Masonry Magazine July 2004 Page. 23
Close up showing the successful partial removal (lower left corner) of excess sealant, which had formed as a white haze. This test saved the contractor the expense of completely stripping and resealing the building.
ing while retaining the integrity of the coating's sealant properties. This was verified by a RILEM test, which is used to evaluate the volume of water absorbtion by masonry during a specific period of time. An impatient contractor may have decided to just forgo any testing, opting instead to just restrip and reseal the the entire building at their own expense. What a mistake that would have been in this case!
There are other issues that can arise as well. For example, a solution that may be effective on the East Coast may not work well on the West Coast or vice versa due to climate differences. Slight modifications in the cleaning process, chemistry selection or dilutions may be needed to accommodate any change in climate.
Our company offers a variety of inexpensive test kits that can help contractors avoid the hassles of shutting down a job due to unsatisfactory results. We recommend doing test patches, even for the most obvious of situations. What may appear to be a simple job cleaning a block wall can become a much more complex and expensive project if you suddenly discover an unseen sealant was previously used on it.
Another problem that testing can help overcome is reducing damage to nearby or secondary substrates. Several years ago, we were called to a job site in New Orleans where a terra cotta hotel was being restored. The hotel's inner courtyard was constructed of very porous St. Joseph's brick that had suffered from severe atmospheric staining. The contractors had tried 13 different test panels and, unfortunately, none of them proved to be effective in removing the stains. We sent down one of our products that was designed specifically for glazed surfaces. The product was tested on both the terra
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