Reader Project: Like Father, Like Son

Our entire team here at Family Handyman loves hearing a good story about a remodeling or building project from DIYers like you. This is especially true if the story involves family, friends, some repurposed building materials or an ingenious process.

Inspired by editor Brad Holden’s letter recounting his backyard makeover in the June 2023 issue of Family Handyman, reader David Moore shared his family’s story:

“When I was growing up, my dad was not one to pass up on anyone’s offerings. One day, someone offered him some used brick — A LOT OF BRICK. He loaded up me and my brother, and off we went. We filled the truck with as many bricks as it could hold, and back home we went to unload them.

“In the ensuing days, it was our chore to clean and stack them. After what seemed like an eternity, we finished handling the approximately 2,000 bricks.

“This was in about 1970 to 1972 when I was 11 or 12, but let’s fast forward to 2018. Both my parents had died earlier that year, and in October, Hurricane Michael paid a visit to southwest Georgia and destroyed our childhood home. With destruction everywhere, my brother and I started walking the property to see what was salvageable.

“When we reached the back, we found, covered in vines and debris, the bricks we had cleaned and stacked some 50 years earlier. We had often reminisced about our dreaded ‘brick duty,’ but little did we know that the bricks would eventually find their way to our own homes.

David Moore for Family Handyman

“The walkways shown are just two I’ve made from those bricks. Now when I see free bricks or an old building being torn down, what do I do? I do as my dad did: I jump in the truck and load them up. And yes, I too have a stack at the back of my property, pending the next project. I guess you can say ‘Like father, like son.’ ”