Message text written by John Horton to "BP - \"Is this the list with all
the ivy haters?\""

>Mike Edison,
Thanks for your good thoughts on the mechanics of failure. With your
permission, I'm going to pass your message on to the owner.<

With my compliments...

________________________________
>And now for some thoughtless pontificating:

I sometimes wonder if we are relying too much on patching mortars and epoxy
consolidation. Maybe we should take all the R&D money going into epoxies
and
polyesters and acrylics and whatever and train some craftsmen to do
traditional repairs.<

Your comments reflect a common concern, and I think it is largely a matter
of perspective. While some underfunded projects utilize what may be
considered extreme amounts of repair mortar, most seem to employ some
amount of replacement and some amount of patching.  Economics and technical
feasibility are a balancing act that determine where the line will be drawn
between the more costly replacement/less costly repair alternatives. 

I guess my point is that if the use of the patching alternative isn't going
to go away soon, we better spend the R&D bucks to make sure we're doing it
the best that we can. We, as manufacturers, can afford to pay for that R&D
because we make it a priority and because people continue to make use of
our capabilities.We can also provide training in the use of our systems.
But who would pay for training craftspeople in traditional skills?

Mike E.