on driveways, visit www.bostonbrick.com.



Beautiful Retaining Wall
Jo Lauricella — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:00:15 +0000




Angelino’s love their fireplaces.
Jo Lauricella — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 23:11:54 +0000
The Santa Ana’s are blowing and the air is warm in the afternoons.  This is winter in Southern  California.  The warmth encourages us to take off our woolen jackets and enjoy the feel of the air moving over the bare skin on our arms.  This is paradise for anyone who grew up where the snow flies and the temperatures drop into single digits this time of year.
So how could this be a great time to enjoy your fireplace?  Los Angeles is a semi-arid desert and no matter how warm it gets during the day, the temperature drops rapidly as the sun goes down.  Our nights are cool. If you have been living in Southern California for any length of time, as I have, your blood has thinned, cool has become cold.
A fire on Los   Angeles winter nights are just the right amount of heat to cut through the evenings chill.  We enjoy our evening fires as much as our friends to the frigid north and the snow bound east and for the same reasons.  The perfume of the burning wood, the mystique of the flickering flames, the crackle of the wood and the gentle pervasive heat.  What a great way to unwind after a busy day or a hectic week.
I am always amazed at the number of people who simply stop using their fireplace the first time their beautiful fire leaves too much smoke in the room.  When speaking with these people they tell me they know something has to be wrong.  They are right.  However they go on to say, “I know any fix is going to be very expensive.”  My answer is always the same, “maybe.”
There are many reasons why a chimney and fireplace smoke.  Some reasons are very simple inexpensive fixes, some are more costly.  However, some fixes cost nothing.  Ask yourself or whoever built the fire, did you open the damper?  Take a look at the fire; is it close to the opening?  Is the fire way too big for the size of the fireplace? These are all common errors made when building a fire, each will cause the room to fill with smoke.  The solutions are simple:  Open the damper, make sure the grate holding the burning wood is no more than 2″ from the back wall, and build the right size fire for the fireplace.
Don’t deny yourself the pleasure of a cozy evening by the fire because of a smoke filled room.  There are solutions.  You can find more detail on how to build a fire correctly and other reasons a fireplace is smoking at www.bostonbrick.com.