Page 12 - Demo

12 | March 2024
The Stone Detective
The Case of the Missing Weep Holes
Slippery Rock Gazette
2023 Pinnacle Awards Announced
Nineteen Projects Honored with Pinnacle Awards of Excellence
I’ve been in the stone and tile busi- ness for over 40 years, and it still amazes me how many contractors out there don’t follow industry standards and guidelines. As an old-timer in the field, I’ve seen a lot, and it seems to be getting worse. Now, I’m not saying there aren’t good contractors out there, but I rarely get called to look at the good jobs. Today would be another one of those bonehead projects.
I got up early, as usual, and headed over to my favorite greasy spoon diner. When I walked in, Flo, the waitress, looked like she’d been crying. I greeted her and asked what was wrong. She shared that she had a tough morning with an abu- sive customer and just needed to let out a few tears. Interestingly, weeping was pre- cisely what today’s call was about – or rather, the lack of it. Just as Flo poured me a cup of Joe, my cell phone rang. The voice on the other end, a frustrated tile supplier, had a customer complaining about her porcelain shower tiles chang- ing color, blaming it on defective tiles. She wanted to hire me for an inspec- tion to determine if the issue was with the tile or something else. Since it was going to be a slow day, I agreed to take a look after breakfast. I ordered ham and eggs, sunny-side up, from Flo. When she brought my order, I noticed the eggs were extremely runny – even they seemed to be weeping, another hint towards today’s mystery.
After finishing my breakfast, I said goodbye to Flo, gave a nod to the Admiral at the diner, and started up my old Woody to head to the site with the suspected defective tile.
Upon arriving at the address the tile supplier texted me, I was greeted by a friendly little old lady. She led me into the house and to the master bath where the tiles were installed. The shower was a typical walk-in with 12 x 24 white por- celain tiles on the wall and a mosaic tile floor. The first row of wall tiles was a shade darker than the rest, and I imme- diately suspected moisture. Using my trusty moisture meter, I confirmed that the darker tiles had higher moisture con- tent than the lighter ones. The next step
Dr. Frederick M. Hueston, PhD
was to find the source of the moisture.
Having seen this many times, I had a good idea of what was happening. I reached into my tool bag, pulled out a screw- driver, removed the drain cover, and shone a flash- light inside. Immediately, I spotted the problem: the weep holes in the drain were clogged, and set- ting mortar was oozing out into the drain. Bingo! I explained to the old lady, “You see, the bottom tiles are dark because they’re wet. They’re wet because the mortar bed underneath isn’t draining properly, usually due to blocked weep holes. It’s like a water traffic jam. When water can’t drain, it backs up into the tile bed, and the bottom tiles soak it up like a
sponge, making them darker.”
I then explained that the installer had
failed to install the drain correctly. The weep holes should have had gravel around them to allow water to drain from the set- ting bed, but instead, the setting mortar was placed right up against the holes.
The old lady looked like she was about to cry, herself (no pun intended). I reas- sured her that the tiles weren’t defective but that the installer needed to redo the floor properly. Next, I’d call the tile sup- plier with the good news.
Another case solved, and it was off to the next mystery in stone.
The Stone Detective is a fictional charac- ter created by Dr. Frederick M. Hueston, PhD, written to entertain and educate. Dr. Fred has written over 33 books on stone and tile installations, fabrication and resto- ration and also serves as an expert for many legal cases across the world. Send your comments to fhueston@stoneforensics.com.
The winners of the 2023 Pinnacle Awards were celebrated during the Natural Stone Institute Awards Ceremony at StonExpo in Las Vegas. Nineteen projects were honored with Pinnacle Awards of Excellence. The 2023 Grande Pinnacle Award was presented to Polycor for their work on the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations in New York City ( See page 13).
Grande Pinnacle
Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations
New York, New York
Polycor
Quebec City, QC Canada
Commercial Exterior
95 State at City Creek
Salt Lake City, Utah
IMS Masonry, Inc.
Lindon, Utah
Taylorsville Temple
Taylorsville, Utah
KEPCO+
Salt Lake City, Utah
Ghirardi Stone Contractors
Carpendolo, Italy
D.L. Engineering
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
PICCO Group
Concord, Ontario, Canada
Commercial Interior
2100 Penn, Washington, DC
Lorton Stone, LLC
Springfield, Virginia
Texas Tower
Houston, Texas
Camarata Masonry Systems
Houston, Texas
Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations
New York, New York
Polycor
Quebec City, QC Canada
Kitchen/Bath
Boyce Master Bath
Huntsville, Alabama
Ceramic Harmony
Huntsville, Alabama
Super White Dolomite Kitchen
Dover, Massachusetts
Pedrakut
Natick, Massachusetts
Public Landscapes/Parks/Memorials
Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance, Washington, DC
Lorton Stone, LLC
Springfield, Virginia
Our Lady of the Lakes World Peace Plaza
Notre Dame, Indiana
Murphy Marble Company
Chicago, Illinois
Pillars of the Valley
Saint Louis, Missouri
Coldspring
Cold Spring, Minnesota
Turn to the River
Terre Haute, Indiana
Coldspring
Cold Spring, Minnesota
Renovation/Restoration
Christ the King Chapel-Christendom College
Front Royal, Virginia
Rugo Stone
Lorton, Virginia
Missouri State Capitol Building Restoration
Jefferson City, Missouri
Bulley & Andrews Masonry Restoration Chicago, Illinois
Phenix Marble Company
Springfield, Missouri
Gary Galassi Stone & Steel
Romeoville, Illinois
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates
Northbrook, Illinois
Russell Senate Office Building Exterior Envelope Repair & Restoration Washington, DC
Lorton Stone, LLC
Springfield, Virginia
Saint Dominic Parish
Brick Township, New Jersey
Rugo Stone
Lorton, Virginia
Please turn to page 20