Saving your stonework when others fall short.
Saving your stonework when others fall short.
The Forensic Reality of the Hidden Flue I was on a roof in the late November chill, the kind of damp cold that makes your joints ache after forty years in the trade. The homeowner pointed to a tiny, hairline crack running through a soldier course near the crown. To her, it was an aesthetic […]
The Forensic Reality of Reclaimed Stone The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack. But when I put my scope inside that cavity wall, I saw the structural steel was rusted to dust, all because someone used a non-breathable sealer on a porous historic facade. That’s the tragedy I see weekly. We live in […]
The Forensic Scene: A Ghost in the Wall The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack, a minor blemish on the south-facing facade of his high-end brick residence. But when I put my scope inside that 1/16th-inch gap, I saw the structural steel was rusted to dust. This wasn’t a settlement issue. It was […]
The Forensic Reality of the ‘Vintage’ Dream The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack running through the perimeter of their newly laid reclaimed brick patio. They had spent a fortune on ‘authentic’ material from a demolished textile mill, lured by the promise of sustainable masonry materials and that weathered, historical aesthetic. But when […]
The Forensic Scene: Beyond the Hairline Crack The homeowner called me out because she thought it was just a hairline crack running vertically through her stone veneer. ‘It’s probably just settling,’ she said, hoping for a cheap fix. But when I slid my fiber-optic scope into a weep hole and looked at the cavity, the […]
The Forensic Reality of a Crumbling Stack The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack. But when I put my scope inside, I saw the structural steel was rusted to dust. It was a classic case of what I call ‘masonry cancer.’ From the ground, the brickwork looked stoic, almost defiant against the gray […]
The Forensic Scene: A Hidden Decay The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack. But when I put my scope inside the cavity of that 1925 Dutch Colonial, I saw the structural steel was rusted to dust. The culprit wasn’t a sudden flood or a seismic shift. It was paint. Specifically, three coats of […]
The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack. But when I put my scope inside the cavity of that south-facing facade, I saw the structural steel was rusted to dust, and the brick themselves were shedding their color like a cheap suit. It wasn’t just a foundation issue; it was a systemic failure of […]
The Forensic Scene: A House Smothered in Plastic The homeowner thought it was just a hairline crack, a minor blemish on the bright white facade of their 1920s Tudor. But when I put my scope inside the cavity through a core-drilled vent, I didn’t see solid clay. I saw the structural core of the brick […]
The Forensic Scene: When the Veneer Whispers a Warning The homeowner stood on the porch, pointing at a hairline crack that traced the top edge of a stone wainscot. It looked like a minor cosmetic nuisance, the kind of thing a cheap handyman would fill with a tube of caulk and call it a day. […]
