HARD TO REACH BULBS

I had to change a bulb in our ceiling last month and my bulb changer was broken. I didn't have time to get another - besides they are around $20.00 and sometimes I am a cheapskate. I had a cardboard tube that some blue prints came in (any cardboard tube will work, even a paper towel tube). I cut 5 slits in the side, wrapped a large rubber band around the tube and slipped it over the bulb and presto! It worked like a charm. This got me curious so I took an old lampshade, the kind where the shade rests on the bulb with two elliptical wires. I screwed this to an old broom handle. Then I coated the wire with rubber cement and let the glue dry. This was slipping on the bulb until I placed a rubber band around the outside of the wire to give tension to the bulb holder. Bingo! Now I have a changer to spare. The lamp shade works the best by the way, but warning you must let the bulb cool for a few minutes if you use the glue for a gripping agent - it begin to melt the glue when used on a hot bulb.

USEFUL WORK BENCH TIPS:

Screw a bottle lid on the underside a workbench or shelf (thread side down) then put your nuts, bolts and screws in the jar that fits the lid and you can screw the jar into the attached lid there by suspending the jar for easy access. My father and grandfather both used this trick a lot.

I have recently taken it one step farther by screwing a cake pan under my workbench. Drill a hole (sized for whatever 4" bolts you have) 1-2" from the edge of your workbench. Drill the same size hole ½" from the edge of the pan. Attach the pan to the bench using a nut that fits your bolt on each side of the pan (inside and out) leave the pan loose enough to swing, but snug against the bench top by adjusting the top and bottom bolts. Now you can swing the pan out - exposing the inside - sweep of small nails, wire scraps etc. even saw dust and filings, into the pan. This keeps the area where I am standing free of floor debris and also helps me locate bolts, screws or nails when I take something apart and put it back together.

AN INTEGRATED FOOTING AND WALL

As I said last month, I am writing a retaining wall Multitorial (which will be finished by the 15 of July, sorry! :o( I had to work in the field this month). In the new Multitorial I stress the importance of "wet coursing" or "first coursing" to integrate a wall into a footing. What this consists of is setting level string lines to wall location and each elevation step required for the top of the first course. Then simply pour the concrete 1" higher than the modular dimension of the unit (3" below the string line for a 4" unit, 7" for an 8" etc…) and then lay the first course of masonry into the wet concrete.

I picked this trick up in California in 1982. It was drawn into the engineer's specs for a retaining wall; it was to be used in lieu of a key way. A key way is a channel depressed into the top of a footing centered on the rebar locations to force the grout to flow below the bottom of the wall. What this does for structure is eliminate the cold joint between the wall and footing - which is the same affect "first coursing" gives. By laying the first course of any wall into the wet footing concrete several things happen:

• You only lay out the footing and elevations once.
• You virtually get that course free of labor and materials since you are not making mortar.
• A wall that is first coursed never comes apart since the wall is in the footing.
• The wall layout is completed when the footing is poured and all elevations are established.

By having the unit bond, elevations and locations of the wall established with the pouring of the footing, building the wall is a snap. I used to send an apprentice to lay a wall that was first coursed; the wall goes up that easy. The masonry units (whether stone, brick or block) tend to float around a bit, so you have to adjust each unit twice, but that only takes a moment and a bit of awareness as you first course. I have found that most masons are resistant to this technique at first because it does take a bit longer to set up for the pour - and masons are renowned for being stubborn… I should know - however all that needs to happen is using this technique a few times and tracking the amount of time saved on the overall job. The selling point to me was the structural enhancement of the wall; saving labor was a by-product of that decision.

For a more in depth coverage of this technique, check the web site on the 15th for your copy of "Block Retaining Walls - Holding Back The Earth" advanced orders will be sold for $14.99 which is five dollars of the retail price of $19.99 that will go into effect on the 15th. This Multitorial is the one to buy for any freestanding masonry wall, but especially for retaining walls. I will release a version for patio walls later in the year, which will focus more on aesthetics than on structure - in reality a patio wall is easier than a retaining wall. So my theory is the same as when someone asks if they can pour a standard concrete slab by using Groovy Concrete: if you can do Grooved Tile Impressions, pouring a regular slab is a snap - the same goes for patio walls verses retaining walls.

MAIN ARTICLE:
<<<<<<< Masonry Water and Cracks>>>>>>>>

Have you sealed your masonry walls - even your planters, barbeques, chimneys and patio walls? How about your driveways, walkways and patios?

Masonry must be sealed! I should stop here, ask you to trust me and just say do it… but I I'll give you some good reasons instead. Water and cement don't get along, after the cement is set. In moist climates water can cause bacteria to grow that thrive on cement causing the cement or mortar to rot and crumble - that is the worst-case scenario especially when the rotten cement is structural, but there are another reasons as well.

When any cement is left untreated it is very porous and will absorb water, oils, organics and acids. If the temperature gets below freezing while moisture is present, simple physics comes into play and causes the liquid to expand as it freezes dislodging the surface. This will cause spalling - when the outer layer of a brick, block, stone or concrete pops off leaving a divot behind - which at its best is unsightly. In addition there are staining problems (oil, organics with dye in them, animal excretion, salts, acids etc…) inherent in a porous slab or wall that is unsealed. You may also get problems resulting from dusting, algae formation, loss of strength, sulfate and nitrate disintegration and efflorescence. These reactions can cause paint, tile or other floor coatings to blister and peel (simple saponification).

In moist climates, as I have stated in other articles about concrete, air entrainment helps prevent freeze thaw problems, but the only certain way to avoid this problem is to use a masonry sealer on all of your cement, concrete and masonry surfaces.

Adobe is the first to go, as its bonding power is just that of baked caliche - a hardpan surface of hard subsoil clay. Adobe needs to be sealed more frequently than brick, block stone or concrete because of its porosity. Masonry units typically stack up as follows from the most porous to the least:

• Compressed adobe
• Rammed earth
• Burnt adobe
• Asphalt emulsion adobe
• Sprayed Stucco & Gunite
• Soft clay brick (common tans, yellows and light reds)
• Broom Finished Concrete
• Concrete Block
• Hand Troweled Stucco
• Hard clay brick (dark browns, reds and blacks)
• Soft Stones (Decomposing granite, limestone, flagstone and sandstones)
• Trowel Finished Concrete
• Hard Stones (Structural granite, marble, slate and field stone or river stones)

Even though some types of masonry need sealing worse than others don't get to thinking you are off the hook just because you have a hard product. Glass bock, marble and ceramic tile don't absorb any water, but they all have mortar joints that do and they need sealing. The following test takes only a few minutes and will help assure that your precious masonry and concrete are protected from moisture and weather:

Using a bucket, water hose or large container of water, simply splash some on the surface and - like the old car wax commercial used to say: "watch for the beads". The water should literally roll off of a vertical surface and bead up into droplets on a flat surface. Look for discoloration as well. If the surface doesn't change color, and if the water beads up there is no moisture penetration - but look carefully for any small hairline areas that are absorbing water. If any portion of the surface changes color (usually getting darker) including the mortar joints, there is absorption and you need to use a sealer. There is no reason what so ever to put this on your procrastination list, as it is nowhere near as hard to do as painting. I'll give you some pointers in a moment, but first lets talk sealers.

There are hundreds of masonry sealers on the market. Some you would chose strictly from an aesthetic appeal (i.e. many stonewalls look better when they are wet, so on featured walls or fireplace faces it is common to use a gloss or semi gloss polyurethane sealer). I do not recommend polyurethane or any type of "coating" sealer on exterior masonry as it tends to yellow in direct UV exposure and it begins to crack allowing moisture to penetrate the surface.

If you have the plastic type coating on your walls but it is thin, I recommend switching to a penetrating sealer to avoid problems in years to come; caught early the polyurethane will eventually disintegrate. If your sealer has built up from many applications you are pretty much stuck using it from now on, as the only way I know of to get it off is sandblasting which will mar your surface. The thick coatings tend to crack and allow water behind the coating, which then traps the moisture from evaporation. In wet climates or rainy seasons this will cause wet spots that will attract bacteria and lead to degradation of the cement.

I recommend a clear a penetrating sealer for all types of exterior masonry. Penetrating sealers are the easiest to apply and offer the best protection for masonry surfaces primarily because they are as thin as water, allowing them to penetrate the surface quite well. Once sealed you can't even tell they have been applied without testing as I mentioned above. As the name implies, the sealer penetrates the surface and locks water out from an inside depth ranging from 1/8th to ¼ inch depending on the porosity of the surface. I am not getting paid for any endorsements or advertising here so my recommendations are strictly empirical. I have had good success with Thompson's Masonry Sealer, usually a little cheaper than comparable sealers. For a little more money I like Endur-O-Seal, it costs a bit more but in cases of stained or older concrete it's worth the extra price in that it will actually help lift out stains.

Penetrating sealers go on easy with a hand pump pneumatic pressure sprayer, brush or roller. Application is simple: Mask off your soffits, facia, any woodwork, windows and doors - garbage bags and duct tape work well for masking. Fill your sprayer (read the manufactures recommendations for dilution if applicable) and spray (roll or brush) to your hearts content. Your landscaping will be unaffected, but you might want to get your car out of the driveway :o) - up wind if there is a breeze!

If you have spalled areas or cracks, address these before you seal. For spalled masonry the general approach is to cut out the masonry unit and reinstall it, which is a lot of work and money. For cracks, you need to chisel or grind a channel into the cracked wall area - at least 3/8ths of an inch; you need this depth in order to get a bond from the mortar and still have room to caulk. Caulk back into the channel behind the surface of your wall and then fill with mortar. Never caulk on the surface of an exterior wall - it may look okay for a while but eventually the calk will look ugly; in most cases the caulking can only be ground off.

So, get your water hose or a bucket and go outside and check your masonry and concrete. Like I said: Keep your masonry sealed. Whether you paid a pro or build something yourself, you have a lot invested in any type of masonry or concrete. Sealer is an inexpensive insurance policy that will ensure the beauty and integrity of any thing built with cement.

I hope you keep your walls sealed and never need the Multitorial: "Adobe, Brick and Block Restoration" but if you haven't sealed your walls (or bought something that is already having problems) I do have a Multitorial that thoroughly covers repairing and restoring cracked masonry walls click here.

I invented this technique about 20 years ago and it works great! I haven't met but a handful of masons that have even tried the technique I use so you may not even be able to get it done in your area by a professional. It's an easy way to fix cracked, broken, chipped and spalled masonry without cutting out and reinstalling the unit. With "Adobe, Brick and Block Restoration" you will learn how to repair a spalled, broken, chipped or cracked wall with a technique that will actually leave no seam at all and in the end be not only stronger but also sealed from future damage. The process is simple and inexpensive. If you have any cracks, spalls or chips (or a desire to start your own business) "Adobe, Brick and Block Restoration" has the solution for you.

Well, as always this was fun! I wish you a very Happy 4th Of July!
God Bless Our Freedom!

Thanks for listening!

Love, Light & Happy Building!

Rusty Cline,
President: Monument Masonry, Inc.