did moisture cause bricks to crumble?
Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
9 months ago
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Why is part of my granite soft and crumbly?
Comments (20)Hi Aggiebobcat, Wow, that is funny. I havenâÂÂt been on GW for a very long time. I came across this post, scrolled to the bottom and see your question is only from 3 days ago. :) They did repair the section and it blended in pretty well. About a week ago however, I noticed another very small hole near the location of the original problem. I asked my current fabricator (for the bathroom) about it, but I think he didnâÂÂt want to be bothered repairing a counter that someone else installed. My husband filled it with a little melted wax from a candle. It's no longer noticeable and hopefully this will stop it from getting any worse. What type of granite do you have?...See MoreMold and moisture around windows
Comments (1)You need to get someone to the home who understands water infiltration. Most often times, if the water is coming from around the connection between the window and the wall, the leak is between the window and the wall on the exterior. Most times. Depending on the where the windows are located in the home, there is also the potential of a roof source of moisture. This is impossible to diagnose via the internet. You need to get someone who know leaks out to home and get the issue repaired right away before you cause significant damage to the home....See MoreDifficult clay soil - is my garden a lost cause? Or what can I do?
Comments (18)I was thinking about this thread as I was doing some reading in various places about humus. Even wikipedia puts it this way about stable humus: " this is organic matter that has been protected from decomposition by microbial or enzyme action because it is hidden (occluded) inside small aggregates of soil particles or tightly attached (sorbed or complexed) to clays. Most humus that is not protected in this way is decomposed within ten years and can be regarded as less stable or more labile." It also refers specifically to lignin being one of the main precursors to humus, and that black carbon (e.g. biochar) also seems to contribute a lot to stability. Interesting the way that OM gets attached to clays. I don't know if this is actionable information or what it tells us exactly about what to do in this case; but I'd be tempted to place an emphasis on woody/pulpy inputs (or composts from them) in adding organic material, or at least plant material (stems? corn cobs/stalks? etc) or paper/cardboards that have fair amounts of lignin and get some charcoal/biochar in there too. Just speculating somewhat, but hopefully logically. This will have implications for nitrogen and other nutrient availability - i.e. it might make growing some types of plants or getting good yields harder, at least in short term - but might have benefits in getting there to more stable soil in long term. FWIW....See MoreCrumbling brick chimney - advice needed!
Comments (19)I have no experience with the Proform system which appears to be pretty new. I'd check on Hearth.com for further information and opinions. I did have a Supaflu liner installed more than 20 years ago which has performed extremely well without any problems at all. Others, however, have apparently experienced serious deterioration which may be due to improper mixing of the liner material. A cursory look at the Proform website shows that the liner is installed then inflated and cured with steam. This is different from Supaflu which pumps a semiliquid slurry around an inflated former. The material strengthens the interior of the chimney because it makes its way into any voids in the mortar and becomes firmly attached to the brick from bottom to top. I don't think this happens with Proform. I also don't think it's really possible to pour a true footer from within the chimney. Footers should be wider than the chimney and support its weight from below. Stuccoing (parging?) the interior would also be very difficult. Using this method on the exterior would be possible, but would not be, in my opinion, as secure as repointing the brick. Proform may be an excellent lining system, but doesn't seem to really do much for rebuilding and restoring your chimney. Rebuilding brick by brick, then using a stainless liner, which are fine, seems a better option to me....See MoreNeed2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
9 months agolast modified: 9 months agoNeed2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
9 months agoNeed2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
9 months agocat_ky
9 months agoJeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
8 months agoworthy
8 months agolast modified: 8 months ago
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