Scribd
Upload
238 views22 pages

Lime Mortars

Lime Mortar Mixes and Ratios

Uploaded by

Adam Hardulak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
238 views22 pages

Lime Mortars

Lime Mortar Mixes and Ratios

Uploaded by

Adam Hardulak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
ioe County Council Countryside Service LIME MORTARS keep north yorkshire moving Ean This leaflet provides practical guidance on the use of soft, permeable lime mortars , which are ideal for repairing and repointing the mortar joints of old masonry and brick walls. It is essential reading for building owners, building contractors and others who are responsible for the care of an old building but do not specialise in the field. UNDERSTANDING MORTARS Before deciding to repoint a basic Understanding of the function of mortars is Fequired. Mortar is used for joining individual Units in a mass of masonry/brickwork. The final structure must have certain characteristics to function satisfactorily. It must carry the load for which it was designed, it must be durabie and it must give protection against wind, rain and frost. Mortar should develop sufficient strength and at such a rate as to be capable of withstanding the stresses to which it will be subjected during the Construction of the building and subsequently when the structure is fully loaded. it should not. however set and harden so quickly that it becomes inflexible at any stage and cannot accommodate light movement. There is normally no requirement for significant strength in the mortar of traditional masonry buildings Particularly in the re-pointing work. Mortar should be permeable in itself, both so that the quantity of free water on the face of building is reduced, thus reducing the possibility of wind-driven water penetration and so that ‘moisture evaporation is not concentrated in the masonry which may then be vulnerable to accelerated breakdown in the vicinity of the joints. Mortar should bond firmly to the units so that a tight joint is obtained through which rain will find it difficutt to penetrate. Mortar should be workable, so that the material can be applied easily and to ensure that the vertical as well as the horizontal joints can be filled. Masonry buildings rely on their mass and the interlocking of individual units for their stability and the mortar in a masonry building serves in the main to provide a bedding medium for often very irregular components filling the Voids and maintaining the wind and watertight Integrity of the building. WHY USE LIME? In traditional construction, lime is as fundamental a material as timber, stone or brick. Lime is used for making building mortar, external render, internal plaster, limewash and solid floors. Mortars made with time putty cure slowly but result in strong, yet flexible, permeable and stable building fabric. However, after cement became universally available at the end of the 19th Century, lime putty came to be seen as slow and old-fashioned, and the immediate results obtained with cement were considered superior, By the 1950s the use of lime in building Construction had virtually ceased. Although cement has undoubtedly made possible buildings which could never have been constructed with lime, cement's consistent use in the repair of old buildings has led to increasing problems, especially with damp. Both cement- and lime-based methods of Construction work effectively when properly maintained, but a hybrid of the two - solid walls with @ soft lime mortar core and hard cement pointing, for example - is doomed to eventual failure. Today the use of lime based mortars is increasing as the damage caused by the use of ‘cement in traditional construction’ and rep: techniques becomes more widely known. The Advantages of Lime over Cement Lime-based buildings expand, contract and flex with changes in temperature and moisture. The Use of lime also allows damp to be absorbed to a limited degree and then evaporate harmlessly away. Our ancestors accepted that rain and rising damp were bound to find a way into the walls of their houses, so they built them thick, and the soft, permeable mortars and renders acted as a wick to draw the moisture out again, EFFECTS OF POINTING Passage. cf moisture. Visual efRects 4 7 st Appropriate. linte mortar The stones of the wail ave visuaily pointing ailews moistave to — deminartt,as the joints ave as nano evaporate quickly and as possible. divechy . Stones remain Ary Wide, snaiiow cement pointing The wide cement pointing dominates prevents moisture escaping the wall, especially whiere ‘ribbons Snreughjonts. Moisture 1 ave Pymedt in the mortar: Fored cur through the stones which avézhen vuinevabie te Bost damage arid evesion Figure 1 Moder: construction techniques generally rely on @ cement mortar to create rigid foundations and _wals which allow a minimum of movement and restrict the passage of moisture. (Movernent in large areas of masonry is allowed by expanssion joints.) Damp is kept out of the structure by damp-proof courses, cement renders, waterproof paints and cavity walls. Althouch it might initially seem like a good idea to prevent the ingress of moisture with a hard, waterproof material such as a cement render, in practice such a rigid material cannot cope with the regular small movements of the old building: it becomes cracked (often microscopically) and water is drawn in anyway. As most of the wall surface remains covered with this waterproof layer, evaporation cannot take place and the amount of damp actually increases. lf lime-based masonry/orickwork is pointed with a cement mortar which is less permeable than the stones or bricks (most cement mortars are), then the moisture will be forced out of the wall through the blocks themselves, causing erosion in that part of the wall which is most difficult to repair. In frosty weather this leads to the rapid deterioration of both stones and bricks as the moisture in them freezes. Hard cement mortar and stone decay Where the cement pointing is harder than the stone or brick, deterioration may also be caused by the development of stress in the face of the wall. Stress arises because walls move gradually with changes in temperature and moisture content; old lime morter in the core of the wall acts like a cushion, accommodating expansion and contraction, transferring loads onto the narrow depth of the wall which has been repointed. If the stone or brick is softer than the mortar, the edges of the stone will shear and ‘spall. (In modern construction this movement is accommodated by dividing large areas of cemented masonry into panels separated by flexible joints usually filled with mastic.) Even more damage has been caused to old masonry where the joints have been made to project beyond the face of the wall with a hard band of cement strap/ribbon pointing. Not only does this look wrong, but it also provides small ledges all over the wall face which encourage moisture penetration and promote decay. Hard cement mortar and stone decay Cement pointing has often been ‘buttered’ over existing eroded joints without _ proper Preparation being made, making the joints appear much wider than they really are. These feather-thin edges tend to crack into sections and become detached from the wall, inviting rain and damp into the structure. in some ways this, helps in the preparation of the wall prior to Fepointing as poor pointing is often easier to remove, having already cracked. It can often be picked off by hand! General Principles The choice of a mortar will be influenced by the need to maintain the historic interest of the building, its structural integrity, and its appearance. From the historical perspective, repointing should be carried out using the same material as originally used, in the same proportions and to the same technique, including the same aggregate, binder and other additives unless the original specificetion Is at fault. However. it is often difficult to determine what Is ‘original’ and it is Detter to err on the side of caution. using a suitable time based mortar than to recreate mistakes made in the past. From a practical point of view. a masonry walt should 06 pointed with a carefully chosen lime mortar, which is just softer and more porous than the materia with which the walt is constructed. and the mortar should be finished flush or slightly recessed from the face of the brick or store (see Figure 1). Any problems which do occur are therefore more ikely to affect the mortar which can be repaired through periodic repainting, This is easier and cheaper than faving to replace whole areas ot masonry/brickwork. eres sy ETA YY be tm @ Ge eae © Flush pointing adjoining strap ponting on dressed coursed stone work On a purely visual note, we would all prefer to see stones/bricks than joints. A well chosen lime mortar, properiy used, wilt enhance the naturat beauty of the stones/ricks in the wail, whereas grey cement pointing will contrast with the colour of some stone/brick, dominating the appearance of the wall. Flush pointing rubble wall MORTAR INGREDIENTS Sand ‘All mortars contain a binder (such as iime oF cement, the sticky part that nardens in situ). and a filler (the bulk of the mix). All fillers are generically referred 10 as ‘the aggregate’ by specifiers, although sore builders’ merchants use the term ‘aggregate’ to describe stone chippings. Tne choice and quality of the filer or aggregate inas as profound an effect on the final mortar as the type of binder. Traditionally, filers have inciuded sand and a wide variety of other materials inciuding earth, stone dust, orick dust or rubble, reused old mortar, and crushed shells. The reuse of old mortar and other forms of caleium carbonate such as sneli and limestone has meant that morter analysis sometimes suggests a disproportionately high lime content. (Limestone and shell may be distinguished from carbonated lime under a magnifying glass, despite being chemically the same. However, lime which was adced as an aggregate or filer in the form of old, carbonated mortar cannot be distinguished, elther visually or by chemical analysis, from lime which was added as fresh lime putty when the mertar was made.) Where possible the sand and otner aggregates used in repair and restoration work should match those originally used, so that the character and historic interest of the original structure is maintained. Usually it will be sufficient to crush a sample anc examine it under a magnifying glass to icentify the size and range of particle size. However, in some cases: the conservation officer involved may require samples to be sent away for laboratory analysis. particularly if it is clear that important samoles canno! be meiched dy iocally available material. Generally, the best aggregate for ime mortar is @ well graded sand mix comprising angular particles ranging in size from large to smal (rom 6 mikimetres in diameter to dust)" in a surtable colour. This sont of sand has various names according to locality. Sand should always be ordered from a sample, not just from a description. On visiting the builders’ merchants, sand should be made available for you to examine. Do not assume that the builders’ merchants will know what you need, A suitable sand will feel gritty and ‘crunchy’ when ‘squeezed in the hand, and there should be little colour staining on your hands. Sometimes a combination of sand and ‘aggregate’ is needed to obtzin the right range of particie sizes. ‘Sharp ‘sand’ does not have enough fine particles, Sea sand should be avoided, even if described as ‘washed’, as any residual salt will cause further problems for the masonry. Various sands Mortar colours may be adjusted with pigment, but the effect often looks rather artificial; choosing the right coloured sand is always preferable. If possible, sand should be stored under cover, or at least sheeted over during rain, to keep it as dry as possible. Although not strictly an aggregate, earth can be very useful for making extremely soft mortars - such as for stone plinths in earth buildings. Subsoil should be used and sticky clays avoided. However, earth is difficult to mix in an ‘ordinary drum mixer as it tends to form balls, and may have to be mixed by hand or in a pan mixer. These ‘lime stabilised earth mortars’ tend to shrink more than conventional lime mortars. However, they are often appropriate for garden walls and barns where used originally. Line in moriow: ALCALM CARBONATE: Guawnies imestone. SS MB ait og é )> ete siige essa Se Eee = ee) imme Paty ShaninS- CALCIUM OXIDE CALCIUM JDROXIDE Quickie aor ee 080 on Figure 2. The Lime Cycle aun Lime Putty (non- hydraulic lime) Lime is produced by burning limestone (calcium, carbonate - CaCO) during which process carbon dioxide (C02) is driven off. The resulting ‘super-cdry’ material is quicklime (calcium oxide - CaQ). When mixed with water, a process called ‘slaking’, the quicklime reacts violently and the water bolls. The result Is a creamy textured slurry of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide ‘Ca(OH)2) known as lime putty, which is sieved and stored in its moist state until used. “A moro comprehensive specification for the grading of aggregates is to be found in the English Hentage Technical Handbook Volume 2 (see Recommended Reading). ‘The longer lime putty 1s stored, the better it will be as the particles of siaked time graouaily break down and any unsiaked partcies will eventually slaxe themselves during storage. When exposed to the air the lime putty makes its ‘set’. a process known as ‘oarbonating’. by re- absorbing carbon dioxide and combining with it to form: calcium carbonate once again. Thus the lime processes effectively transfer lime from rock to ouilding in a neat cycle of chemical reactions: Lime produced in this way is described as ‘non- hydraulic’ because it requires exposure te air to carbonate, and will not set under water, (The term hycraulic’ means the aoility to set under water) Non-ydrauiic lime is the form of ime which allows buildings to ‘breathe’ most easily because it is so permeable, and it is generally the mos? appropriate form to use in the repaiz of ole buildings. ‘Smaii-scaie iime staking is quite feasible. but for the majority of jobs it is more practica! to purchase commercially produced me putty. Ideally it should be bought in advance and stored for a few months before use. Hydrated Lime (non- hydraulic lime) Non-hydraulic lime is also available as dry ‘hydrated’ lime or 'bag lime’ from most builders’ ‘merchants. it is produced by slaking quicklime with @ precise amount of water so that ai! the water either combines ia the reaction or is driven off in the process. For making iime mortars this cry powder is better than nothing, but It is Inferior to properly made lime putty due to its coarse particle size and its tendency to carbonate on contact with ait from the moment it Is mace. By the time it is delivered some hydrated lime will already have turned to calcium carbonate, the proportion depending on its age. treatment and storage condition, making, its etfect on a mortar less predictable. Just as you would not grind up an old bag of cement and excect it to set, it is unreasonable to expect dry hycrated ‘ime to work effectively in a mortar if its setting properties are already exhausted. If hydrated iime is the only option it snould be obtained as fresh as possible, and soaked in clean water for a couple of days {or longer} to form a putty. However, no matter how jong itis soakea it wi never be as good as a line putty of a simiar age. and fresh'y soaked hydrated lime cannot be compared with mature lime putiy. Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) Hycraulic lime is produced in the same way as hycrated lime but from jimestene containing cay, and it sets by @ complex cherrical reaction with water, without exposure to alt. Mortars made with a hydraulic time have the advantage that they set more rapidly than those made with @ non-nydraulic fime but they are aiso harder and they can be less permeable. In the past, hydraulic lime was principally used in areas where the iocal limestone produced a naturally hydraullc lime - a feebly hydraulic lime from Totternhoe near Dunstable, for example, was widely used in London. Its ability to set rapidly and its relative haraness made it ideal for exposed conditions, and it was widely used for engineering structures until it was ultimately replaced by cement. alic Lime Some limes produced in the UK are ‘mildly’ hydraulic when fresh and one is ‘moderately' hydraulic. The strongest hydraulic limes are mainly imported from the Continent, some of which contain cement or pozzolanic additives: (see below). Hydraulic lime certainly has the potential to replace cement and it has advantages over cement in both its flexibility and, to a lesser degree, its vapour petmeability (depending on its degree of hydraulcity). From the ecological Perspective, less fuel is burnt during the manufacture of hydraulic lime as it is fired at a lower temperature than cement, and some carbon dioxide, a ‘greenhouse’ gas, is also absorbed as it sets. Nevertheless, hydraulic limes are less permeable than non-hydraulic limes, and eminently hydraulic limes can be almost as hard and impermeable as cement. Resistance to salts Soluble salts (sulphates, nitrates, chlorides) can be present in walls, they can be in the original mortar, in bricks and stones (often as a result of previous repair work), in ground water or from air bore pollutants. Some natural hydraulic limes are resistant to salts They do not contain the reactive components such as high levels of aluminium, potassium and sodium oxides and gypsum. Existing salts will therefore be allowed to migrate out of the structure without affecting the soundness of the mortar and in time be washed off. Cement ‘Cement is made by burning a mixture of chalk and clay in a series of firings, with some types having various other additives such as gypsum. Like hydraulic lime it sets under water and makes a hard impermeable mortar. ‘When those responsible for the maintenance of our older buildings became aware of the damage caused by hard cement mortars, the use of lime was gradually revived. However, common practice has been to ‘gauge’ lime mortars with a small amount of cement to provide a more rapid and slightly more durable set, particularly on very exposed buildings. Lime mortars gauged with cement are certainly less damaging to masonry than the hard cement mixes of previous decades. However, very weak cement mortars (less than 1 part cement to 3 parts lime to 12 parts aggregate) should never be used because the cement actually weakens the mortar through a process know as ‘segregation’, and even moderately strong cement mortars are significantly harder and less porous than non-hydraulic mixes. There is a risk that these mixes may damage soft stone and it is best to avoid them, Pozzolanic Additives The term 'pozzolan' derives from the volcanic ash of Pozzuoll in Italy which was used by the Romans to encourage the set of lime mortars. Today it is used to describe several materials brick dust which can be added to a non-hydreulic lime mortar to give it hydraulic properties, so that the mortar sets without exposure to carbon dioxide in the air. However, unlike cement, pozzoianic additives do not reduce the permeability of mortars, and can actually enhance it Pozzolanic materials commonly used as additives in lime mortars include the following: Crushed Brick or Tile: Brick fired at a low temperature provides probably the best pozzolanic additive of all and is widely found in old mortars. Particles of old handmade clay bricks or tiles, even flowerpots, can be ground up and used. However, their pozzolanic effect varies and some may have no pozzolanic affect at all. Crushed brick supplied specially for this purpose by a supplier of lime mortars is more reliable, although more expensive. Metakaolin and High Temperature Insulation (HTI): These highly reactive pozzolanic additives are both forms of fired china clay, which is white, so it will not add colour to the mortar, Metakaolin is readily available from morar suppliers in a form developed for the concrete industry and is most reliable. Pulverised Fuel Ash: PFA is a waste product from coal-fired power stations and, when uncontaminated by sulphates. is @ useful artificiat pozzoian. However, its dark grey colour can be a problem (unless the mortar being matched 's similariy dark in colour) Pumice: Some types of pumice imported from voicanic areas provide a natural pozzolan which is effective but excensive. Trass from Germany and Tufa from Santorini, Greece, both of which are volcanic, may be used as alternatives. Pozzolans are most usefull where deep holes need to be filled quickiy. in ne go, as thelr use avoids the need to wait for carbonation to take place before applying the next layer of mortar. They are also useful in exposed conditions where @ more rapid set is required. Although pozzolans may be useful in some conservation work. most pointing can be carried out with a simple non-hydraulic lime mortar (composed of line putty and sand oniy). Hair, Straw and Other Fibres Although used extensively in lime and earth plasters to reduce the effects of shrinkage, fibre is not usually added to mortar for pointing, as shrinkage across the relatively small area of @ masonry joint can be accommodated more easily. However, fibres such as ox hair are sometimes found in old mortars and may be used where historically appropriate. Other Additives A wide vatiety of other additives, including casein, beer and oil mastics. have been used in the past and may be revealed by analysis of original material. However, modern plasticisers. anti-freeze, air entrainers, waterproofing materiais and other additives commonly found in modern cement mortars are generally unnecessary and, in some cases, may also impair the performance of a lime mortar. PRACTICAL GUIDANCE Slaking Lime it itis decided to make lime putty on site, slaking should take place out of doors. well away from children and animals as quicklime reacts Violentiy with ail moisture {including perspiration) causing burns to the skin. It should be slaked as soon as possibie after delivery not only because it is dangerous to store, but also because it tends to slake itself in damp air and carbonate. The quickiime is best slaked in a metal container such as an old galvanised water tank or a drinking trough. A strong watertight wooden container can also be used. but plastic is not suitable as the lime gets extremely hot. Remember that quickiime boils in water - if you get @ bit in your eye, it will boil there Instead - and the dust can burn the skin. WEAR GOGGLES. You will aiso need protective clothing and gloves, and so will any onlookers. You will also need a strong stick, or better still a rake, to stir with, and something to cover the tank afterwards (see illustration) ESUIPMENT FOR StAKING aa to tan De yas Fig 3 (a) Equipment Required First make sure your tank is level, then run in clean cold water, no more than halfway up the sides. (One 25kg bag of quicklime will need approx. 40 litres of water - if in doubt, use more water), Gently tip the quicktime into the water. If using less than 2 whoie bag, be sure water does. not splash back into the remainder in the bag. The reaction may start immediately, and the lime will need to be stirred continuously to prevent caking and sticking. This stirring should continue until the lime is no longer reacting and no lumps remain (10 minutes or so). The lime may then be sieved by running through some mesh into another container to remove any particles of unburnt limestone (which will be grey) and odd bits of duff lime (which will be white). If baling out the tank and sieving by hand, itis probably better to leave the lime to cool first. Cover the tank securely to prevent anything falling in. EQUIPMENT FOR POINTING Wace he _Js, 2)

You might also like