Lime Mortar v Sand and Cement

[dunny]

Evening all

I have a house built out of red brick in 1896 and I need to build an external section of wall where I am blocking a doorway up. The beds on the building are tiny (maybe 5mm) and the original mortar is quite a dark grey, almost charcoal. I suspect when the house was built they used lime and a coarse dark sand.

If I build this section with a dyed sand and cement (it is about 1200mm square) is this likely to cause any problems? Am I better using lime mixed with a dark grano instead of cement?

Thanks

D

 

[Wayners]

That's a technical question.
I don't know answer but I'd of thought use correct product to match

 

[stuart45]

If the beds are 5mm or less, a very fine sand would be used, as the sand particles in a coarse sand would be too large. I'd use lime mortar myself with a really fine sand. There are firms like Limebase who will match the colour for you.

Colour & Texture Matching | Limebase

Colour & Texture Matching for all types of mortar. Simply send to us and we can colour match to your specifications.

www.limebase.co.uk

 

[JohnD]

I have an idea they used soot to get a blackish mortar. I remember working in an old hotel that had light wells lined with white glazed bricks giving the appearance of tiles, with a thin black mortar joint, and I have seen black pointing on Edwardian houses.

You can still get Carbon Black as a fine powder.

 

[JohnD]

Example

Pardon our interruption...

 

[stuart45]

They often used black ash mortar in areas near the collieries.

Effect of mortar type on wall tie corrosion | Preservation Expert

Most surveyors are well aware that black-ash mortar causes wall tie corrosion. However, there are not many opportunities to see this as clearly demonstrated

www.preservationexpert.co.uk