well you hit the nail on the head Christopher, each iteration you list looks
better but costs more. Sand in the sealant does look better if you have a
good sand match and have not relied on pigments to color your mortar.



Eric Hammarberg
Associate Director of Preservation
Associate
LZA Technology
641 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011-2014
Telephone: 917.661.8160 (Direct)
Mobile: 917.439.3537
Fax: 917.661.8161 (Direct)
email:  [log in to unmask]



-----Original Message-----
From: Met History [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 5:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: So what's the deal on the expansion joints...


....which zig-zag down through the runing bond?  Why do some people use
those, and some people just slice them through the brick, straight down?

Looking at the new, 8?-story grey-brick Jewish Community Center at 76th and
Amsterdam (which has such zig-zag expansion joints) I am also wondering, do
the masons really think that the zig-zag of shiny, plastic-looking caulk is
really camoflaged in among the regular mortar joints (which it ain't)?  Or
is this just as good as we can do right now?  And why can't they coat the
caulk with mortar-sand, to better mask the difference?  Picky, I know, but
that's what I think about.

Christopher Gray      (Hey, now is this on topic, or what???)

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