The Freeze-Thaw Hydraulic Press
New York weather destroys stone. It is simple physics. Porous materials like marble absorb meltwater during the day. At night, that water freezes.
Ice expands. It exerts 2,000 PSI of pressure inside the stone's pores. It acts like thousands of tiny wedges splitting the rock from the inside. Over time, the stone cracks and fails. Tending provides professional grave site cleaning services that include applying breathable consolidants. We stop water from getting in, which stops the ice from breaking the stone.
Urban Acid "Scabs"
In the Metro area, the air is full of sulfur from exhaust. Rain washes this onto the monuments. It turns into acid on the stone surface.
It attacks marble immediately. It converts the stone skin into gypsum. This forms a hard, black, "scabby" crust. This crust traps moisture and rots the stone underneath. We use specialized memorial restoration services to chemically dissolve these gypsum scabs without destroying the fragile stone beneath.
Granular Disintegration ("Sugaring")
Acid rain eats the natural glue in older marble. The crystals fall apart. The surface feels like rough sugar or sand. We call this "sugaring."
If you pressure wash this, you will erase the name. You are washing away the stone itself. We use specific cleaning marble tombstones protocols. We use soft bristles and consolidants to glue the grains back together and save the inscription.
Frost Heave
New York ground freezes deep. Ice lenses form underground and push the soil up. This lifts heavy monuments unevenly.
When spring comes, the ice melts and the ground turns to mud. The support vanishes. The monument drops and snaps the foundation. Our headstone cleaning service includes structural checks. We identify markers moving from frost heave and perform the necessary cemetery plot maintenance to relevel the base before it tips over.
