Pointing

[greencreeper]

My dad is having a go at doing a bit of pointing - the cement bit between bricks, just in case you were wondering. He can't get the mixture right. It goes on alright, but when hardened, it sort of crumbles. He says the sand comes out :confused: Any thoughts or top tips? What ratio should the sand and cement be in?

[Raistlin]

According to this site:

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/mortarmixes.htm

It's 1 (cement) : 3 (soft/builders sand) : 2 (lime, if required)

[greencreeper]

I think he tried 1:4 and also 1:2 :erm: Lime though - bit dangerous! I wonder why you'd need lime :scratch:

He was most upset - he'd spent ages getting it lovely and smooth and at the right angle :D

[marky]

sounds like the bricks are very absorbant and drawing out the water before the mortar has chance to go off

my friend used to wet the brick with a hose first:)

[Raistlin]

I think you only need the Lime if you need to match existing pointing.

Tell him to put some washing up liquid in the mix, it might be that he's worked it for too long and it's started to go off before he's finished.
Putting the washng up liquid in will give him more time to work with it.

It's also worth remembering that the brickwork should be wetted before applying the pointing, otherwise the bricks just soak all of the water out of the mix. <Edit: Dang, marky beat me to it :D >

There's some more good advice here:

http://www.diydata.com/techniques/brickwork/pointing/pointing.htm

[marky]

yeh but i forgot about the squirt of washing up liquid that will work wonders but not to much or you end up with porridge :)

[greencreeper]

Yeah - he tried water (lots of) and washing up liquid. Fairy anti-bacterial, though I doubt the brand has any effect :erm:

I told him to get a "professional" but he's too tight. My parents have just bought the house, so he's treating it like it's his castle :D Bless.

[Shaun]

I wonder why you'd need lime

To go in the Corona you'll need afterwards :D

[Angua]

To go in the Corona you'll need afterwards :D
Lime is for pre war brickwork especially limestone like cotswold stone.