# Construction question: Why would this brick stick out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917 "2009-01-31T21:57:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/1 "2009-01-31T21:57:23Z")
Totally mundane, stupid, pointless, idle question, but why would [this brick](http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=fjkrvn&s=5) stick out the way it does? None of the rest of the building that I can see has this. It’s just this one brick. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/2 "2009-01-31T22:01:48Z")
It looks to me like this was a repair - and not a very good one. But I am not a brick layer. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/3 "2009-01-31T22:34:49Z")
Disclaimer-not a mason. #1, it would be a repair, you can tell by the different mortar texture and color-however- #2 it almost looks like a photoshop, although why someone would photoshop it is beyond me. The way the mortar is applied on the surrounding brick is something I have never seen before, especially seeing that it appears dry. It just doesn’t look right, at all. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/4 "2009-01-31T23:01:12Z")
Given the sloppy pointing, it’s possible the rear bedment on the adjoining wythe was never removed, preventing a flush fit. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/5 "2009-01-31T23:41:06Z")
It’s not a photoshop except for some color correction – I took the picture just now at a coffee shop. ---
**Author:** ![spike404](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spike404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spike404)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/6 "2009-02-01T00:37:37Z")
A repair by a lazy mason. The mortar color can never be exactly copied, too many variables. Time may fade the color, but it will always be visible. Look at a photo of the Washington Monument. Construction was halted for a number of years, but the resumption point is clearly visible. Both mortar and stone. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/7 "2009-02-01T03:34:39Z")
Maybe there’s something on the other side of the wall that required just a little more space than was available? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/8 "2009-02-01T03:57:45Z")
> [@BACI](#): > > Maybe there’s something on the other side of the wall that required just a little more space than was available? Or someONE…I would avoid following any rumors of a new cask of Amontillado at this “coffee shop” you go to… ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/construction-question-why-would-this-brick-stick-out/483917/9 "2009-02-01T03:58:32Z")
…with an erection…?