Tom  McNall

Special Contributor

I have personally known Don since the Baltimore StonExpo in 2002. Since that time, he has been not only a mentor to me and others, but he has also been a great friend.  

Between industry conventions, meetings, committees and some of the best steak houses in the world, we have shared knowledge and stories. Don is one of the few people I know who can quote chapter and verse out of ANSI, TCA and MIA technical manuals.

Out of Nowhere

Don got his start into the stone industry in the late 1980s. He has a background in engineering, working for the Donaldson Company in Minneapolis in their filter division. His migration to the South West came when they asked him to move to California to run the operations there. But fate had other plans for him because the company shut down the L.A. plant. You would think that sounds depressing, but there was something better in store for our protagonist.

While he was looking for work to pay the bills, Don used his engineering experience and started working with Gerry Halweg and the Tile Institute of America, building lab testing equipment. From there they did testing at the Riverbank Laboratory in Chicago of floors for UL and sound ratings. This helped them design new flooring systems.

Don was slowly becoming an expert on how floors were constructed and the limitations of the materials. Gerry then got Don involved in investigating construction defects for litigation purposes. It was then, in 1990 that Don met the Abbot to his Costello (or visa versa), Greg Mowat, in San Diego. Together they worked with lawyers who filed suits against developers doing shoddy work on behalf of home owner’s associations. The majority of the defects were always centered around either floors, countertops or baths.

A Light Bulb Turns On

They would investigate by doing visual inspections, taking pictures, and then writing their reports. After that, they would do intrusive testing (aka destructive testing) by peeling away layer after layer (tile, drywall, studs, etc.) to prove the defects and document them.  

It was while doing this that Don found his destiny. You see, Don started seeing the same problem develop every time, no matter where he was and on what housing development.  Every shower in the “modern construction” style of California had leaks. Only the one piece fiberglass installations were watertight.

Don explains it like this: “In the 1930s and ’40s, showers were made out of mortar and cement. So, if the tile or grout leaked or allowed water to seep behind, the cement would absorb it and then release it back after as it breathed, so it would just evaporate. When energy efficient homes came in with new construction methods and materials, small leaks and seepage became big problems.”

Don went on to find that installers were used to their old techniques and were not properly embracing the new technology. It was becoming apparent because virtually 100% of the failures on these installs were purely contractor and installer caused – All because they failed to read the instructions! They failed to educate themselves on how the new membranes coming out prevented this moisture issue perfectly.

Don was now in the right place at the right time. He started researching showers like no other to prove that showers see more “rainfall” than your roof. His remarkable tech article “Rainfall in Your House” goes to show that (depending on if you live in a desert or rainforest) your shower will see 2 ½ to 414 times more rain than your roof will in a year. And roofs are sloped. With shower floors, not so much, but usually, the weak link is around the edges, curbs, shower shelving and seats.  

Don was finding that the majority of installers and contractors had a hard enough time understanding how gravity worked, let alone the science behind the capillary action of water and how mold develops.

Making it Work

Don started writing standards in the industry to make showers just as waterproof as a roof.  He became very active at conventions, teaching seminars. I remember my first one where I met Don and everyone in attendance was given a steel ball bearing so they could test every horizontal surface in a shower to see if they sloped toward the drain or back to the wall. If they sloped toward the drain – pass, if they sloped to the wall – FAIL!

Don’s best advice to anyone in the business is this: “A lot of material manufacturers offer technical schools and seminars, like Schlutter.  All it costs you to attend is your time and travel.  Get up to speed or miss the boat!  

“There are outstanding new grouts and membranes on the market today. You need to stay current. Today’s bigger tile needs specialized knowledge in how to install. You need to learn or you’ll die trying. 

“And unlike 30 years ago, every pail and bag has the manufacturer’s 1-800# on it, so if you are unsure – call!”

What motivates Don is that he loves what he does. He enjoys helping people. Growing up on a farm in Minnesota, he would have to analyze equipment to get it to work in the fields and that has translated into his passion of dissecting the construction of kitchens and baths so as to fix problems. He was raised with the attitude that you only want to do things once, so do them right! He also has a rewarding hobby in restoring old Model A automobiles and vintage tractors.

Most of Don’s stone-related knowledge came on the job. Like me, he wishes he had taken geology-related studies in college, but his Engineering degree has helped him. Also similar to me, he wishes he had met Greg Mowat 20 years earlier!

You Don’t Say?

On Scott’s first year serving on the board,  we found out the one thing Don and I share in common is growing up in small rural communities. I remember one time he and I sharing similar stories of how people we grew up with who can’t believe how and why we make money doing what we do. 

Says Don, “They’re like, ‘What? They pay you to investigate their shower? And you can afford to live in California?’ It blows their minds.”

Tom McNall is founder and owner of Great Northern Stone, an Ontario-based stone cleaning and restoration company servicing Ontario and Chicago, IL. Tom also offers corporate and private consultations as well as speaking at conventions. He can be reached at tom@greatnorthernstone.com.

Getting to Know Don Halvorson

• What are you reading?

Model A books for restoring and technical magazines.

• What are you listening to on your radio/iPod?

Usually nothing, but I do enjoy Country and Western music. I also clog. I was on the
Clogging Exposition team for 10 years and we opened for the Special Olympics when it was
in LA.

• Do you have a favorite vacation location?

Inland Passage cruise (Alaska) and once to Ireland where I learned about driving on the
wrong side of the road, (steering wheels on the wrong side of the car) and roundabouts.

• Do you have a dream vacation location?

New Zealand

• Favorite movie(s)?

The Hunt for Red October

• Where do you go to think? To escape?

A friend’s cabin near Bryce Canyon, Utah or I go to restore my Model A’s (that’s right,
plural) and tractor. 

Do You Know a Rock Star?

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