A minor crack most of the time appears to simply be an aesthetic issue, but this can be a very dangerous assessment. Many times cracks are a cry for help. They are an open wound that allows moisture into the walls which can cause corrosion and create failures behind the visible surface. Cracks can be an indication that there is compression in the surrounding substrates, due to an inappropriate joint size, therefore creating a chain reaction of failures and potential hazards. Cracks can expand and grow to generate a break in the stone, which potentially can fall from the building and cause damage to property or even worse, pedestrians.

A sure sign of corrosion is RUST however, when we see rust running down the surface of a cementitious panel, such as precast, one may overlook the nature of that failure. There is often an assumption that rain may be causing old metal surfaces to run down the facade. In some cases, this could be true, but in many cases, the water has gotten behind the panel causing corrosion to the fastener system, whereas it's not only the sign of a panel face that may be too thin, but now proof of anchors corroding, which has long term damage to the integrity of the panel system itself.

Absolutely size matters! Materials and assemblies are tested for safety, performance and warranties. If a product is not installed per manufacturers instructions, which include proper sizing, fabrication locations and material compatibility, as designed and tested, this may void the warranty and cause failure(s) that can be hazardous to the buildings integrity or safety of the environment and/or pedestrians.

It's important to be assured that the materials being applied to the surface for waterproofing and protection has a compatible seal to the applicable substrate. There are some "old school" methods that never quite made it to the ASTM book of Standards. A sizzle test is one of them. On this test, basically the substrate is to be prepared in the same manner as when bituminous materials are applied and the bitumen is applied at the same temperature in which intended to pour. In short, a small area of bitumen is poured, if it bubbles and pulls up easily when cooled, the test fails and further steps are taken to ensure an acceptable pour.