I've watched several of Mike's videos and I love how everything is no big deal.

My old cellar has a 1940s Magic Chef range in it, a big sink, toilet, clothes lines, and I think there was a shower down there as well. They called them summer kitchens around here.

A lot of lessons are contained in your videos, I hope the younger generations learn some of them! ....13

HI mike ,I have been watching your videos for a few years and always find your knowledge very helpful and have put your methods in to practice many times.I was happy to see you in my neck of the woods as I live about 30 miles from there cheers and I look forward to next video

You have a fantastic work ethic ! Great inspiration to just get things done and not make a fuss about it

Excellent work Mike. I have decided to white wash my basement just like you did instead of buying the drylock. Thanks again

I found your videos while looking for info on the foundation of my old house (1914). Not sure if it is sandstone or limestone; after some searching I believe it is limestone. The old fashioned whitewash is info that I am glad to have.

you and stu crompton are the best masons on youtube hands down

Those castles are a work of art. Neglected for years and still looking good.

Mike, I watch all your videos, been in the general construction industry for 50 years, great picking up your personal ideas which are magic, many thanks.

I know it's simple but, man. It makes such a difference. Whatever you make is not enough. Great work!!!

I enjoyed this video again. Thanks Mike

My cellar wall was bulging in 23 cm in the middle of one section on the uphill side. The cracks were fairly massive. I excavated it with a bucket and then pushed the wall back straight with a bottle jack and some scrap boards. "No big deal." Most of the cracks closed up pretty tight. Your videos have been invaluable in learning how to patch it all up. Thanks for taking the time to share your expertise and create such a valuable resource. And thanks for your can-do attitude.

Ahh, this was loaded with goodies! Thank you Mike! 🌻

Mike has the worst paint brushes, but I love it!

Hey Mike, thanks for the video. That basement reminded me of the old Italian houses in West and South Philly. My aunt Gilda had almost the same setup and was the best place to hang out as kids. Thanks again for a trip down memory lane!!!

Great video Mike! Always a pleasure to watch you fix stuff! :)

Love your videos Mike!

Your videos are always so informative and they flow so smooth.

Thanks Mike...your videos are a tremendous resource. I have learned a lot from you..

Another great job Mike..........

Thank you Mike for all of your KZfaq videos, I have watched. You have become the professional I consult. You have taught me a lot and I have learned a great deal but the 90# bags of Portland are really heavy. Ha Ha! I bought my first bag just last year and painted my repaired retaining wall, which I spent most of last summer on, to make it look more uniform. I wished there was some way I could share my work pictures with you. The one thing I will never forget from all of your videos is, "if you want it to stick, you have to wet it first!" Now, that I say this, I wonder, did I do this enough when I painted with Portland because I have noticed flaking in certain spots over this winter. However, this may have also happened because it also rain that night after I applied the Portland, I even noticed an oil slick on the steps the next morning. If we ever have a spring I will be back on the wall again to power wash, repair one of my repairs already from winters freeze thaws, add another coat of Portland and maybe finish it off. Even if I might like to repaint with White Portland within the next couple of years. Thanks again Mike! I'm still learning!

Love your videos. I watched something yesterday, Barn Builders or similar. The builder was taking us on a tour in a town called Elizabethton. He was shown round a house, built around civil war time, made of 32000 HANDMADE red bricks. Not baked just sun-dried, some of them had finger prints and finger indentions on them, with very crisp and clean bricklaying skill and lovely pointing. What an impressive piece of building history. And the house was in immaculate structural condition. Hard to believe it from sun-dried handmade bricks

Brilliant video Mike always love watching them, I live about 4 miles from Conwy hope you liked Wales.

I'm so glad I found your channel. Those cellar walls look exactly like the walls I'm trying to repair.

Thanks again Mike this looks like my basement here in Pittsburgh . Fortunately it's a dry basement and the walls are in good shape. Thanks so much for your videos i look forward to seeing them. LOL i haven't heard that garage key joke in years LOL! Everything looks great even the smoked kielbasa yum!

Another great vid mike 👌

Great video Mike

Holy cow! You came to my country to teach, learn, & work on your You Tube? :O Totally awesome. I get a very tingly feeling in my tummy when people from distant lands exchange information in this peaceful way :)

Great video!

Great stuff.

Thanks mike!

Incredible ! I admire you Mike. I really think that you are unique in these kind of work. I know what is like to work in a very tide space,like a crawling area. Part of my house was builded over a crawling space of only 2 feet high, aNd some time I have to go under. Is a pain in the but !! Saludos !

Really like your videos. Had to play the portion with the Welsh fellow several times due to the accent. I have taken on projects with your recommended methods. The White portland cement was expensive and I was foolish and did not place the left over in a plastic bag as you had done. Set up and lost 3/4 th's of the bag. Lesson learned.

thats a tough job for a 60yr old, hats off for mike

Master Haduck.

excellent film

thanks Mike

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 also liked seeing the Kabasa sausage being made....hopefully you'll film them making scrapple next 😆

Mike; great rule of thumb for any experienced craftsperson...do what you got to do... those creeped out spider web choked crawl spaces are worse than any SciFi horror set. a tight fitting hoodie is as important as a sponge.

Great video Mike. I'm always learning stuff from you. You look like a one man show but I bet you've had plenty of helpers over the years. Do you have a particular lieutenant or right hand man in training to carry the old methods forward? Maybe you could share a story about a past helper?

Hi Mike enjoy every video you make. I have two questions: 1) I have a two brick high border around the edge of my flower beds in my back yard. Several bricks have come loose. How do you repair loose bricks between solid stable bricks. 2) have walkways poured with 2x4 wood spacers. The wood has rotted out. How can I fill the space and blend the new cement. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all your viewers. You truly are a great teacher. Not many old school professionals around.

better you than me with those spider webs lol. I don't know if I could go into a space like that anymore :-) The castle is pretty cool. Looking forward to that video.. love that accent!

Another video so soon? You're spoiling us Mike.

Thanks for all of these helpful videos Mike! Can this type of repair be done with 2 parts sand to 1 part portland for your climate? I know you said you used fast setting in this video because of the cool weather, but if the weather is warmer can 2 Sand : 1 Portland be used for this type of repair? Thanks!

1:01 That screwdriver, it's the "Rosco 2 Fister" I have the same one I've never seen another till now! 😁

plz do MORE videos old school way is for 50years i love that

Great

damn he got me with the garage key joke

2 years on and I still can't find a good recipe for garagskis! Great videos all!!

Great vido Mike, Thanks allway something new to learn from youre videos. What kind of camera and videoprogram are you useing ?

Love your video's. Ive just started seeing that high performance fast drying repair mortar in my local masonry supply store. What are your experiences with it? I wonder if its comparable to the rapid set cemental/mortar mix.

Hi Mike, does the same apply if the walls of my stone foundation are leaking? If you already have a video discussing that, I just haven't made my way there but I want to thank you for helping me get over the anxiety that comes with a slightly damp, very old fieldstone basement, and how easily I might be able to fix it myself without a huge hassle or wicked expense because, after all, it's "NO BIG DEAL!" Thanks Mike :)

Each one of your videos is a gem,your channel is an encyclopedia of an art that sooner or later will get lost forever. I refer to your videos for everything stone or concrete, but I have not been able to find the answer to my problem. Right behind my house I have an existing continuous concrete footing about 8" deep/thick into the ground, 16" wide, no RBars or anchor bolts stick out, is just plain concrete. The project was left unfinished by the previous owner. He intended to build a mud room addition attached to the house, 8x10', but never did. I want to build a wall on it out of cement blocks, I know I would need to put R Bars inside the stacked concrete blocks, but how do I connect the RBars into the existing foundation? Or how deep should I drill into it? Your valuable advice is very much appreciated. Thanks!!

House mechanic Mike...no bonding agent ? ...nice work

Garage keys., Love it. Where do you find white Portland cement, masonry supply stores? I live in Connecticut.

Hey you made it there! Hope you had fun :)

Hey Mike, I live here in the PA coal region. My house and front porch foundation appears to be some kind of concrete with coal/ash mixed in. Some areas are crumbling, but seems pretty solid. What would be best material/mix to patch these areas with?

I really appreciate your videos on repairing rock foundations. I'm so glad it's not rocket science, now I can do the repairs. 💯

2:16 LOL About right too :) ­ ­ Claustrophobia set in getting underneath that house with all the spiders?

When do you use quick Crete. I see you go back an fourth from regular cement to quick crete.

My Dad use to tell us that "garagekey" joke. I am Polish so we say Kielbasa instead of Kielbasi. I am sure it tastes all the same.

If you don't have rapid repair morter can you just use morter then use portland as a "paint"?

I have a question about pointing bricks. I have some rapid fast drying mortar left from a repair. Can I use the rapid mortar for some bricks that need pointing and should I add a little sand in the mix? How much sand to the rapid mix. Thanks Mike.

If a nonvenomous snake got into my house, I'm calling this guy

1:20 OH NO! You removed the LBL (Load-Bearing Lattice) [entire structure suddenly collapses]

So the castles had lard in the plaster?

No Big Deal = No Big Bill

So are you using type n cement or s mortar? I keep hearing you say your using s mortar in the mix but the bag I keep seeing in the videos is type N cement. I'm just making sure I'm using the right mix for my stone foundation. Thanks

would type S mortar also work here? thank you

I hope that was your dads house you were under! Otherwise???? Amazing video!

I can't eat garagekey...hurts my stomach. thanks for the videos.

I've watched 6 of these videos now, and if there's one thing I've learned it's that if I want it to stick, it should be bone dry, right? ;-)

Mike, I hope you charged them per spider on that first job. That's code.

Does temperature matter for the first foundation repair?

I feel like I am the only one who thinks the stone foundations look so much nicer when you don't cover the whole thing to a smooth surface like concrete. I think hammering out the loose mortar and lime then repointing looks SO much nicer, but that's my personal opinion. What are your thoughts on this?

I like kielbasi, that's my dish. I like kielbasi better than fish!

by the way.. part of my family was from Wales :-)

Can I get a certificate of approval, if I watch everyone of your videos? I think it should qualify me for something, right?

Lime not portland for white wash. Portland will hold water in the wall lime will breathe.

Smoked Kielbasa,...mmmmmmmmm.

Oh Kelbasi got this Polak's attention lol

May I hire you? plz answer!

That looks like my basement.

if a man came in picking at the, what seems to be decaying wall, id be scared as shit.

Is there a way i could contact you, such as email.

Hey mike are you hungarien? My hungarien friend always make kolbasz sausage. Cheers

Honest Jardy’s mom”s house??

Garage keys 🤣

Ummm this is more then a how to. This not only shows you the work but you then learn the job with a deep understanding from your examples from long ago.