Greetings,

I wanted to whitewash a fence and an brick house (in lieu of [tuck/
re]pointing it). I am getting conflicting answers from Google.com on
the following questions:

A) If I purchased bags of type S mason's hydrated lime some time ago,
how long are they good for? (I purchased many bags to do a stucco job
about two years ago and then sold the property before I got around to
it). More specifically, how do I know if it has gone bad?
B) If I place the hydrated lime into water to make whitewash, how many
parts water should I add for how many parts lime (by volume)?
C) Since the lime is already hydrated, how long must I let it soak in
the water before I can use it?
D) Can I use a roller / air spray gun or not? If not, please explain.
E) How many coats will it take?
F) Will it ever REQUIRE maintenance?
G) How thick should I apply the wash?
H) How long before whitewashing should I prewet?

My answers to these questions so far a
A) I can still use it, so long as it has not clumped (*another site
said it goes bad quickly)
B) 1 part lime, 5 parts water (*I mixed some up and this is very thin,
another site said it should be about as thick as paint)
C) It must soak for at least 2 hours (*another site said at least 24
hours)
D) yes, I can use a roller or air sprayer (*another site said it must
be applied with a brush and "worked in")
E) two for the fence, three for the house (*another site said 2,
another 5)
F) no, there will NEVER be any maintenance required (unlike paint) but
it will all eventually wash away in a decade or so (*another site said
it will start to look bad after only 5 years)
G) 122 ft^2 per gallon (*another site said 600 ft^2 per gallon)
H) Prewet 10 minutes before is OK without dripping / standing water
(*another site said 12 hours before)

Since no one seems to agree I have a low degree of confidence! I
would either like a confirmation or for someone to shoot me down

Thanks,
William