The Case of the Mystery Pits
Frederick M. Hueston, PhD
Stone Care Consultant
It was a really hot morning. you know, one of those days where you can cut the air with a knife.
I stepped outside to get the newspaper and thought that all the oxygen in the air was depleted. This was going to be one of those days that I spend in the ice-cold air conditioning.
I got the newspaper, poured myself a bowl of cornflakes, and then the phone rang. I let it ring about six times, then I picked it up. “Stone Detective, how can I help you?”
I could barely hear the voice on the other end–a very low whisper–but it sounded like a dame. “Hello, Mr. Stone Detective. I was given your name by someone at Stone and Tile Pros, and I hope you can help me.
Hello?”
“Hello?” I said. “Could you please speak up? I can hardly hear you.”
The voice became just a little bit louder. I was wondering if my hearing was going and I needed to see the doc about getting a hearing aid.
The whisperer continued, “I have a problem with my Thassos white marble floor. The general contractor just finished remodeling my home and when they removed the covering on the stone floor, there were all these little holes all over the marble. They definitely were not there when the stone guy installed it.” She asked if I could come on over and take a look. I told her I would be there in the next few hours. I finished my cornflakes and got dressed and headed out the door to visit Mrs. Whisper.
I pulled up to Mrs. Whisper’s house and it was like a scene out of Leave it to Beaver. The house was perfect. Flowers in the front yard looked like they were just planted. As I pulled up the drive, Mrs. Whisper was standing at the front door.
I swear I was zapped back to the 50s, because she looked just like Donna Reed, from The Donna Reed Show. I shook my head and got out of the ole Woody to greet her.
She said, “Hi,” and brought me into the living room where she immediately pointed to the marble floor. “I just don’t understand,” she said. “This marble was perfect when they finished, now there are these little tiny holes all over the place.”
I took a closer look and, sure enough, there were spalls all over the stone. There really didn’t seem to be a pattern until I stepped back and looked from a distance. All the spalling seemed to be in a straight line with a width of about two inches.
I asked Mrs. Whisper if she knew what they covered the floor with.
She said something but I’ll be darned if I could hear her. She walked out into the garage and motioned me to follow her.
As I walked into the garage I made a mental note to stop by the drug store and buy an ear wax removal kit.
She then pointed to a pile of cardboard on the floor and I think she said this is what they covered the stone with. I walked over to the pile and didn’t really see anything unusual. It wasn’t wet or soiled, so I could rule out any kind of chemical attack.
Just as I was about to walk back into the house, I thought I would take one last look.I picked up several pieces of cardboard and looked at them very closely. I noticed that along the edges of some of the cardboard there was a line about one inch wide that looked like it was tape. I dug through the pile and, sure enough, I found some duct tape still attached to a piece at the bottom of the pile.
I removed the duct tape and took out my little hand microscope to take a closer look. Sure enough, there were small pieces of marble on the tape.
Now, I have seen duct tape stain stone, but never have I seen it actually pull away the surface of the stone!
Problem solved—well, at least what was causing the spalling. Now who’s to blame?
I asked Mrs. Whisper who taped the cardboard down, and she told me the GC. I told her she needed to take it up with the GC, ’cause the installation would probably have to be replaced. I had a funny feeling in my gut that I’ll be seeing this case go to court.
The lesson to be learned here, folks, is don’t use duct tape on stone.
The results are always sloppy and can cause some expensive damage in the end.
The Stone Detective is a fictional character created by Fred Hueston, written to be entertaining and educational. He 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 any email comments to him at fhueston@stoneforensics.com.