Hello, I hope someone can help me out here.

At my parents house, their wall on the outside is starting to "flake"
and we are not sure how to repair it.
It is a stone-like brick wall.

Here is a picture of their wall, and You can see the stone-type
bricks:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/w1.jpg

Now there is one stone that on the right side is starting to flake.
I touched it and it was actually soft and puffy.
Like if a piece of cardboard got wet, it gets soft and puffs up.

Here are some pictures of it:

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...current=w2.jpg

you can see it flaking in the upper-middle of the picture. On the
bottom of the picture you can see flakes that fell off.

This is a closer picture of it:
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...current=w3.jpg

and another angle:
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...current=w4.jpg

So what is the best treatment for this?

They told me they got a 80lb bag of sand/cement mix from a friend.
They want to mix up a little of it this weekend and just apply it over
the right side of the stone.

Is that the best way?

What else could we do to fix this?

How could stone get like this? What caused it?

Thanks

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello, I hope someone can help me out here.

At my parents house, their wall on the outside is starting to "flake"
and we are not sure how to repair it.
It is a stone-like brick wall.

Here is a picture of their wall, and You can see the stone-type
bricks:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/w1.jpg

Now there is one stone that on the right side is starting to flake.
I touched it and it was actually soft and puffy.
Like if a piece of cardboard got wet, it gets soft and puffs up.

Here are some pictures of it:

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...current=w2.jpg

you can see it flaking in the upper-middle of the picture. On the
bottom of the picture you can see flakes that fell off.

This is a closer picture of it:
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...current=w3.jpg

and another angle:
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...current=w4.jpg

So what is the best treatment for this?

They told me they got a 80lb bag of sand/cement mix from a friend.
They want to mix up a little of it this weekend and just apply it over
the right side of the stone.

First picture looks like real stone, other pictures look like some kind of
mortar skimcoat over whatever is underneath- probably a concrete block
foundation someone was trying to pretty up. Split-face limestone, sandstone,
and even granite, keeps splitting, if water keeps getting in and freezing,
especially if you have acid rain in your area. If there ever was ivy growing
on that wall, it is pure hell on brick and stone- the little suckers open
cracks and tear the surface right off. (pretty but deadly) The pictures down
at sidewalk level indicate a water problem in the wall, probably from a leak
around the door or window or whatever just out of the picture on the right.
The water is getting behind the surface layer and causing it to crumble.

Recommend NOT just slapping mortar-mix over the spots- it'll look like crap,
and fall off quickly. Need to solve the water leak, wherever it is, and
clean the area out back to undisturbed material, and then patch. As to the
splitting real stone- cleaning and some sort of sealer may help, or better
gutters or something to keep water from splashing on it. Since all this is
obviously way outside your areas of expertise, recommend getting a
professional mason in for a consultation and estimate. Look for one that
uses words like 'tuckpointing' and 'restoration' in their ad, or better yet
ask the local historic district who they recommend. If you are determined to
do it yourselves, go buy a DIY book about repairing masonry- the pictures
will describe the process better than words can.

aem sends....

On Aug 11, 12:02 am, "aemeijers" wrote:

First off, thanks for the reply.

First picture looks like real stone, other pictures look like some kind of
mortar skimcoat over whatever is underneath- probably a concrete block

Actually, all the pictures are of the same wall.
Pic w1.jpg - is a little higher up.
But if you look at the picture - you will see the wall and on the
lower right side you see some bricks...those bricks are steps that
lead up to the front door.
You see the red mat on the upper right? Thats the door mat.

If you could see about 4 inches further down....you would see the
stone that is flaking.
But it is all the same stone as in pic w1.

Pic w2.jpg - you see on the upper right...there is a tiny bit of red
brick?
That is actually the bottom of the red brick you see in pic w1.jpg
(on the bottom right half of the picture)

Make sense?

especially if you have acid rain in your area. If there ever was ivy growing

acid rain? hell this is Queens, NY so there probably is.
No ivy ever on the stone.


at sidewalk level indicate a water problem in the wall, probably from a leak
around the door or window or whatever just out of the picture on the right.
The water is getting behind the surface layer and causing it to crumble.

now that I explained it a little more above....just on the right is
the steps,


Recommend NOT just slapping mortar-mix over the spots- it'll look like crap,
and fall off quickly. Need to solve the water leak, wherever it is, and
clean the area out back to undisturbed material, and then patch. As to the

hmmmm ok. In the past I told my father not to just paint over the
railing that had rusted spots, but he did not heed my advice...but
maybe he will listen to me this time.

I'll try to take clearer pictures tomorrow...these were taken with my
cellphone.

Thanks!

Ok, I took better pictures today.

Here you can see the stone wall that is flaking/crumbling circled in
red.
Its only the two grey colored stones.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw1.jpg

You can't see it in the picture, but there is a gutter on the roof.
So on the steps on the right...the top step is dry in a normal rain
storm, the bottom two gets wet.
So the stone wall is usually dry in a normal storm. (rain coming down
instead of at an angle)

More pictures...each one is a closer view than the previous.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw2.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw3.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw4.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw5.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw6.jpg

So:
1. What exactly is happening to the wall?
2. What caused it? Water? how could water cause stone to 'flake'?
3. What can I do to fix it? My father wants to put some kind of
concrete/sand/cement mix that he got from a friend over it. (it came
in a 80lb bag) But I managed to have him hold off on it, until we get
some more opinions.

As you can see in the first picture, on the right side, there were
some previous attempts (last year) to fill in the parts between the
brick steps with concrete.

Thanks

wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok, I took better pictures today.

Here you can see the stone wall that is flaking/crumbling circled in
red.
Its only the two grey colored stones.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw1.jpg

You can't see it in the picture, but there is a gutter on the roof.
So on the steps on the right...the top step is dry in a normal rain
storm, the bottom two gets wet.
So the stone wall is usually dry in a normal storm. (rain coming down
instead of at an angle)

More pictures...each one is a closer view than the previous.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw2.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw3.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw4.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw5.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i278/tforms1/nw6.jpg

So:
1. What exactly is happening to the wall?
2. What caused it? Water? how could water cause stone to 'flake'?
3. What can I do to fix it? My father wants to put some kind of
concrete/sand/cement mix that he got from a friend over it. (it came
in a 80lb bag) But I managed to have him hold off on it, until we get
some more opinions.

As you can see in the first picture, on the right side, there were
some previous attempts (last year) to fill in the parts between the
brick steps with concrete.

Those bricks look like an overlay on an original concrete stoop, right? It
still looks like a water and freezing problem, or acid rain turning mortar
to dust. The powder is probably the previous patch, not the stone itself.
Proper solution may be to change the stoop so it doesn't channel water in
that crack, or add an awning over the steps. Or maybe redo the bottom 2
steps so they extend over to the garage opening or something, with a proper
slope for drainage. Looks like they are in pretty sad shape as well, with
patching mortar sort of smeared into the cracks.

I still think your best bet is to have an experienced mason look at it.
Pictures are great, but eyes on site is still the best way to go. Doesn't
look like more than a day's work, even for a total rebuild of the area.
(Especially if you do the demolition, after the mason tells you what to
remove. Those brick step add-ons would pop off in minutes.) I think if you
poked around in that corner of the garage, you will likely find mushy wood
at the sill plate level from the water sneaking in there where the porch was
extended with brick. That leaky mortar joint looks like it is wicking water
down there.

Water makes mountains into sand- drive out in country, to any rural road
that cuts through a hill with stone, and you can see similar cracking going
on. Water dissolves stuff on its own, especially if it is acidic soaking
through limestone, or mortar with lime in it. When water in a crack, even a
tiny crack, freezes, it acts like a wedge when it expands.

aem sends...