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A quick tip from my oldest apprentice changed my repointing mix
He told me last Tuesday to add a little hydrated lime to the mortar for an old brick wall, not for strength but for flexibility, and my corners stopped cracking this week after two months of chasing my tail. Has anyone else adjusted their mix based on a younger worker's advice, or is it just me?
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alice_palmer2025d ago
Lime makes mortar softer, sure, but softer is not the same as better. On an old brick wall that flexibility just means the mortar moves with the wall instead of holding it, so you have not fixed the cracking, you have hidden it for a few months. Those corners stopped cracking this week because the mix is still green, not because some kid solved masonry. Give it a winter and a couple of freeze thaw cycles and see how those corners look then. Half the guys chasing cracks are just chasing water and movement somewhere else in the wall, and lime will not do a thing about that.
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