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@@Dan_TheMedic Cheers for the props Dan! The humble tradesman is often tagged with being "thick in the ear" as we say up north. A bit of wordsmithery can explain a notion better than flapping around with work site lingo. Glad you liked the video!

@@lewisbennett2105 love it!🤣

@@JamesMcPherson-t8k Many thanks for the props James. Glad the videos have been of use to you on your project. As regards work, I'm booked up for the next couple of years so not taking on any new projects currently I'm afraid.

@@ayambaig5023 Hello my special friend. Hope you are recovering well and god has blessed you and your family. Keep up the hard work on your house build. It looks incredible. Pakistan Zindabad!

@@dportercontracting9974 . Thnx alot sir ....god bless u ...

@@MargotCottam Hi Margot, I have just returned from a weekend at a festival so it will take a day or two for my brain to arrive back in my head. A lime putty mortar on brickwork would be good to use. If the weather is more inclement at your property, then an NHL mortar may be more beneficial as the addition of Argillaceous clays add a degree of water repellency to the mix. It would be a good idea to start on your garden wall before tackling the house, until you get the feel for using the mortar.👍

Thanks so much for your reply. Trust you had a fantastic time at your festival. The reason I was hoping to use a lime putty mix is that I will not have a cement mixer/power on site. Was thinking I could mix at home and then transport the mixed mortar to site. The property is in york. Anything I could add to a putty mix to make it more water repellant or will I have to go down the nhl route. The premixed ready to use mortars are very expensive but should I maybe consider these.. Would just hire you to do the work but I am not suprised you are booked up for years to come. Thank you so much for time and advice. The more research I do the more confused I become.

@@MargotCottam Hi Margot, I'm afraid I'm not taking on any more work currently as I'm booked up for the next couple of years with the work schedule I have in front of me already.

@@dylankane7003 Hi Dylan. Thanks for the props. The other part of my mix was "6mm granite to dust"

@@dportercontracting9974 thanks for the reply much appreciated. Would it be possible to discuss how you calculate material quantities by any chance?

@@dylankane7003 Calculating quantities is a tricky part of the pricing process. I usually work on the process by using £10 of materials per square meter, then gauging the amount of mortar constituents back from that.

@@LisaCottrell-r3j Hairline cracks can be normal when you haven't sprayed down the curing mortar as often as required. When you scrape the green hard mortar off and tamp the mortar back, they disappear. The cracks only run into the fat of the curing mortar, if it has been applied suitably. Keep the mortar covered with the damp hessian after you have tamped it back for a week and all will be grand!

Good question. When constructional lime mortar is used, it is usually of a lime putty constituent. Like putty is more breathable than an NHL lime due to the absence of argillaceous clays. You would normally aim to reduce the depth of your beds to less than 25mm. If you take down or work on a well built random stone structure then you will observe the use of packers in between the joints whereas in a cementitious mortar, the joints are just gobbed up.

Cheers @skygoneblack6216 I'd be tempted to point it up if there are voids in the stonework as those voids are areas that could leach warmth from your property. If the water is gaining entry to the cavity or rubble infill then dampness could be lingering in the dark recesses. Plus, a lime pointed wall will show off the beauty of the original stonework too!

@@dportercontracting9974 hey thanks dude, may drop you a PM if that ok? Much appreciated

@@dportercontracting9974 cheers for the advice dude! I spoke the stone mason who renovated the property and did the pointing his advice was - as the inside is dry line and damp proofed, to let the stone work breath allowing moisture to escape as much as possible, just personal choice to get it done. Keep an eye on any sight of damp obviously!

Ha I guffawed at that quip there @Westmoreland348 🤣

Thanks, I learnt a lot from your videos, really appreciate them!!

DITTO!

I've made a start, at last. You DO get more confident in a couple of hours

Cheers @AspectRampage. If you are to use stones from round about site, you would be best to ensure that there is no soil on them first. Soil will create air pockets between the mortar and stone as it contracts which could blow the mortar if the soil or entrained moisture freezes.

Just done a job where I added more fine granite dust (literally, just the dust) to the mix (2:1:1 grit sand: Gdust: NHL 3.5) and it cured to a beautiful white colour, yet still showed the grey flecks of the granite under close inspection. I'm hoping to upload the vid in the next few weeks.. I'd definitely repeat the mix again for the aesthetics of the finished article.

@@dportercontracting9974 cheers pal I'll get some granite dust and whip a small batch up thanks for the advice

Hi Nick, glad to hear you are looking after the heritage properties in Oz! I'm guessing that sun shrinkage with your lime mortar will be a bigger issue for you than dealing with existing damp problems in dwellings? I charge a standard square meter price for application, plus materials, plus a standard hourly rate for breaking out. I've found that is the best way for me to cover my back on jobs.

Thanks freckle1998. The bothy is on the pilgrims route to the holy island of Iona. There is no other shelter for the next 15 miles of coastline so if you contact the owners at the farm then I'm sure they won't have an issue with folk stopping in the bothy.

When you are tamping back the finished pointing, keep tamping and you will clean off the snots. If you have finished the works then brick acid and careful application with a small brush will be a good way to remove lime stains. Just be careful not to get any on your lime mortar or it will dissolve and degrade it dramatically.

And that bloody awful front door! Why? Just why?

I haven't used lime as a plasticiser. Is it effective?

@@dportercontracting9974 - In the days before chemical plasticisers the old school brickies used to use it as an additive in cement mortar to improve workability & durability. Being a DIYer I've only ever used cement mortar on small repairs, but I have a garage to repoint & the original mortar is not just cement & sand (where not eroded, it's formed a hard calcified outer skin over a slightly softer base).

Thanks for the comment @Benzknees. The laborious task of removing the render and mortar without winding up the neighbours is quite a mission! The weep vents are specific tubes for such a job. I guess you could use the standard prep vent ones but you would have to ensure that driving rain couldn't track up and through them upon installation 👍

Great question! I usually advise to leave the finished mortar for at least a week before lighting the stove. A quicker cure, generated by the heat from the stove will cause your mortar to shrink and crack if lit sooner.

Hi there. Whether inside or out, the backpointing should, in my opinion be scraped back. When it is scraped back, the fat is removed from the surface of the backpointing. This scraping off leaves a textured finish, ready to key to the finish pointing. You can leave the backpointing for a couple of days before finish pointing to get to that green hard set. The longer left the better to be honest.

Cheers for the props matey! You'll find on old brickwork that the peeps can sometimes be a bit shy of mortar on the original construction. You'll get away with just doing a finish coat of lime mortar on the perps. There will be air behind the brickwork that can add to the carbonation process once the finish mortar is applied.

Have a watch f the video and it will explain your question my friend.

Used to use high end ones but now go for a BnQ McCulloch breaker. They come with a 12 month guarantee for £120. I make sure that they are busted within the 12 months and go and get a brand new one under the guarantee. Quids in!

Lol thanks. I'll do that then 😅

New videos should be up if the repoint later on this week. F Unfortunately, I've way too much work on at the moment to look to new horizons. Hopefully there are some stellar tradesmen that can work with lime and do buildings justice over the Irish sea.