Recoloring A Century Of Wear Into New Concrete Stone
We were recently contacted by Spike Phillips of HK Phillips Restoration in Columbus, Ohio. They were replacing the old failing stone on a historic church in downtown Columbus and wanted to know if we could colorfully age their product to resemble 100 years of wear. The product they were using was a Shouldice Q-Stone, a product series that features a strong antiqued rock face with larger stones than what most products offer (an excellent choice for this project).
The following are two quotes: one from Darryl Rogers, Rogers Krajnak Architects, Inc., and the other from Spike Phillips, HK Phillips Restoration: Project: Broad Street United Methodist Church Stone Replacement Project “During the early design stages of this technically challenging stone replacement project we faced a major concern. The 19th century historic church was plagued with failing serpentine stone which needed to be removed and replaced. The concrete based, cast stone product we chose met all of our criteria for budget, size/shape, and installation.
The cast stone manufacturer could only provide the product in one color mix [which] would have resulted in a monochromatic look to the facade, unlike the stone we were replicating. This is the point at which we were introduced to Masonry Cosmetics, Inc.. A series of onsite mock-ups were created showing us color application options that met our aesthetic criteria. We also learned that the stain colors were guaranteed for 40 years from fading. Masonry Cosmetics was added to the project team at this point just prior to construction commencing. During the construction phase Bob Van Bibber was the onsite manager for Masonry Cosmetics. Bob and his crew were true artisans in the way in which they applied the stain to the cast stone. A great deal of time was spent in relating the cast stone stain colors to the original serpentine stone. The final product speaks for itself. We would be pleased to work with Masonry Cosmetics on future projects.”
We really had fun on this project. Anytime we can take an already great Shouldice product and colorfully blend it to make it appear more like a natural stone on a historic landmark such as this church, our guys’ artistry really comes through. On this project, everyone was pleased which makes for a wonderful working environment.