On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:15:26 -0000, "Stephen Gilkes"
wrote:

I am loathe to spend any more money than I have to.

Do I really need to avoid fixing the battens to the mortar?

As suggested I'd go with a cheap SDS and drill where it's suitable
rather than trying to pick up the joints.

Plugging into the mortar will be ok as long as it's good and sound.

You could also use Gripfill (green tube) to 'glue' the battens to the
wall? I think the stuff is brilliant and for me the test for how well
something is likely to stick is how easy it is to clean off yer
fingers / tools! They also do a white version that's a bit more like
'No more nails'. It's not as 'sticky' but is low (no) odour and
surplus can be wiped off with a damp rag. I wouldn't use it for this
job though.

Forget 'no more nails' .. should have been called 'you still need to
use nails' !

Cut the batten to length and cut some spare lengths of batten to reach
across the shed to (gently) wedge the batten against the wall whilst
it's gluing.

Run a bead of Gripfill up the batten and put into place (you have time
for adjustment but it's neater to be pretty close first go). Press the
batten against the wall to spread the Gripfill and then pop in yer
'props'. 20 mins later you can remove the props to use them for the
next batch.

Stealth batten fixing . ;-)

All the best ..

T i m