Slippery Rock Gazette

Frederick M. Hueston, PhD

I was enjoying my morning cup of joe, sitting next to the retired admiral at my favorite greasy spoon. The admiral was there every morning, telling the same ole stories. I just let his monologue drone on and tuned him out. However, this morning he said something that I would find out later was so true. I was finishing the last few sips when he got up, tapped me on the shoulder and said the following, “Son, just remember you’re never too old to make mistakes and learn from them.”  

I thought that was kind of odd and, after all, the old guy was just rambling. I smiled and took my last sip of joe.

I heard my phone ringing just as I was walking back to the office. The caller was a building manager with a bit of a panic in his voice. He began by explaining that his office building had a lobby full of granite cladding. The walls and ceiling were clad with granite panels, and the floor with granite tiles. He said they had some renovation work done a few months ago, and the grout or joints between the panels were bleeding into the granite. He told me it was awful, was getting worse, and was wondering if I could come out and take a look to see if there was something that could be done to repair it. I told him I was only an hour away.

I wrapped up the conversation and told him I could be there later that morning. He said, “As soon as possible. I’ll  be waiting.”

I hopped in the ole Woody and headed out to look at his granite problem. As I was driving, I was thinking about all the cases I have had over the years with bleeding grout. In most cases it was from epoxy grout, or colored grouts that were very dark. What puzzled me about this case was why would anyone use epoxy grout on cladding panels in a lobby.  Anyway, I was champing at the bit to see this problem.

I arrived at the building and pulled up to a parking valet. I got out of the Woody and tossed my keys to him. As happens almost every time I try to leave my classic with a valet, the young lad looked at me with this frightened look on his face. He handed me the keys back and asked me to just park it over on the side. I had to laugh. The ole Woody is a manual, and the poor lad didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. Now I’m aging myself.

I discovered that the granite wall panels were discolored and stained after an untested, incompatible grout was used… fixable, but this could have been avoided.

Here’s what the stained ceiling tiles looked like. If you are investing the time, effort and expense of mounting granite ceiling panels or something equally unusual, first research, then test, and then specify the mounting system and the adhesive.

I walked into the lobby, and it was massive. Granite was all over the place, the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling. They were large panels about 4 foot by 4 foot or so. Every single joint had bled into the granite about an inch. I walked up to one of the panels, took out my pocketknife and started digging at the joint. Just as I started, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and this very tall gentleman extended his hand and said, “You must be the stone detective.” I introduced myself and told him I knew what the problem was. He seemed relieved. I told him the contractor used a silicon caulk in the joints and it wasn’t uncommon for silicone to bleed into porous granite. I also told him the contractor should have tested the caulk to make sure this would not happen. I also made the comment that the contractor had no reason to use a flexible joint on this installation. I shook my head and racked it up to another incompetent contractor. I told him it all had to be removed, a poultice applied to remove the staining, and new grout installed.

OK – so what lesson did I learn? I would find out years later. 

As most of you know, every year I teach a course in stone and tile inspections. This past year I was conducting one of these seminars when I presented a photo of the bleeding grout on the screen. I made a comment that the idiot contractors used a silicone caulk without testing it. I was going on and on when someone in the back of the room raised his hand. I stopped and said, “Yes?”

 A big, burly student stood up and said, “I was the idiot contractor.” Oh shoot, I thought, I’m so dead. He proceeded to tell me that they had no choice; the architect insisted that they use caulk, and even insisted on the brand. He told me that they warned the architect that it should be tested, but that he said, “We don’t have the time in the construction schedule.” 

“So we installed it anyway,” the student said. “It was that, or break the contract and get sued.”

I felt really bad, and the lesson I learned was do not judge unless you know all the facts… and do not be quick to judge when think you know the facts. Now when I present this project, I don’t say, “The idiot contractor.” See – even this old man can learn something!

The Stone Detective is a fictional character created by Dr. Frederick M. Hueston, PhD, written to be entertaining and educational. Dr. Fred has written over 33 books on stone and tile installations, fabrication and restoration and also serves as an expert for many legal cases across the world. You can send your email comments to him at fhueston@stoneforensics.com.