Exterior Masonry Caulking

[mvalenta]

Had a fieldstone walkway put in recently, roughly 16' long. It sits on 2" crushed gravel, then concrete, then mortar. Mason used type S mortar for higher strength. The jobsite is in the northeast (upstate NY).

The mason cut expansion joints in there using a concrete saw. There is roughly a 1/4" gap that has a depth about 2". I have masked and caulked the gap with GE's silicone masonry grey-tinted caulk and it looks good. However, I caulked the top and sides of the cut with the thought being that should water get inside under the caulk joint and expand, it woudl negate the effects of the caulk on top. SO basically right now the entire cut is sealed from the elements from all three sides. I am wondering if this was a bad idea. in the unlikely event the concrete foundation shoudl crack and water should get inside the small space, there is no way for the water to get out. Worst case scenario, this happens during winter and the water freezes and cracks the walkway. The last thing i want is for my nice new walkway looking like crap after one winter.

I had considered this while I was caulking, however since the cut was made by hand with a power saw, the depth varies and woudl not provide guaranteed adequate drainage anyway. In other words, it could still be possible that water could become trapped in the gap even without caulking the sides.

I forgot to mention, a high quality stone sealant has alreadt been applied over the entire walkway surface.

This was my first experience caulking a stone sidewalk so i wanted to ask the gurus here if this was the best way to prepare this walkway for the winters here in upstate NY.

Thanks,

[Pat]

I am confusted (but that's not hard). He made a 2" cut? How deep is the stonework and concrete? Did he cut through to the bottom of the concrete? On 16', how many cuts did he make?

I am probably wrong, but I thought an expansion joint had to go all the way through the concrete to allow room for expansion. Otherwise you are allowing room for the top to expand, but not the bottom.

Okay, I'll be quiet and let some> Had a fieldstone walkway put in recently, roughly 16' long. It sits

[Keith Williams]

The bottom is allowed to break. ;-) It'll break along the cut, so all's well.

[Italian]

First of all an EXSPANSION JOINT is a joint (equall space) that is through the entire masonry unit be it concrete, block, brick or your situation. What this obviously in experienced mason did was cut a "controll joint" in your walkway. This type of joint you have seen as you walk down the sidewalk in your area, its not necessarly a bad thing but it is NOT an exspansion joint hopfully when the walkway moves it will crack here.

joint in your new walkway. Typically when doing real stone waklways you do not put joints in..it simply is not necessary.

As far as your panic about the water issue relax lets go back to that same sidewalk I mentiond in your area...those joints dont have caulking in them and they are just fine...well most of them (I grew up in PA) so I know the effects of winters on sidewalks.. but seriously if you look at the sidewalks most of them are ok a few are bad right? Dont sweat it it will be fine.

Just out of curiosity how thick was the slab the stone was set on?...Thinner than 3 1/2" youve got more serious problems than the joint 3 1/2 or thicker (NO INCLUDING THE STONE) just the concrete...you should be fine.

THESE SEALANTS DO NOTH> Had a fieldstone walkway put in recently, roughly 16' long. It sits

[mvalenta]

Thank you all for the quick replies.

Nowhere in his job quote did I see anything about cutting an control joint. So imagine my surprise (dismay?) when I came home from work one day and there he was halfway through his second cut on the beautiful new stone walkway! I wish i came home sooner, or I would have had NOT cut the control joint.

First, I'd like to clarify that I put sealer on to protect against moisture, on the advice from the mason as well as some other people i know who have had stone work done. Water is typically the precursor to cracks, so i figured what the hell. I didn't want water seeping in during winter and wreaking havoc. The sealer doesnt alter the look of the stone (ie no 'wet' look).

Second, the underlying concrete is approximately 6-8" thick, excluding the stone thickness and mortar bed. for pics:

third, I already caulked the joints prior to posting this, so leaving the gap open isnt an option

here's a link to a picture of the caulked joints.

So as of right now, both control joints are still caulked on 3 sides (top and both sides - the bottom doesnt cut all the way through the concrete, just the mortar bed). I am going to leave as is unless someone can convince me its a better idea to remove the caulking from the sides.

I woudl like to keep the caulk on top, since it does improve the aesthetics of the walkway.

-malto

Italian wrote:

[Pat]

Nice walk, but dog looks pissed.

Control joints control cracking. They're a good idea. I don't think calking will matter either way.

But control joints don't control expansion. Expansion requires room for the walk to move. But I'm not sure your walk is big enough to need any, esp. if there a bit of space at each end.

So in general, I'd say don't worry about it too much.

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