Lime Pointing Specialists New Carden Roofing and Building

Is your property showing evidence of loose, cracked or crumbling mortar joints?

New Carden Roofing and Building offer an expert service in undertaking lime mortar brick repointing. Pointing itself is the mortar joints that hold your bricks, and repointing is the careful process of removing the front of these joints and replacing the mortar inside them.

If you hire New Carden Roofing and Building they are going to start by cleaning the joint out to provide new mortar with a firm base to hold your lime mortar in place. Their Lime Pointing Specialists take great care in the way they prepare the area for lime pointing as the lime pointing specialist doesn't want to damage the edges of the brick or stone and end up increasing the joint depth.

If your building is historic, victorian it will have been constructed with lime mortar. When working on Victorian or old properties, and restoring them to their original glory, then on these brilliant buildings they should only be repointed using lime mortar, as cement mortar can damage the house.

About Lime Mortar Brick Pointing

For those of you reading this blog post you might never look at the mortar between the bricks in your home. But, regular inspection of the structure that holds your home together is a worthwhile check, even if you just do this annually.

It is likely your pointing is porous and softer compared to cement based mortars used in modern buildings.

New Carden Roofing and Building only use traditional natural hydraulic lime mortar with the intention to patch, or repoint as well as repair cracked and decayed mortar joints. WHY? Because moisture is able to evaporate through mortar instead of the bricks or stones of the building. Using cement in repointing mixes causes damp issues, accelerated decay and sulphate attacks. Mortars that contain lime and sand are not susceptible to this damage.

New Carden Roofing and Building make sure whatever work they do that it would be more appropriate for long-term repairs. We use traditional raking out materials and tools with the intention to generate a perfect bed for the mortar that needs to be replaced.

The squad is trained in the use of hand tools for small or patch areas or gun injection lime mortar systems for larger areas of pointing. There may be times when the surface cleansing requires eliminating lime mortar deposits. In certain circumstances, cleaning with clean water and brushing the surface may be adequate to eliminate mortar deposits vigorously.

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Mortar Repointing - Recreating Original Natural Hydraulic Lime Mortar (NHL 3.5)

Lime Mortar work done by New Carden Roofing and Building involves insertion of the crafted lines of off-white, lime mortar. We tend to deal first with the lime pointing before the vertical joints are tackled in your building.

We specialise in removing cement mortar, recreating original natural hydraulic lime mortar (NHL 3.5), and repointing the property using trusted, traditional methods. Everything we do is designed to restore your home and have it looking great again.

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What is the Cost of Lime Mortar Pointing Work?

You could visit regulated trade sites that will provide the cost of Lime Mortar Pointing where these sites will show the the cost varies going from repointing costs estimated at £50 – £60 per m2, to an entire small house based on a week to repoint with raking out costs around £20 – £50 per m2.

The size of your wall and the number of walls to be completed affects the cost of repointing brick walls.

So, its going to really depend on the size of the external wall area of the house that needs repointing. It is advisable that if you are looking to use New Carden Roofing and Building as your local Lime Mortar Brick Pointing team, then our recommended first step is to invite us to your home and conduct a survey of the external brick walls. This will provide you with information you need to obtain an estimate for the costs of Lime Mortar Pointing work that is needed. Ballpark average costs from the industry if you were repointing a whole house, then for a semi-detached house expect that cost to be around £4000 and if its a Victorian Property £3000. This is why its important to get a quote from your local tradesmen.

How Will I Know My Walls Need Repointing?

With the extreme weather your home has to stand up to in Scotland your Lime Mortar will therefore erode over time. It goes without saying that most homes will need repointing eventually. The signs you need to look for that will suggest you need repointing work is that the mortar is soft and crumbly, and that your noticing damaged brickwork and holes in the mortar. You might also find a white powdery coating appearing on your bricks,

It is advisable to use a competent and experienced contractor like New Carden Roofing and Building who are lime mortar experts to come and take a look at what you have found and can give you professional feedback and a quote.

Other things to know About Repointing External Walls

Repointing a whole house can take up to 7 days or more. Your Lime Mortar Specialist is going to come armed with power tools, hammers and chisels to remove the old mortar, usually to a depth of at least 15 mm, so expect some noise. If there are extensive issues found with brickwork this is likely to result in bricks needing repaired or replaced as well.
Another important piece of information we are giving you here is - Not to Use Cement Mortar on Victorian Houses.

Cement mortar has completely different characteristics to lime mortar. It is less porous and brittle and includes extra additives that can make it completely waterproof. The majority of the time, cement mortar is harder than even the bricks it holds together – so, when the ground moves below, the bricks press against the cement. Unsurprisingly, cement mortar is also cheaper to make and doesn’t require as much skill to mould. This is why we only ever use lime mortar on your property, as it is the only material that keeps your brickwork safe and looking wonderful.

The repointing style we choose will depend on the style and type of your property and the kind of brick it was built with.

The different styles of repointing are - Flush Pointing - Tuck Pointing - Penny Roll Pointing and Weather Struck Pointing.

The Lime Mortar Repointing Process

Carefully remove the Mortar

Sample the Colours (We shall let you choose the ideal option for your home

Lime Mortar Made - this is making up the lime mortar mix that suits your bricks and apply to your home

Lime Mortar Repointing - The lime mortar is applied and after the process is complete all residue is cleaned off.

How Long Does Lime Pointing Last?

Lime mortar that is reasonably sheltered can last for hundreds of years. But focusing on buildings in Scotland and those in exposed areas to the types of varied weathering conditions, could lead a to house needing to be repointed every 50years maybe. There are factors that could cause the lime mortar around your home to decay more quickly as over time, all kinds of mortars do deteriorate.  

Lime mortars protect the masonry and stonework of the building by being the weakest link. Rather than the stonework being broken down by the harsh weather, the lime mortar is. This sacrificial relationship makes lime an amazing material.

Take into consideration where ordinary Portland cement mortar, commonly known as OPC mortar or just cement mortar isused, you will often find the face of bricks and stonework are blown off. This is because the stones and bricks are the weakest links, and therefore they will be broken down instead of the mortar.

And if you are still unsure how good the pointing work is around your home, give your local roofing and building company in Fife a call.