On some of the older lime motared houses they used a fine pointing/grouting
portland type mix to give a fillet finish around windows and doors. When
removed it come off in longish strips and is very hard (cement mix ?) it
seems to be made with very fine sand. House in question built between
1900-1920

Anyone know what the 'mix' is ??

TIA....ttfn......Alistair

I can't say for certain, but recently I needed to set new glass into a
stone mullioned window. I made up a 3:1 mix of silver sand (labeled as
block paving sand at Wickes) and lime putty. Made it a lot easier to
get a good finish, has bonded well to the limestone masonry and so far
has proved stable.

On one occasion I also made up a mortar using building sand rather
than sharp sand (all I had to hand), and used it point in a wooden
window frame with quite satisfactory results. The usual sharp sand
lime mortar mix can be tricky with closely-jointed masonry, so I
wouldn't be afraid of trying alternatives for difficult locations.
Unlike portland cement, lime mortar can easily be knocked off if
there's a need to change it.

On Aug 13, 11:30 am, " wrote:
I can't say for certain, but recently I needed to set new glass into a
stone mullioned window. I made up a 3:1 mix of silver sand (labeled as
block paving sand at Wickes) and lime putty. Made it a lot easier to
get a good finish, has bonded well to the limestone masonry and so far
has proved stable.

On one occasion I also made up a mortar using building sand rather
than sharp sand (all I had to hand), and used it point in a wooden
window frame with quite satisfactory results. The usual sharp sand
lime mortar mix can be tricky with closely-jointed masonry, so I
wouldn't be afraid of trying alternatives for difficult locations.
Unlike portland cement, lime mortar can easily be knocked off if
there's a need to change it.

I've just mixed up a mortar that ended up about with 3.5 lime, 2 soft
sand, 6 sharp sand and 1 chalk. (It's a long story). The soft sand
and chalk has made if /very/ smooth and easy to push around ... and
the pointing hasn't fallen out since the weekend.

I wonder if the OPs fillet is made with a) hydraulic lime; b)
pozzallano's (sp?); c) Portland cement.

On Aug 13, 10:43*am, "Alistair Ross" wrote:
On some of the older lime motared houses they used a fine pointing/grouting
portland type mix to give a fillet finish around windows and doors. When
removed it come off in longish strips and is very hard (cement mix ?) it
seems to be made with very fine sand. House in question built between
1900-1920

Anyone know what the 'mix' is ??

TIA....ttfn......Alistair

It could be anything, an analysis would tell if necessary. But with
old soft bricks you'd do better with a lime based mortar, its now
known cement mortars sometimes cause various problems with these
bricks.
3:1 sand:lime is the usual mix.

NT

On 13 Aug, 10:43, "Alistair Ross" wrote:
On some of the older lime motared houses they used a fine pointing/grouting
portland type mix to give a fillet finish around windows and doors. When
removed it come off in longish strips and is very hard (cement mix ?) it
seems to be made with very fine sand. House in question built between
1900-1920

Anyone know what the 'mix' is ??

TIA....ttfn......Alistair

Dear Alistair
Not sure how you can tell if it is a Portland cement mix once it has
set
Please explain

What you describe sounds like a version of "tuck" pointing

This is usually pure lime putty and sand (open to correction here)
Chris

In article ,
writes:
On 13 Aug, 10:43, "Alistair Ross" wrote:
On some of the older lime motared houses they used a fine pointing/grouting
portland type mix to give a fillet finish around windows and doors. When
removed it come off in longish strips and is very hard (cement mix ?) it
seems to be made with very fine sand. House in question built between
1900-1920

Anyone know what the 'mix' is ??

TIA....ttfn......Alistair

Dear Alistair
Not sure how you can tell if it is a Portland cement mix once it has
set

You could test a bit. Lime once set (chalk) would fizz and
dissolve in an acid (such as vinegar or kettle descaler).
Cement also dissolves in acids, but very much more slowly.

--
Andrew Gabriel
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