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hi

i am going to repoint some of the stone work in my house (1860's miners cottage made of manx stone) i am going to use lime mortar, can some some one tell me what mix you use for non-hydraulic lime mortar and how you mix it as i believe this is the besr route to go down, i know some companies sell lime in tubs but this is to dear due to the extorniate shipping costs to the isle man

thanks

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hello. i have always had a liking for the idea of lime mortar but have never had an oportunity to use it. i googled the subject after reading your post and the first ten references, starting with wikipedia, proved most informative.

most of our builders merchants around here sell bags of lime. i have bought this to use as a lime-wash and i don't remember it as being particularly expensive. i assume this is slaked lime but i don't know what sort of quality it is... i suppose a phone call would clear this up.

incidentally, in the absence of enough horse or cow hair from the local tannery to bind lime render and plaster ground coat there is a company in the group that runs jewsons that produce a curled polypropelene fibre for this purpose. more details than this i cannot remember.

i suppose a length of rope and a scout troop would produce a similar result...

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The lime in the merchants is usually hydrated non hydrauilic lime, which is calcium hydroxide powder. This is normally used as an additive to cement mortar. It is basically the same as lime putty, although it is not considered as good a quality as lime putty which has been left for months, or even years to mature. Hydraulic lime is generally considered to be much better for re-pointing as non hydraulic has been found to fail many times in the past. Recent analysis of old lime mortars has shown that the mix was often 2/1 or 1 1/2 /1 sand/ lime rather than the 3/1 that many builders thought was used. It is thought that 3/1 was done by weight and not volume. If using lime putty you also have to consider the amount of water already in the lime in its volume and allow for that.

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  • 1 year later...

Most builders merchants like Jewson can get you a suitable lime. There is also free information on lime pointing and stone repairs at **SPAM REMOVED**

Ready mixed lime in tubs is more expensive but it takes out the guess work for those that are less experienced, so it could be a better bet.

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