Skilled Masonry
The Forensic Scene: When the Face Falls Off I remember standing on a rickety scaffold three stories up, looking at a commercial parapet wall that the owner swore was ‘just fine’ a year ago. From the ground, it looked solid. But when I got close, I could see the tell-tale signs of a slow-motion explosion….
The Forensic Scene: When a Hairline Crack Becomes a Structural Disaster I recall a call out to a 1920s Tudor in the height of the November rains. The homeowner pointed to a tiny, wet bloom on the plaster in the master bedroom. ‘Just a hairline crack,’ he told me. But when I took my borescope…
The Forensic Reality of the Hairline Crack I remember a call-out last November to a limestone estate that looked perfect from the curb. The homeowner pointed out what she called a ‘pencil line’ crack running vertically through the brick quoin repair work done just two summers prior. She thought it needed a bit of caulk….
The Forensic Scene: Behind the Hairline Crack The homeowner stood by the edge of the limestone basin, pointing at a spiderweb of fractures no wider than a fingernail. They thought it was just a hairline crack, a cosmetic annoyance. But when I threaded my digital scope into the cavity behind the veneer, the truth was…