Once again, David was speaking at The Surfaces/Stone Expo back in January with Juan Vasquez and John Hamilton with All Natural Stone. The class w
as called:
"So if it's not the stones fault, who's fault is it?"
This is an educational class that All Natural Stone and David Bonasera conduct throughout the year to help
Designers. Most of the time, it may not be what the designers pick, but how the material was originally installed. Due to the lack of knowledge from Installers on how to properly set stone in place, problems tend to arise after the jobs been done. To avoid costly repairs on such errors, it is imperative to correctly set the stone i
n place. All while using the right materials to begin with!
David sits on the technical committee of The Natural Stone Institute, (formally the MIA). One of the topics slated for discussion was about Metal Rods in counter tops. David presented his case to Chuck Muehlbaue
r
,
head technical director for the National Stone Intuit, & the rest of the tech committee. They unanimously voted that Metal rods would be abolished and only Stainless Steel & Fiberglass r
ods would be allowed in counter tops and wet areas. This will be put in place later this year.
"
I know a lot of my clients have metal rods in their counter tops. One of the failures of this, is to keep an eye on the inside of the sealant of the sink, (which is not visible when looking at the sink). When this sealant breaks down, the water reaches the glue surrounding the metal rod. Because the adhesive most fabricators use are not of high grade material, they get wet - thus allowing
the rod to soak and rust. Which is a big "No, no!" When metal rusts, it expands. thus cracking the front or back rail of the counter top sink area. ESP fixes many of these issues every month. So yes, it is fixable but please check your sealant around the sink!"
David Bonasera advises you to change the sealant immediately if
you notice the sealant turning colors such as brown or black. We are always here to help fix these problems with a written guarantee, but as a courteous reminder, we are also here to educate.
