Mockups at Penn

My path took me down an alley as I approached the Penn campus. As I enter a courtyard, looming before me is the mystical and beautiful College Hall — a perfect example of Gothic Revival architecture. I stand and stare, admiring the details, and an old familiar Dead song comes to mind, “not a chill to the weather but a nip to the air.” But a cold start to the morning’s adventure is not enough to keep progress from moving forward. I had work to do at College Hall.

I met with Scott Kreilick, and his crew from Kreilick Conservation, and Kathy Babcock from KM Architects. They were tasked with finding a masonry cleaner that could cut through one hundred plus years of Philly dirt and grime — without destroying the stone with harsh acids. I brought multiple CSP cleaners and removers with me — for sure one would do the job. That’s the funny thing about aged grime on stone: you never really know which product is going to perform best. My grandfather taught me to not just bring the tool you think you’re going to need, bring the toolbox.

I taped up my sample areas and set out applying my different cleaners. Chatted some more during the dwell. And then gave everything a good rinse. Turned out, our Heavy-Duty Cleaner worked like champ. At temperatures hovering around 40°F, the Heavy-Duty Cleaner cut thru all that dirt and grime and gave us a little peek into the past. I wondered for a moment about the last time this original stone had been seen.

I’m very much looking forward to going back and seeing College Hall at its best. 

For all your masonry restoration needs, please feel free to contact me at jbiehl@cathedralstone.com and l’ll be more than happy to assist you with your project.