Everyone has their expertise or at least the thing they like to do that makes them an expert or specialist at.  I even have something that makes me better or equal to someone else…I just don’t know what it is…but someday…..

So, Mitch Zundel owns the old Zundel rock house at 171 N. 100 W. in Willard.  The house was built and finished in the middle years of the 1880’s and in its day it was a very modern house with steam heat and modern (at the time) conveniences to make the occupants comfortable.

Over time it went the way of most homes and with disrepair it sort of had bad times and even more as more time went by.  It was still occupy able and my relatives lived there and then my folks and eventually me and my siblings.  In the 1960’s mom said to dad..”I’m tired of living in an antique!”…and so dad went to tearing and fixing it up to be more like a modern home inside and out.  On the outside he had some guys come in and make the front windows bigger to let in more light…mom liked to look outside and wanted the home to be brighter.  In so doing some of  the rock work above and to the sides of the existing windows had to be removed and yet the integrity of the structure needed to be supported.  That was done with a 4X4 inch angle iron beam above the windows and support posts put in to support the rock and brick above.  And then the entire house was covered with plaster and made to look like brick…another modern look at the time.  Mom was happy.

Today, it’s cool to have the old rock homes look like they did in the days they were built.  At least as much as people have the money to have that work done.  And so, Mitch has completely removed the brick looking plaster off the outside and has it back to the rock and brick that the home is built out of.  But he wants more of the 0ld look and so he needs the angle iron support replaced with wood beams.

He has chosen Cody Wright, a local artisan with expertise in old home construction and reparation.  Cody knows rock and masonry better than anyone I know.  A true expert when it comes to that sort of thing.  He is very good at everything he does and he is very meticulous about doing it.  He was a key person in the restoration of the old lime kiln up Ogden canyon and if you want to see some of his work, scoot up there and take a look.  Also, a lot of the old rock homes here in town have had his hand at fixing them up.  He even lives in the first one he restored here in town…2 nd South and 1 st West.

Cody cares and wants to make sure everything is right (Wright) before, during and after it is done.  On this job, he made sure the upper part of the structure was going to remain in tact and not fall as he did the work needed.  So, in this picture you can see the support structure he put together to insure the rock and brick above would not fall.

He has placed two 6X6 beams side by side above the window for support and is working on a third right now.  The third one will be exposed for everyone to see when it’s done.  That is the way they did it back in the day.

Talking with him about the cement and how things were done “back then”, he said they used mostly lime and sand to make the mortar that stuck the rocks and bricks in place, and so that is pretty much what he is using today.  I won’t tell you the rest of his secret, but I can tell you that if he doesn’t do it the way they did back then, that other issues come up and cause the deterioration of the softer bricks.  So, you “gotta go with the old way”.  And why not?  It worked then and still works today.

So, you can see one of the two beams that have been put into place side by side.  These rock walls are almost 20 inches thick.  Cody had to cut the rock on the far left to have the support needed at the end of the beams.  He did an excellent job at cutting that rock with only a drill and some punches.  And now for the final beam.

It looks good Cody…Nail it in!

He will now put in some of his crafty cement and begin rocking around the beam with large rocks and more cement.  When he is done it will look like the original work only with the bigger windows that mother insisted be put in.

So, if you need some work done on your old home or even your modern home, don’t hesitate to contact this guy…Cody Wright!  The Wright guy for the job!

Willard sure has a lot of talented people for being such a small town.  And as a plug for the towns 4th of July celebration, please come to the city office building and see the display about the different talents we do have in this city!

Bears Butt

May 21, 2013