James Ryan Masonry

06/10/2026

This solid pour concrete cap turned out perfectly. The biggest challenge with this chimney presented itself during the teardown. The flue on the right side turned out to be a faux flue that merely offered aesthetic balance, but the way in which it was initially built was shocking, to say the least. Basically, the previous builder added nails into the mortar joints, which then stuck out and supported the weight of two pieces of wood, stacked bricks, and a solid-filled flue section. It was practically floating. We removed the wood and nails and replaced them with galvanized flat iron, brick, non-combustible ceramic insulation, mortar in all of the joints and brick cells, and then added the flue before pouring the concrete. We even added a small cap to the faux flue to help keep the moisture out.

Special thanks to my helper, Art, and to Erik and Colton from for their excellent tips on form building, as well as their ongoing support and friendship. Thank you, guys!

05/31/2026

A hearty congratulations to James Ryan (Masonry) for his 3rd place win in the Bake Oven category of our 2026 Design Contest.
James built this vault oven with reclaimed Haggerty bricks (circa 1800s Detroit), a repurposed copper roof and a removable metal door. The dimensions had to be precise to ensure that the pre-fabricated copper roof fit perfectly.
Amazing work, James!

05/30/2026

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05/28/2026

This poolside hardscape repair project presented many challenges, which is usually the case whenever you're dealing with somebody else's previous work. The ultimate goal was to level off the paving bricks, which had sunk badly, making the entire surface uneven and extremely dangerous to walk on. In the end, I ended up having to pull up, clean off, hammer down, and level off every single brick individually, plus I had to move and realign all of the garden blocks, which in itself, was quite labour intensive. Capped if all off with polymeric sand to lock it into place, and now it's as good as new.

05/27/2026

👍

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04/29/2026

Here I am receiving an award at the MHA Wildacres Retreat from President, Chris Springer, where I won 3rd place in the Design/Build Contest for Masonry Brick Ovens. Considering the competition, I definitely feel blessed and honoured. 🙏 Thank you, Jesus.

04/29/2026

Group photo of the Masonry Heater Association of North America "Class of 2026" located at Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. I am extremely grateful for this talented group of masons, builders and artists from all over the world.

Thank you
.and.waves .asf .degiglio and so many other amazing people!! God Bless you all!

04/25/2026

Small repair on this old brick building. The bricks were deteriorated from water damage, and the brick ties were practically nonexistent. The couple of spikes I did find, were all rusted and rotted out. Funny enough, I recently picked up a book for $1 from the thrift store on restoring old homes (masonry), and that's where I found the idea of using rigid metal brackets to hold the bricks in place and support the load while working at the bottom of a wall. Nothing cracked or shifted during the demolition process, and the results turned out great. I was able to get the job done in just a few hours. 👍

04/18/2026

More pictures from last week at the annual Wildacres Retreat in North Carolina where a hundred MHA members all gathered together, built wood-fired brick ovens and masonry heaters all week long, then on the Friday night, partied like it was 1999. The energy of this place was like nowhere else on earth, and I feel truly blessed for the friendships that I have made these past couple of years. 🙏