Question about masonry restoration

[tugboat-2]

. . . . yes I started to patch and point my 160 year old Canadian stone farmhouse many years ago, . just using regular store bought mortar mix which didn't match in colour. Before long I realized this job was much bigger than first thought. I hired a local expert who explained the absolute importance of finding and using the "original" 1856 mortar "recipe", . . for various reasons. The main one being for the same degree of expansion and contraction, . . especially in this often hot and more often extreme cold Canadian climate.

Eventually, after ripping out the old lath and plaster so I could insulate this cold house, I had to patch and point the "inside" of these two foot thick walls, . . I found lots of the original mortar had turned to dry powder and was falling away. I wondered just how much of my original store bought mortar-mix may have caused wrongful expansion and contraction and been responsible (in part at least) for this? (Lesson learned)!

I guess this portion of the topic has been well covered in the above replies, but felt I should include mine as it truly is important, . . especially where the climate can vary so drastically from summer to deep winter. Taking the easy way out, (as I did at first), can often result in substantial damage in later years.

. . CHEERS, and good luck,
. . . tug

 

[Cord]

You will regret not using mortar. You can color it and it will match and last longer and also keep water out better. I helped do a pre Civil War farm house here in he valley a few years ago. We used 4.5" grinders with 3/8 wide diamond wheels and took out all of the mortar joints and tuck pointed them all back in. The dust and grit wire out the zipper on my carhartt coat. Ed

This not necessarily true. Lime mortar is actually one of those things that they got right. Older bricks are often softer than the modern brick and as such require a softer mortar. Modern masons are using cement based mortars because the product sets up faster which allows them to set more courses in a day. Besides, the gray color is totally wrong. Also, do not use grinders on historic buildings as it's too easy to damage the bricks. Instead, use a mortar saw: AS170 Brick + Mortar Saw Yes, it's expensive, but maybe a professional tool house will let you rent it.

Menards carries a Type S Hydrated Lime which will work for your purposes. It took a little experimenting, but here's the mix design that gets pretty close to the mortar used in my 1880's home:

10 parts torpedo sand (coarser than masons sand)
3 parts type S lime
1 part white Portland cement (helps the mortar to "stick")

The mix in my house was pretty sandy so you can try reducing that amount if necessary. I'd suggest getting a couple of junk bricks and mixing up samples of mortar. I've also found that I need to pressure wash the mortar after a couple of months to help create the texture needed to match the existing weathered mortar. Lime mortars set very slow, so you must wait several months before washing it.

 

[dieselscout80]

Look up Carolina Eastern I know they have a store in Chester SC (803) 385-3117 and they sell Ag lime.