A campus facelift

Shine bright: Limestone cleaning project brings new look to campus buildings

The excitement of a new school year will bring a glow to new and returning students’ faces this August — but that won’t be the only thing shining on Kansas State University’s Manhattan campus. A summer project on campus wrapped up recently, unveiling a new look for several buildings.

K-State’s maintenance department in the Division of Facilities, in partnership with a stone cleaning subcontractor, professionally cleaned the limestone of several campus buildings, including King Hall, Willard Hall, Hale Library, Holton Hall, Eisenhower Hall, the English Building, Leisure Hall, Seaton Hall, the K-State Student Union and Nichols Hall.

“The process includes using normal building water — think of a hose bib on your house — and we put that water into a pressure washer, which then heats it up,” said Adam Kramer, director of Facilities maintenance. “A certain PSI is used so the limestone is not damaged, and the hot water is sprayed onto the limestone to clean it, just like anybody does pressure washing their house or driveway when it gets dirty.”

So, what’s the ‘dirt’?

Some people might look at the campus buildings and think they are just dirty. However, according to Kramer, that’s not the case. The “dirt” is actually a living organism, he said.

“That's one of the reasons we wanted to do the cleaning, because the organisms do eat some of the minerals out of the limestone,” Kramer said. “If we leave it, the organism can work its way into the limestone, and as it works its way in, then more water is absorbed into the limestone, which can also damage it. Since the limestone is porous, as it rains and gets natural water infiltration, it'll leave little pockets of water where that organism has been.”

When these pockets of water freeze over the winter, it creates bigger cracks and eventually the limestone breaks apart, he said.

Preserving pieces of campus history for future K-Staters

Kramer says the project is more than cleaning the exterior of the buildings — it is an investment into historic campus buildings that helps the university put its best foot forward.

“Preserving these historic buildings plays a crucial role in our operational excellence, enabling the university to recruit and retain faculty, staff and students.” Kramer said. “The newly cleaned buildings are positioned on the pathway for when we have prospective students and their parents visit campus.”

There was also a science to why the project started in late spring and ended in early summer.

According to Kramer, the water that was absorbed by the limestone from the cleaning had the rest of the summer to warm up and evaporate. Water in the limestone makes the buildings appear darker, so as the water evaporates, the buildings will begin to glow.

“The buildings will lighten up just in time for the start of the semester,” Kramer said.
“By the time students return, they’ll be even brighter,” he said.

 

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