Repointing sandstone wall

[str]

Right, now thta I have, unfortunately, a bit of time on my hands and the weathers hopefully a bit drier, going to get round to repointing my sandstaone garden walls.

planning to use a lime mix mortar - am I right in thinking the mix should be 6 sand, 1 lime & 1 cement? Also, what type of sand should I use?

 

[noseall]

The mix sounds ok. Use building sand or soft sand as it is sometimes known.

Always thoroughly wet the area to re-pointed first even if it means letting the excess dry a little prior to pointing.

 

[str]

cheers noseall

re wetting down the joints, would using a wet brush be enough?

also, any rule of thumb of how far the deep the mortar should be? should i take it to the face of the stone or leave it a little recessed?

 

[Bara]

Myself and a local stonemason have not long since finished building a sandstone wall where we used 2.5 buckets sand 2.5 buckets gritty sand 1 bucket lime and .5 bag of cement. Once the mortar has gone off some, we wire brushed the joints so as to just show the edge of the stone and it looks very well.

Do not try to brush the joints if they are still to moist as you will smear the mortar and leave unsightly marks on the stone likewise do not leave it to go off as it will not wont to even see the brush
All the best.

Bara