On-site milling and supply of bespoke traditional style mortars, concretes and plasters prepared using traditional materials and designed to suit each application with superior workablility and performance to mass produced lime mortars

£100/two hours £250/half day £350/day

Approx. production 100kg+/500kg+/1000kg+

There is an option for bulk production of plasters on site that can be incredibly cost effective; this requires a lot of space but 25-30 ton batches could be produced for approx. £3500-4000 and would be far superior plaster to lime supplier produced.

Materials can be supplied by the client or by myself with the provision of a materials payment

Matching local materials can usually be sourced. Genuine lime inclusions or any other aesthetic detailing can also be discussed and specified. Mortars can be produced to specification or function. 

Lime mortar is mineralisation, this can be achieved by a variety if methods; hydration, bacteria and fungi. As far as I am aware no lime supplier takes into consideration the latter two methods resulting in fairly basic mortars which are more difficult to work with and lower performing than they could be. I suspect that the majority of our current air lime problems stem from this fact and the successes too. All of my own experiences certainly point towards biomineralisation as being a predominate factor for success in cimbination with a more comprehensive understanding of the variables that effect the mortar and its ongoing performance. To be blunt, there are a lot of people with extensive experience on the tools and a lot of lime suppliers with 'experts' but very few are both. This allows me to tailor my mortars for application and performance to a much higher standard. Eg. my pointing mortars are very clean to work with, have little to no wastage and require almost no aftercare because, simply put that makes me more money. A lime supplier will produce whatever is the most profitable and a craftsperson may be unaware of the scope of what can be achieved with lime.    

My mortars are incomparable to the mass produced 1:3 lime:sand ones sold by lime suppliers, Those are fine for most applications but mine have increased functionality and they far outperform them. Can I prove it? not pragmatically and without excessive cost but if you understand a little of the science below then I don't need to. Eg. my pointing mortars are based on stiff paste rather than a loose putty and I use traditional additives and materials rather than things like polypropylene fibres which are only beneficial to the producer and are outperformed by the natural alternatives in both pore size and distribution and in compressive strength. Only the tensile strength is improved but lime autogenously repairs cracks and its supposed to be sacrificial anyway. The reason no-one uses very complicated lime mortars is that it's bloody hard work calculating all the variables and very labour intensive to produce them, with skilled workers, not because they aren't better or the materials are unavailable. 

My mortars are designed for use by myself, NOT for profit, so will most likely save clients money from reduced labour that more than counteracts the increased material costs. Eg. stiffer pointing mortars that can withstand more adverse weather conditions. Quicker, cleaner and easier to install. Produce less waste and cleaning. Require less aftercare. Eg. Repointing in winter means little to no pre-wetting and no hessian covering with potentially only two wet downs per week for as little as a fortnight as case hardening and even carbonation can occur very, very quickly when the mortar is prepared using more traditional methods. 3 days to achive 75% calcite formation. So quicker than most cement mortars, nevermind other lime mortars. People find this hard to believe...I didn't discover how to do this, I found it in a paper produced over a decade ago. On Google. One of the methods anyway, there are 3/4, at least. 

I research the science behind each of my mixes, cross reference it with historic references and then apply it. I by no means have a comprehensive understanding but rather understand enough of the results of other peoples research to know how to practically and pragmatically apply that data to improve and restore a structures original functionality. Whilst erring on the side of caution rather than over engineering so any unanticipated consequences don't have detrimental effects. 

My goal is to utilise the knowledge available to produce superior mortars whose performance is understood intrinsically and outperform the original with no detrimental effect. My hope is that the industry will come to the conclusion that the eventual goal of building software which can model ANY combination of binders, aggregates and additives should be our collective goal. There is a current project for digitally mapping crystal growth underway in a University in the North of England which I hope can pave the way forward for this. I also hope that the information gleaned from this can help with increasing the longevity of stonemasonry. This is in relation to the weathering that occurs when the quarry sap evaporates from the stone creating a hardened crust. This I believe is liquid silicates, nitrates etc which hopefully can be reproduced. As well as beneficial bacteria and fungi.

My red mortar is specified to set at least four times, by chemical, organic and mechanical action. The protein present in the blood that gets separated out by the lime during the slaking process that acts as a natural collagen based proteinaceous glue. It also has a feebly hydraulic set from the pozzalonic materials present followed by carbonation from the lime. The potash contains potassium which contributes to producing ettringite which has two sets as well, initial and then it also autogenously repairs cracks and cavities throughout its lifespan. The potassium present in the potash and blood reacts with the silicate content of the aggregates producing an effect similar to that of a mineral silicate paint, silicification, creating a better bond that reacts with the lime content of both the mortar and the building units producing a far more durable mortar. The ash also contains sulfates which bind with the calcium and produce a small amount of gypsum, which sets faster and stronger than the lime. The oxblood contains phosphate ions which in conjunction with the lime will form carbonated hydroxyapatite crystals. As well as enhancing a lot of other chemical functions. The blood and ash also contain carbonic acid which carbon seeds the mortar. The oil and some of the other materials are utilised to create an effective balance of pores of the correct size range and to provide salt and water resistance primarily through saponification utilising the potassium carbonate from the potash. Which also aids the initial set. The oils must also be precipitated by the use of sea water or another source of salt, usually naturally occuring sources such as potash and blood. The specific order, materials and methodology of mixing are important as something as simple as the blood not being fresh will lessen its effectiveness as would allowing it to cool down too long prior to use. If the lime doesn't reach temperature or if the oil is introduced at the incorrect time it can hinder its functionality rather than improve it too. Using tap water. Not soaking the wood ash. Using iron filings instead of powder. Inaccurate gauging: 1% linseed oil is good, 3% is bad. Raw linseed oil is good but double boiled isn't. Etc, etc...variables. I haven't gone into detail about biomineralisation and promotion of, but suffice to say that is a major factor. More information on this can currently be found on the Chemistry and Biology page.  

All mixes can and should fall under the purview of restoring the original fabric within the remit of the current listed building legislation. 

I'm very sorry but samples are only purchasable in approx. 100kg batches for the majority of cases because of the nature of production and minimum purchase orders for most materials.    

Training and consultation services are also available.