Stone facade being split off from the wall

This stone facade is coming to pieces on a well loved council building.

Either the council doesn't know how to fix it or if they do, they don't want to spend the money.

One local I talked to said the water gets in behind the facade stone and if it freezes it splits off the stone.

Here's a photo of it in the tinypic site:

formatting link
Would anyone have suggestions on a cheapish solution if possible to fix the problem? Thanks.

Reply to
john bently
Loading thread data ...

-----------------------------------------

The fault diagnosis is correct.

The cheapish repair is (impossible):

Repair and cracks, splits and defective and then give the wall at least two coats of clear silicone liquid so that water runs off the stonework rather than being absorbed into it.

The proper is (rather expensive):

But after looking at your picture, then it would appear that silicone would be useless here, and major restoration works are needed - no wonder the council doesn't want to spend the cash on it (they really do know how to fix it *AND* what it would cost).

Cash

Reply to
Cash

John,

There is no "cheapish" fix. Depending on the age of the building, it looks as though it is either limestone that's been cut and ground to give it its shape and look (expensive) or cast stone, a manufactured concrete product. In either case, replacement of the damaged stone would be less expensive using "cast stone".

I'm sure there are restoration company's in your part of the world that would be eager to give you or the council a price proposal to complete the restoration.

It is imperative that any restoration includes a means to get the water out of the cavity between the veneer and the base wall as well as sealing the surface from further water infiltration.

There is an old saying that "You can have it cheap, fast or good; you can pick any two, three is not allowed or possible"

Tom

Reply to
Tom Cular

When I looked at that picture there seemed to me to be a number of serious design flaws with the building, specifically with the methodology for removing/draining water from the roof. Those scuppers (one right above a door way!) simply pour water down the side of the building! Look at the stains on the section to the right of the windows, left of the doorway-entry.

I personally would run like hell if someone asked me to do repairs--until the basic flaws are resolved, I don't think any repairs of the facade will be successful.

IMHO!

Reply to
PeterD

Concrete surface that stones are attached needs a thorough going over...... Yes, scuppers are flawed design....Need to extend out beyond wall. Metal and or stainless steel pins for new facade.....Like dental work. Mechanical attachment and mortar. (bone surgery) Epoxy based mortar mix....

They dont want to spend money?

There is no fix with no money. john

Reply to
jloomis

A cheapish solution is the problem, just by that small section I bet no care has been taken on that building and the stone, and that wall has been deteriorating for maybe 10-20 years, Cheap, yea stay cheap it will eventualy all fall. The water is getting behind the stone, as in roofing , tuckpointing is bad, I bet no maintenance has been done, because Cheap is the objective you have. That could be a 10-50,000$ repair, because they were cheap.

Reply to
ransley

I don't believe those are scuppers. Look again. I think they're meant as some sort of crenallation. The upper wall is capped with a piece of stone and the lower section of wall, which kind of looks like a scupper, is also capped with that same stone, just in much more deteriorated condition. The left hand low section doesn't have a dark stain directly under it. The stain is well off to the side, and wouldn't the spalled lower cap stone also be stained from the water running over it?

The stain off to the left is from the water running down the pitched flat stone cap on that gable end wall. Most likely the leak is caused by poor detailing where the lower wall section cap stone meets the decorative stone veneer. Whatever is done with the veneer and lettering, those capstones should be pulled and reset after a proper waterproofing job is done.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

I guess either a better set of images, or an inspection would be necessary to figure out what's up there. Clearly, it seems, there is excessive moisture flowing down the face of the building, and poor construction techniques. The image I'd like to see would be from above where the roof meets that front wall. I wonder if there is a gutter behind the wall, and it is malfunctioning?

Reply to
PeterD

Peter, I agree. It looks like there may be a parapet type situation. The stone has been saturated and frozen. I suspect the moisture is getting into the stone from behind or above inside the wall. The water and damage do not appear to be cascading down the front face, or the rest of the wall would have similar problems.

It is going to be expensive to do a high quality restoration of the lettering and decorative work. I think it is limestone. Some nice work can be done with epoxies, etc short of removing and replacing.

Reply to
DanG

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.