Chicora Foundation Cemetery Preservation

11/15/2014

We know that some folks prefer to just spray on D/2 without either much before or after work. We don't feel that's the best approach and this photo shows why. We found some granite coping in a cemetery covered with lichen. We sprayed D/2, full strength, on a few, but did nothing else. You can see lichen untouched to the right as a control.

The D/2 did a quick job on the lichen, turning them brilliant colors within 2 hours and after 24 hours the lichen were clearly dead. But they were still there and quite attached to the granite. Also notice the discoloration extending from lichen about 1/8" in all directions.

Thus, the D/2 does a great job killing biologicals, but killing isn't the same as removing. It's supposed to rain in the next couple of days and we'll post again on how effective the rain was in removing the dead lichen and associated stain.

11/09/2014

We're often asked if a stone can be repaired and our usual answer is that most can be, although the cost may be tough on the wallet. This is a marble stone that was vandalized. To make matters worse, the plot, years ago, had concrete applied - I'm sure to "minimize maintenance." The problem is that the hard surface shattered the stone, creating nine separate fragments. Piecing everything back together has been nearly a week-long effort and we still aren't at the stage of adding infill and trying to make the final result aesthetically pleasing. But the point is not to give up on a stone.

10/19/2014

Here's an example of a very badly iron jacked monument that had been ignored for years - as evidenced by the abundant yucca growth that hid most of the damage.

10/14/2014

Iron jacking or rust jacking - whatever you call it - is a huge threat to cemetery monuments, as this photo reveals. You see a die originally set on two bases that has been disassembled to deal with the problem of ferrous pins. Those between the die (shown at the top of the photo) and the middle base (shown at the bottom of the photo) completely deteriorated - but not before cracking and breaking the die. Additional cracks are found in both of the bases.

Some interesting information - corrosion products take up between 5 and 10 times the volume of the original ferrous pin - creating more than enough force to exceed the tensile strength of the marble.

For this problem to occur all you need is water and air. In addition, once corrosion begins, the porous surface that forms acts like a reservoir - holding water and creating more corrosion. In addition, the practice of using molten sulfur (brimstone) creates an even stronger reaction to destroy ferrous pins.

That's why their replacement is such a high priority in cemetery conservation!

09/26/2014

Every day we seem to learn more about environmental interactions. Just recently I read about a study from the University of Southampton and Surrey that found green spaces can be damaging to historic buildings - and by extension, to cemeteries.

Organic chemicals from trees, especially sycamores and Douglas firs, mix with air pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen, causing elevated ozone levels. These, in turn, increase the erosion of building materials such as limestone, marble, concrete, and even steel. For more information see, http://www.southampton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2014/jun/14_116.shtml.

Not suggesting we cut down all of the trees in our cemeteries, but this can help explain some of the damage we see in areas that don't seem to otherwise be very polluted.

Green spaces in towns and cities need extra consideration as they may be damaging buildings in the area, according to new research from the Universities of Southampton and Surrey.

09/20/2014

Daily there seem to be newspaper accounts of cemetery vandalism. Recently 70 markers were damaged in an Iowa cemetery (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2014/09/18/oelwein-cemetery-vandalism/15826561/). In another case, 10 and 11 year old girls vandalized a dozen monuments in a Minnesota cemetery (http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26510753/girls-ages-10-and-11-confess-to-faribault-cemetery-vandalism).

What makes these accounts interesting doesn't have anything to do with these specific acts. Instead, it is that a municipality we're currently working with wants us to remove our assessment section dealing with vandalism. Too many seem to have the ostrich mentality - if we don't see it, if we don't talk about it, then it doesn't exist.

The problem is that it does exist and it must be confronted. Take a look at this City of Boise website that directly confronts vandalism - it should be model for every city around the country. Vandalism is immediately repaired, families are notified, rewards are offered (http://parks.cityofboise.org/parks-locations/cemeteries/cemetery-vandalism-a-senseless-crime/). I hope you encourage your local cemetery caregivers to adopt a similar approach!

Nearly 40 gravestones were cracked or broken at the Oakdale Cemetery.

09/18/2014

I'm thinking that by this time the abilities of D-2 Biological Solution are pretty well known and understood. On the other hand, we continue to find clients that don't know about D-2 and often require some proof. Maybe these photos will be useful to others as well.

09/14/2014

We recently conducted a detailed cemetery assessment at two city cemeteries in Franklin, TN. The City Parks Department took over care of the cemeteries two years ago and part of their preservation efforts included this detailed evaluation. This is the oldest, City Cemetery, and major problems included deteriorate ironwork, damage to the beautiful stone wall, and extensive collapse and damage to monuments, especially box tombs.

09/14/2014

We often recommend cemeteries infill low areas where graves have collapsed. This series of photos shows just such a project we oversaw at the Jackson Street Cemetery in Suwanee, Georgia. This is a small African American cemetery that had a number of depressions before the work. We moved existing stones and reset them once the infill was complete. Now the cemetery is more level and the fresh soil has had centipede grass laid. The project also involved setting small granite stones at unmarked graves that were either identified by ground penetrating radar or other means.

08/02/2014

You can read more about the Farmer's Valley Cemetery in this newspaper article at http://www.theindependent.com/news/local/farmers-valley-cemetery-headstones-repaired-put-back-in-place/article_9b381616-13b6-11e4-b06d-0019bb2963f4.html

HENDERSON — In the corner of the rural Farmers’ Valley Cemetery, Debi Hacker and Michael Trinkley leaned over a broken headstone and focused.

07/26/2014

Some additional repairs conducted at this exceptional cemetery.

07/25/2014

D/2 Biological Cleaner, especially formulated for stone, is truly amazing. This sequence, while showing the complete treatment of this ledger, focuses on the exceptional cleaning ability of D/2.

We recommend the stone be prewetted and D/2 applied full strength, allowed to dwell for 5-10 minutes, lightly scrubbed, and thoroughly rinsed.

D/2 works best without dilution (and has been tested full strength by NCPTT). It is, of course, somewhat diluted since we prewet the stone.