mercredi 9 novembre 2016

What To Know About Baltimore Granite

By Anna Olson


Granite is one of the strongest and durable stones that finds a lot of use in various industries. The stone is aesthetically appealing and is used in making may different architectural and artistic products. When used in a place, it is usually a symbol of quality and elegance. The use of the stone is in both interior and exterior application in residential, commercial as well as industrial buildings. In Baltimore granite stones are held in high esteem because of the high reputation they command. Many citizens prefer having the stone in their homes because they understand its value.

The construction industry is one of the industries that has a lot of use for this stone. In external applications, the stone is used to make monuments, bridges, pavements, and buildings among others. Internally, it finds use in making stair treads, tile floors, countertops, and desktops. The countertops made using this stone are usually used in residential as well as commercial kitchens.

Like most other building materials, granites are also prone to certain problems. The problems in these stones can be classified into two major categories. The first category of problems is natural/inherent problems. These problems are based on the attributes of the material and its conditions of exposure. The second category of problems is vandalism and human-caused problems.

Main problems classified under natural/inherent issues are blistering, detachment, efflorescence, erosion, chipping, cracking, flaking, rising damp, spalling, staining, and peeling. Small swellings that occur in the surface of the stone are called blisters. The swelling appear thin with light skins before they rupture to form small depressions. Causes of blistering include ground water or de-icing salts. Blistering precedes spalling and exfoliation.

When small or big pieces of the stone separate from masonry units, the process is referred to as chipping. Chipping commonly occurs at mortar corners, edges, or joints mostly. What causes this process is impact caused by deterioration or repair. The impact may be caused by hard pointing mortar, accidents, or vandalism. Cracking is another commonly occurring problem in granites. It is shown by narrow fissures occurring in the stone.

Some of the major causes of cracking are structural overload caused by settlement, flaws in the material, and too hard mortar mix. If the cracks are minor, they may not pose any major danger or concern. However, minor cracks may also be an indication of major structural problems to be expected. Cracks may provide a point through which water enters the stone to cause salt migration.

Detachment is not indicative of failure taking place in the stone, but failure in construction system. Joints and connectors are the main points of such failure. Various methods of repair can be used to correct detachment easily. Detachment is usually accelerated and worsened by water that penetrates through the joints formed.

Local, whitish deposits occurring on the surface of the rock are the main indicator of efflorescence. Air pollution, use of improper cleaning agents, mortar, rising damp, chemical landscaping treatments, and de-icing salts are some of the causes of the whitish deposit. However, presence of whitish deposits is not always indicative of efflorescence.




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