I’m heading over to a client’s new home here in the Texas Hill Country. It is constructed with large, limestone blocks and mortar. This is NOT limestone veneer! Has anyone inspected this kind of construction before?
Nice little refresher here.
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I was a journeyman mason in my previous life. I worked on high dollar homes, schools, churches, prisons, office buildins, banks and more. I speak on the subject at seminars and conferences - especially regarding the science of mortar setting (lime and hydrolic) and bonding. So this is solid masonry? Once you have inspected it, ask away via text 804.744.0380, or email mgbinspect@gmail.com
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Morning, Justin. Hope to find you well and welcome to the InterNACHI forum comminute.
While I have inspected and repaired limestone blocks. Are you sure they are limestone and not Graystone, a broader category of stones, which can include some types of limestone, but also other rocks like granite or slate, that exhibit gray hues?
You state the stones are not a veneer. This would be structural masonry.
A structural masonry home is built where the walls are made of masonry units like stone or/and brick designed to be load bearing and/or self-supporting.
Looking forward to seeing some images.
Hey Robert, thanks for your help. In our part of the country, (Texas Hill Country) limestone is abundant and a popular component in construction. The home in question is using limestone blocks as a structural wall component. The blocks are approximately 18” thick.
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What sticks out to me is the lack of gap between dis-similar materials.
For instance, the windows and the limestone block mortar…
I would expect to see a gap filled with backer rod and the appropriate caulk to serve as an expansion joint.
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No window cap flashing required?
Condensate pipe clearance?
Gable Flashing cut into stone relief?
Wide head, bed and butt joints even if the stones are chamfered or the edges or corners cut at an angle, creating a beveled edge instead of a sharp 90-degree corner like I typically see in my neck 0f the woods. As well, little lime stones. Mostly, gray, random rubble and field stone although brown stone do not have good exterior performance. Brown stones where commonly used for ballast in ships. Be it pebble, cobbler or foundation length & width.
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