Most historic, Victorian or earlier buildings will have been built with lime mortar which makes the pointing softer and more porous than the cement based mortars used in more modern buildings.
Suffolk Brick & Stone use only traditional natural hydraulic lime mortar, to repoint and patch repair decayed and cracked mortar joints, as moisture is able to evaporate through the mortar rather than through the bricks or stones of a building.
This means the moisture levels in the brick or stone walls do not build up, which then prevents the build-up of harmful soluble salts in the masonry – often the cause of deterioration and spalling on building fabrics.
The use of cement in repointing mixes generally causes accelerated decay, sulphate attacks and damp problems. Mortars containing lime and sand aren’t susceptible to this damage and therefore we feel these are most appropriate for long term repairs.
Suffolk Brick & Stone use traditional raking out materials and tools to create a perfect bed for the mortar to be replaced. Our trained operatives can use hand tools for small or patch areas or gun injection lime mortar systems for larger areas of pointing.
