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Can anyone give me a steer as to the right mix for repointing the front of my house, which is soft red brick? I've been told it should be 3 parts sharp sand to 1 part lime (either lime putty or NHL 2). Does that sound right? Thanks.

Thanks. Yes, I actually spoke to them a couple of days ago after someone else put that link in this thread. They agreed it's not accurate to describe a mortar containing cement and lime as 'lime mortar'.

Thanks. That's good advice. I'll try to find someone who specialises in old buildings.

They've stopped work but it's blown up into an argument. They argue that I should have specified I wanted hydraulic lime, and that their mix containing cement and lime can be described as a 'lime mortar'. I've said I need to get an independent opinion - either a trader or a surveyor - before...

Thanks. That's really helpful.

Thanks again for your advice. Another quick question... Can they justify referring to cement mortar with a lime additive as 'lime mortar'? The comments by sxturbo and ^woody^ suggest they can't. Just checking I'm reading you correctly.

Again, thanks for your replies - very helpful. The reason for getting the red bricks repointed is that the front of the house had been patched here and there and then painted several times. Various types of fillers had been used. It was a bit of a mess.

This is the only picture I've got of the brickwork on the front of the house after the original mortar had been removed and before they repointed it. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NL_QMWLs81B_d0EapIeshfDu4sQKUEpr/view?usp=sharing

This is a picture of the back, where they've replaced some bricks (the dustier-looking ones are the ones they've put in). As you can see, they've started repointing. Can you see from this picture? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l-uVm8h9HjWXPMzNVe1uurs9WXLuGO6K/view?usp=sharing

I've spoken to the builders and they say they use a mixture of lime and cement (not just cement) in the mortar.

The house was built between 1881 and 1891, probably around 1888.

Where the builders have left their materials, well as the bags of cement there are 2 types of sand - building sand and plastering sand. Is there any problem with using either of those?

These are a couple of pictures. I took the picture of the red bricks, which are on the front, a few weeks ago. The builders have now completely repointed the front of the house. On the back, they've mainly been replacing damaged bricks and haven't done much of the repointing yet...

Hi. Thanks for your replies. I'm in London. The bricks on the front of my house are red. The bricks on the back are yellow London stock.

Hi. I'm getting the brickwork on my Victorian terrace house repointed. Before the builders started, I asked what type of mortar they use. They told me lime mortar. But they're using Portland cement. A couple of people have told me cement mortar is fine for brick. But I thought that's what you...

Hi. I'm trying to plumb in a period radiator. I've used 3/4" x 1/2" reducers to make modern valves fit. It leaks around the reducers, where they screw into the radiator. I used PTFE tape around the threads but perhaps that's not enough. Would a good helping of jointing compound do it? Or should...

Yes, not sure that would look right.

The reason I don't want to stand it on the floor is that it's too short – only 40cm high.

Great. Thanks. That's very helpful. I'll upload a pic when I'm done.

I've got a small, old-fashioned cast iron radiator that I want to fit. It's only 55cm wide by 40cm tall. So it's too short to stand on feet on the floor – but it's still very heavy. What would you use to fix it to the wall?