Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Joseph Meehan" wrote:
W. Wells wrote:
I have an old house and am repointing some bricks. I would like to
know what the mixture ratio is for cement and sand. I have heard
anywhere from half and half to 3 times sand. I have to have an almost
white color so I can't use the premixed motar. What I have been
mixing ( half and half) seems to fall away when it dries. Thanks for
any help.

How old is that home? Using modern mortar on old brick can cause
damage. You may need a special mix to prevent damage.

Hmmm.... never heard that before. Can you be more specific?

It's important that the mortar not be as hard as the bricks. Old bricks
were not as hard as todays bricks, but the old mortar had much more lime
than todays mortar. If you try to use a new -0high cement mix mortar with
the old softer bricks, the faces of the bricks will start to spall off.


John
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