stone breaking up what do I do?

[mgssamn]

Attached are some pics. This was put up in 2018 / retaining wall and fireplace. Is there any one with experience on this on what I can do to stop this??
The rock just keeps flaking off on about 30% of all my rock. Obviously, the rock may have been subpar. Too late to fix that without replacing.
thanks.

 

[Big50]

No pic's?

 

[mgssamn]

No pic's?

think they are there now

 

[GlockPride]

Not a stone mason. My uneducated guess is that it could possibly be water intrusion. Perhaps some sort of seal coat may fix or slow the erosion?

Definitely get a secondary or tertiary opinion though.

 

[Perplexed]

Not a stone mason. My uneducated guess is that it could possibly be water intrusion. Perhaps some sort of seal coat may fix or slow the erosion?

Definitely get a secondary or tertiary opinion though.

Yep, looks like the stone is spalling due to water getting into the stone and then freezing, causing the outer layers of stone to break off. Same thing happens with unsealed concrete.

 

[mgssamn]

so was I (or the original contractor) supposed to seal it? I am not well educated in this, but assumed probably too much that my contractor would handle.

 

[Chaparral]

Water intrusion causing the rocks to slough off. Seal the rocks. Six years on, what were your warranty terms? Seen this with brick as well.

 

[mgssamn]

No warranty I am aware. I called a few years ago, and got no where and didnt think it would continue. Ignorance perhaps on my part not researching more on how to prevent.

 

[Okie4570]

It may not be just freeze/thaw damage but sub-florescence where the stone salts break the stone down itself. If that's the case don't seal it. That may be the reason it wasn't sealed in the first place.

 

[Boehlertaught]

We fixed our fireplace with Thompson Water Seal. May work for you.