Resin repair to stone

[Pablo]

Happy New Year fellas,
I'm currently having a fight with Tescos insurers after they caught my gates and ripped part of my Sandstone gate pillar out whilst delivering some stuff. Long story short they want to do a resin repair to the pillar. I'm very dubious because it's broken into 6 pieces with other bits being pulverised and a lot of corners and edges are damaged. I don't see how they could bond it back together and match the missing pieces without it looking patchy. Talking to a mason he estimates they'll cost 25 grand to replace so I've no chance of that happening. The stone is very weathered so if they match the weathered colour with the resin then it'll be very obvious when I clean them.
Does anyone have any experience of these repairs and their long term success?
Cheers
[IMG]http://i264.photobucket.com/albums....MG]

[lutonlagerlout]

I would have thought its irrelevant how much it costs
if they have admitted liability then they need to repair or replace as is

we have done odds and sods of epoxy resin repair (using the original brick and stone) and it can look good

but you need the right men doing it

LLL

[seanandruby]

It looks like it will need drilling and rebar inserting to strengthen it.
Maybe it could be all scabbled back and then overlayed
With a good quality render like renderoc, or similar. You can always make it look weathered. It gives a strong coat that will
Stand the test of time.

[Pablo]

Cheers fellas, Would you take all the stone back to near the original colour and then repair it?. I clean them every few years so any repair that is matched to the weathering will look very patchy when they brighten up. Is it possible to drill and pin such small and soft pieces of stone?
I'm a bit worried that they're just looking for a cheap get out and are trying to palm me off. They mangled the cast iron gate too and want to just replace it and not both. The pillars are 180 years old and the gates are pre war and I doubt you could match them.

[GB_Groundworks]

i think a repair will always show through as the resin won't age like the stone,

i cut have a new one cut for £4k (maybe not in pink sandstone) i reckon then theres a year of painting it with water yoghurt and horse sh1t to get the lichen etc

but as tony says cost is irrelevant if he'd wiped out a £500k rolls royce etc they'd have to pay

keep fighting you re the innocent party who's suffered the loss

[GB_Groundworks]

looking again the top seem ok, its only the rectangular piece that need re cutting and dowling and poxing in place, a large cut rectangle like that shouldn't be more than £1k dependent on the stone, re use the head piece

your mason friend must earn some if he thinks thats a £25k repair

[lutonlagerlout]

you are the innocent party pablo
tescos are insured and that is that
cost is irrelevant
LLL

[RAPressureWashing]

Pablo,

If it's any help, we do work for Ocado around the London area, spills etc, up to a certain amount (£) they allow me to go ahead and clean, after said amount it has to go to their insurance underwriters and then they send out their "expert" to access the damage, so what I'm getting at is, maybe let Tesco's insurance guy have a look and value it?
But as LLL says' their fault not yours so they need to rectify
this.

[Pablo]

Thanks guys, Giles the pillars would cost 25 grand to replace not repair. I think it's about right, it costs £300 to get a telehandler to my house for the day and you need it on 3 occasions. It's Scrabo sandstone and the quarry is exhausted so it'll take a lot of running about to source new stuff which in itself will cost a few grand,then there's the actual detail in them. You can't see it but they are incredibly intricate with lots of gothic detailing and minature gargoyle type figures. It'll take months of labour to dress them accurately and there's only 1 or 2 folk in the country with the skillset to do it and they don't work for £20 and hr .
I've lifted the top cap off myself for safety and my prefered fix is for them to replace the centre section, distress it, and clean the remaining stone back to match. Replacing the gates will be 5-7 grand on top of that. I know cost is irrelevant but to them it isn't and they've already said their ceiling is £8500. I've already spent £1000 of that lifting off the stone and installing temporary gates so I'm gonna have a fight on my hands here
What would be your prefered method of cleaning them be Roger?
Cheers

[GB_Groundworks]

from the photo it looked like the intricate top had avoided damage?

i was meaning only the centre rectangle need cutting which is a fairly easy job once the stone is source

have you got your home insurers involved?



Edited By GB_Groundworks on 1420211822

[Pablo]

Not yet but I have free legal cover in the policy although I'll play that card later.

[cookiewales]

have worked with resins in Germany they are wafer thin lines when done right but need clamping on would need to be done on bench not in-situ the middle section would be a stock size if you could find one reclaimed you may find one on the south side of Ireland you could work with stick to your rights there looks to many small pieces there the profile on middle section should be no problem to a mason to match

[neatcon]

I agree with LL and GB Tescos have admitted liability, get 3 quotes if possible to replace the mid section and let them also price it, their a multi billion company and will pay up eventually the big winners will be solicitors.

[RAPressureWashing]

Pablo, I wouldn't go anywhere near those with a pressure washer personally, you could look at something like the Doff system http://www.stonehealth.com you could try a high alkaline cleaner and clean by hand,working from the bottom of the pillar upwards, would mean a lot of elbow grease and would be slow, but I'd be weary of using a pressure washer. Are they not listed as in Grade 2 buildings etc being that age?

[cookiewales]

Pablo you could remove center piece .remove with Proubst kerb lifter with mini digger fix stone and spin around so repair is to back side ie wall . But stick to your guns and make insurance do it ps have lifted large pillers ton plus with lifter :;):