"Hey, Denver Building Owners: Stop Hiring Cheap Hacks to Butcher Historic Masonry Treasures"

Poor repointing repair work, smeared with mortar, and cementitious patching directly over historic stone horizontal accent on historic church in Denver - SMH

Let’s be real: it's infuriating to watch historic Denver buildings, especially landmarks like old churches, get trashed by half-assed repairs. I have to call out the folks making these boneheaded decisions—those who think hiring some "masonry contractor" or general contractor who’s paying a clueless worker pennies is the way to go. These guys have no damn business touching historic buildings.

The reality is, structures like this just aren't built anymore, and finding real craftsmen is nearly impossible. Yet somehow, people get all starry-eyed about these places, talking about their charm and history, but when it comes to repairs, they turn around and hire the cheapest, most unqualified contractors they can find. These guys can barely repoint a brick, let alone grasp the importance of proper mortar. They're not masons; they're hacks.

And their work?

It’s sloppy and flat-out damaging.

So I’m left wondering—what the hell is going on here?

Why would a building owner let this crap happen?

The sad truth is most don’t care; they just want it done on the cheap.

Then, when their building ends up looking like hell, they wonder why. It's shameful to see these incredible buildings defaced by shitty work, all because people wanted to save a buck. And then they call us to clean up the mess. But heaven forbid you tell them it’s going to require a proper investment to fix it.

They’ll blow thousands on pointless stuff but won't invest in preserving a piece of Denver’s history.

So, to the building owners hiring shoddy contractors: pull your heads out of your asses and start respecting these places by hiring professionals.