Encyclopedia of Historic Masonry Restoration

57 stone is a common type of crushed rock aggregate used as a bedding for concrete subgrade.  57 stone is a combination of crusher run sieve size #5, #6, #7 rock. This is a non-compactable substrate material.          

Accelerated Deterioration  Accelerated deterioration is the process or phenomenon of building decay, failure and damage happening at an increasing rate.  This process, of aging and decay, atrophy of a building system is often non-linear, meaning that deterioration happens faster and faster as time goes by… Read More »Accelerated Deterioration 

Acoustical sealants are flexible materials, applied in a Liquid form between desperate building materials such as at the sole plate of walls where sound sound would otherwise have a more direct passage through partitions. A picture of one type of acoustical sealing follows below for… Read More »Acoustical Sealants

Aggregate or crushed stone is used in a multitude of different types of building applications. For example, under the majority of concrete flat work, crushed stone or aggregate will be installed as a  as a preparatory bedding. That underlying or substrate bedding allows for better… Read More »Aggregate or crushed stone

Asphalt is similar to concrete, both materials are largely comprised of aggregate, sand, and a cohesive binder. In the case of concrete, the binder is cement. By comparison though, in the case of asphalt the binder is a petroleum-based type of material bitumen material similar… Read More »Asphalt paving

To make the a patterned bond fit within the constraints of a building assembly space, masons use brick closer or brick bats.   Bat closers are very common, they are essentially bricks that have been cut in half. Quarter closers, on the other hand, are less common… Read More »Bat closers

The photo below shows an example of a Beaux art style building, in the downtown Philadelphia area. This is a beautiful example this is a beautiful example of a building that uses an eclectic range of architectural details.  This particular style may be regarded of… Read More »Beaux Arts Architecture, Second Empire