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Stories From the Field

Post: Changing of the Season

Sunday March 8, 2020

Workers installing vinyl tarpaulins on wall of masonry building

Installation of heavy-duty vinyl tarpaulins to an unobstructed south-facing wall in Hyde Park that a previous owner had parged (i.e., skim coated) decades earlier with mortar. Unfortunately the parge coating was insufficient to prevent moisture from infiltrating the underlying 150-year-old brick wall and damaging the interior plaster work. The installation of the tarps stopped new damaged from occurring and allowed the brick and plaster work to dry out.

Although it is still technically winter, one would be hard pressed to believe it by looking at the outdoor thermometer.

Daytime temperatures have been hovering comfortably in the 50s for a few days now and, more importantly, the nighttime temperatures have been above freezing with consistency. (As masonry restorationists, we care most about nighttime temperatures because mortar that freezes at night will neither cure correctly nor perform properly.)

During the winter months when it is too cold for mortar to cure correctly, the masons at AAA-1 Masonry & Tuckpointing spend many days affixing heavy-duty vinyl tarps to masonry walls as a means of stopping wind-driven snow and sleet and rain from infiltrating masonry walls and causing all kinds of grief for building occupants.

Our tarps are 18 ounce heavy-duty vinyl, made in America, and will not rip or shred for decades. (We know this to be true because we have had tarps installed on some buildings for 20 years with no issues whatsoever.)

Heavy-duty vinyl tarps prevent wet weather events from wreaking havoc on your bricks, split-face blocks and other masonry substrates by providing a physical barrier between Mother Nature weather and your walls.

Occasionally owners and property managers need time to build up capital reserves in order to tackle a larger masonry project. Vinyl tarps stop the clock and allow for the build up of reserves without the masonry incurring additional damage. Typically, the cost of affixing a heavy-duty vinyl tarp to a defective masonry wall is a small fraction of the cost of performing the actual masonry repairs.

If you think your property could benefit from the installation of American made heavy-duty vinyl tarpaulins by our team of licensed masons, please reach out to us for a free quote.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of service!

-Rob

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