"Christian McArdle" wrote in message . net...
Toby wrote:

As this place will get sold within 5 years, I think I'll just give
the facade a scrub; this should give the mortar a fresher appearance
so may
pass a casual inspection.

I've been warned not to do that as the bricks tend to become absorbent
and turn green. The accumulated muck keeps the water out apparently.

I've used 1:1:6 mix on small jobs such as window
reveals and it seems to have performed just fine.

If I understood it right it works but is weak, and will fail early.
Consider that decent cement or lime mixes should last over 50 years at
least. So 'early' might not be such a big problem.

I gather the best mix is lime and sand plus a pozzolan. Brick dust is
a pozzolan, I dont remember what the others are.


On the flip side, lime mortar houses circa 1900 are great for putting
holes in, as easy as Lego.

You've got to be joking! My 1909 house is terrible for putting holes in. The
mortar and brick are so soft, it is hard to drill anything without whole
bricks disintegrating.

I wonder if you have undercooked bricks, rejects. Old bricks are soft,
but they shouldnt be that bad. Usually the rejects were used on the
inner layer of wall, so Vic houses tend to look a right eyesore if the
plaster's stripped off, with broken, misshapen, burnt and undercooked
bricks galore. Perhaps an inexperienced builder was involved. Who
knows.


Regards, NT