Problem with brownstone stoop repair

Advice please! I just had my stoop resurfaced over the weekend and I already see a number of small cracks. The job, unfortunately, was done Saturday during the on-and-off rain and left partially exposed in the deluge that came overnight. Part of the stoop still seems stained by the water and the cracks (in the very center by the door) are in an area where water may have leaked through the tarp. How would you handle fixing this? Fortunately, I have only paid about one-quarter of what we agreed to in the contract.

rdgwd85

in Brownstoner Renovation 12 years ago

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charles2nd | 11 years and 10 months ago

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I am a stone restoration expert. I will say this. The best materials matched with the best talent, gets the job done right. 1\. preparation begins with an analysis of the environment, and what it may throw at you. translating to proper protection and care. 2\. removal to substrate. A project is only as good as the substrate enables it to be. watch you contractor. do not be shy. When he hits hard material…good for him. Just make sure it at least 1 inch deep. BE SURE there are no feather edges. This is surely a point of weakness and shrink problems. all cuts must exit at 90 degrees..period 3\. Use the best materials. I personally use Jahn mortar. Its expensive but is both true in color and longlasting. I have with success used. I am know investigating th kiem company. Acryl 60 with the stone pulverized and color compensated into Portland mix…20 years later the project still looks great. Bello Fattore.com and love to help with questions. charlie Ponticello

brooklyn72 | 12 years ago

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Bedstuy, do you mind sharing the info of the guy that did your steps. Thank you in advance.

rdgwd85 | 12 years ago

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Thanks, Bedstuy. We were not having the underside redone, though it’s a good idea, of course. Well, as I tap on the patchy stoop this morning, I see it’s come loose again. A real disaster here. Whole thing must need to be chipped down and done again, I’d guess.

bedstuytownhouse | 12 years ago

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I’m writing from work so this is only a guess…we have approximately 12 steps. The guy did the steps, both sides of the stoop, under the stoop and also restored the structural brick work underneath the stoop.

rdgwd85 | 12 years ago

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Townie, there were broken areas in the stoop that might have been a quarter-inch deep, so they chipped down at least that far. Scratch coat, I don’t know for sure, but maybe was somewhat less than a half-inch? Bedstuy, what did your $6200 cover? How many steps, etc.? I have a smaller 4-step stoop, with railings on the side. Price for that part of my job was $2000\. Had some other facade work done that looks OK, for about half that. Acid wash … now that is something that has not been discussed. What’s involved with that?

rdgwd85 | 12 years ago

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Update: Contractor looked over the cracked areas and quickly agreed to fix them. But the fix was a one-hour patching of the four areas last weekend. Would it dry and blend with the rest of the stoop? Well, not so far. Right now it looks like you barely scraped up the mess after a large dog crapped on your floor. That’s after 3 days of drying. I’ll see if I can post a picture Wednesday. Thanks again for taking the trouble to consider this!

bedstuytownhouse | 12 years ago

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We just finished ours and the contractor waited two weeks between scratch and finish coats and then another week for the acid wash. It looks amazing. As an fyi – we paid $6200 for the job and the guy we went with has done several houses on our block over the years which is how we found him.

Townie | 12 years ago

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How extensive was the original stoop “chipped down” and how thick was the scratch coat. I have seen contractors wait weeks between the finish coat…Just saying. Be careful that your contractor doesn’t just cut his losses and take that 1/4 payment and run. Let us know what happens.

Amym718 | 12 years ago

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I’m no expert, but I think HouseNut is right: The very well respected mason who’s working on our areaway right now has left exposed the scratchcoated cement of the new base for the fence and gate, explaining that it needs to dry for several days before he can apply the “brownstone” coat.

HouseNut | 12 years ago

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My understanding is that you need to let the scratch coat cure for awhile before applying the final coat.

rdgwd85 | 12 years ago

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Thanks for the replies. Are multiple brownstone coats the usual procedure? I had been told by both the contractors I spoke with that the job would take 5-6 days, but it was done in 3, all in all.

rdgwd85 | 12 years ago

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It was chipped down and a scratch coat done on Friday. Then the brownstone coat was put on the next day. Does this usually take longer? I tapped the most prominent cracks with my knuckles today and could feel the vibration telling me it was hollowed out below. What sort of remedy would you insist on? Can one patch the cracks and build it up another level? Start over? I’ll be speaking with the contractor tomorrow.

Arkady | 12 years ago

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    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2008-08-04 21:50:38"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "HL9P1Plx6tnm1l8GiJvd"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(6) "Arkady"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(14677)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

It also sounds as if you went for too expedient a job – that kind of work typically takes longer than a weekend. You might want to ask him to do a more thorough job.

dorkofwindsor | 12 years ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5201 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5198 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "176774"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(13) "dorkofwindsor"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$Bov.472kQmY8OGlKN.dDXa5nt5gnOG0"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(13) "dorkofwindsor"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(23) "dorkofwindsor@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(28) "/forums/users/dorkofwindsor/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:25:48"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(13) "dorkofwindsor"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(176774)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

sounds like too much water (which causes shrinkage). this is a problem in a thin resurfacing coat. sounds like it needs to be re-done. good thing you only paid him 1/4 thus far.