Stone veneer crumbling along bottom of exterior wall

11 years ago

Who do I get to replace some crumbling stone?

Over the nine years we have owned this house, the bottom of the stone wall behind the garage has slowly been flaking off. The sod was touching the house, so seven years ago I cut it back, but that did not slow down the disintegration. I don't know if this just a row of defective limestone or if there is a water leak that we've never discovered even with plumbers out to check it out.

I was wanting to know what caused this to happen before fixing it but now I'm ready to just fix it and hope for the best.

In this photo, the affected, 26sf of stone is outlined in yellow. The 13sf of stone outlined in blue looks fine but might only be slightly affected due to its proximity.

I've talk to stone masons, but I get the feeling that they might not be up to the task since there could be a lot of weight on those bottom stones. I just want to get this fixed, even if the whole wall has to be replaced. Any ideas?

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Comments (4)

klem1
11 years ago
If stone masons arn't up to the task,I sure don't have ideas that would alow a roofer , painter or you to fix it. The procedures need to come from the one putting their hand to it. I advise trying another stone mason.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
11 years ago
dplong:

Your stone is wicking up water. You've got to figure out why and how or 9years from now you'll be right back where you started.
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dplong
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, klem1 and Trebruchet. I'll keep looking for a stone mason and improve the grading around the back of my house.
User
11 years ago
Wicking up water is correct.

Don't laugh, but this week's This Old House Hour new episode had Roger digging up a Hydrangea plant/tree because he needed to change the grade to better slope away from the house. He showed PRECISELY your situation and attributed it to "Wicking."

Listen to Roger say it is moisture wicking up - he inexplicably suggests it's the roots bring the water over - when he made the case that he needs to remove the plant in order to regrade.

EDIT: Episode 3319 of TOH

This post was edited by saltidawg on Sun, Mar 16, 14 at 20:16