I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...

The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...

The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?


Do a few differing sand/cement mixes,make notes when mixing them, let
them dry, and see which is the closest colour.
Try anything from 3 sand/ 1 cement to 8 sand 1 cement.
A typical mortar for pointing would be around 6/1.
Alan.
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To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

It happens that A.Lee formulated :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...

The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?


Do a few differing sand/cement mixes,make notes when mixing them, let
them dry, and see which is the closest colour.
Try anything from 3 sand/ 1 cement to 8 sand 1 cement.
A typical mortar for pointing would be around 6/1.
Alan.

Thanks Alan - I was more curious about how the sand colour affects the
final dried mortar colour. Our local building supply co seem to usually
have a pale yellow and a dark orange colour. Can the sand colour be
ignored?

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

It happens that A.Lee formulated :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...
The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?
Do a few differing sand/cement mixes,make notes when mixing them, let
them dry, and see which is the closest colour.
Try anything from 3 sand/ 1 cement to 8 sand 1 cement.
A typical mortar for pointing would be around 6/1.

I was more curious about how the sand colour affects the
final dried mortar colour. Our local building supply co seem to usually
have a pale yellow and a dark orange colour. Can the sand colour be
ignored?

Building sand is always a dark red colour here in the Midlands, maybe it
is a different colour in other parts of the Country where it is sourced
from different quarries.
Sharp sand is a yellowish colour here (though it does change from
different suppliers,and definitely has differening consistencies), but
is not usually used for bricklaying/pointing as it has too many bits of
small gravel in it, it is usually used for concrete, or laying slabs.

You need building sand. You dont say how old the building is, older
buildings used a lime mortar (it flakes away really easily when old),
though it is OK to use cement/sand for pointing, so long as the mixture
isnt too strong - 6/1 would be fine.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

there's a house near here with pointing in the wrong colour - it looks bad..

does pointing mortar keep it's colour
or is it slowly bleached over the years?

it's a thing to be experimented in a hidden place
before starting on the building..

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:18:57 +0100, Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...

The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?

The sand you want is a grey colour.

I used the wrong one last year for some pointing so it gets chipped
out this year and replaced.

On 30 Apr, 05:50, EricP wrote:
On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:18:57 +0100, Harry Bloomfield

wrote:
I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...

The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?

The sand you want is a grey colour.

I used the wrong one last year for some pointing so it gets chipped
out this year and replaced.


When building our extension last year the builder pointed out that the
original motar was a very light, almost grey colour (house built circa
1939).

He got some special sand from "Tarmac" small bag to test and then
large bags for build. The sand was a yellow colour but when mixed with
standard cement came down to a much lighter colour. We were very
pleased with the colour match, which helped maintain the correct look
of the house.

I'd say the motar had faded on different sides of the house in the
same way the bricks had.

HTH

Marc

"A.Lee" wrote in message
...
Harry Bloomfield wrote:

It happens that A.Lee formulated :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I have some pointing to do soon, a few selected areas...
The existing mortar which I need to match is a light grey colour. How
do I go about finding a reasonable match for the existing mortar
please?
Do a few differing sand/cement mixes,make notes when mixing them, let
them dry, and see which is the closest colour.
Try anything from 3 sand/ 1 cement to 8 sand 1 cement.
A typical mortar for pointing would be around 6/1.

I was more curious about how the sand colour affects the
final dried mortar colour. Our local building supply co seem to usually
have a pale yellow and a dark orange colour. Can the sand colour be
ignored?

Building sand is always a dark red colour here in the Midlands, maybe it
is a different colour in other parts of the Country where it is sourced
from different quarries.


Locally our sand is light yellow - dredged.

However for my build I bought Lime Pit sand ... graded pit sand which is
very fine and light brown in colour, I had Lime mix as it is self healing
for cracks, plus easier to work with.

The colour of sand does make a big difference as does the cement ... if you
need a really light colour then use snowcrete cement.