Mortarman

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 bio-mineralisation as being a predominate factor for success in combination 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 outperform them. 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 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, rather than 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 or 4 at least. 

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 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 pozzolanic 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. 

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. 

Red Mortar

A traditional mortar I redesigned for use in challenging environments. Its based upon old recipes and supported by research from the Venetian conservation community to control damp and salt migration. 

Materials can include brick aggregate, brick dust, quicklime, hydrated lime, grey lime, milk of lime, oxblood, iron powder, potash, sand, expanded clay aggregate, oils, resins, traditional organic additives and natural fibre reinforcement.


Black Mortar

A traditional mortar predominately seen in places where coal was mined throughout Wales and England. Its a feebly hydraulic, lightweight mortar that dries to a blue gray and pairs very effectively with blue engineering bricks.  

Materials can include different types and grades of lime and coal combined with pozzalons. Can also be bound with bitumen for a black waterproof mortar in very serious applications with virtually impervious building units such as Granite. High in gypsum content due to sulfates present in the coal or ash binding with the calcium.

Cow Muck Tanking

A simple but effective and traditional method of controlling salt migration commonly used upon chimney breasts to prevent damage and discolouration to building units and coatings. 

Materials are quicklime and cow muck with or without aggregates. 

Perlite and barley straw plaster

An formulated lime plaster that utilises new materials but in a traditional and sympathetic approach. Its very lightweight, insulative, breathable, fungicidal and has anti-bacterial properties. 

Materials can include perlite, quicklime, lime putty, hydrated lime, milk of lime, barley straw, cattle hair and pozzalons.

Lavender scented silver top coat plaster

A scented top coat that I based upon an historic Arabic Saffron infused plaster. The scent whilst present but not strong isn't the goal but rather the moth resistant properties it possesses.

Materials can include silver sand, quicklime, hydrated lime, lime putty, milk of lime, goat hair and lavender oil. 

Notes on sand and other aggrgates

You want an even mix of angular grains with no very fine content for performance and controllable strength. The fine stuff has a larger surface area so shrinks and a lot of fine materials are pozzalonic. I must admit that I could do a lot of testing on aggregates but have a tendency just to grip it and look at it. most of the time this is enough eg. a local screeding sand is a mix of sharp and grano so makes a fantastically strong mortar and is cheap as chips. Another local pit sand is sometimes so dirty I have to wash it and the range of materials present is a mixed bag, so for each application I have to order it all at once, trial a mortar and go from there. I have finally managed to convince a local supplier to provide a local red sand in the correct gauge for air limes, that's beautiful to work with but a touch anodyne for rural vernacular stonemasonry. 

This is an essential part of the craftsmanship of working with lime as even graded, washed sands will differ from batch to batch so they have to be tested every time. When using traditionally sourced aggregates this is even more important.   

Round: good coverage of binder making it potentially stronger, rolls so its more workable, moisture flows around it. Not well suited for air limes as these properties are not beneficial. Definitely not for exterior applications.

Angular: so it cracks along the edges of the grains, locks up and doesn't roll, doesn't get as well surrounded by binder but...it doesn't want to be strong nor do you want too much moisture transfer so it shrinks less and you get less laitance because the lime doesn't move through it as easily. This results in a stronger mortar with lime due to the shrinkage. But not with all hydraulic mixes. 

Grit sand is unregulated sharp sand. Usually unwashed with elements which make it unsuitable for OPC concreting. Which usually have an effect on lime mortars too, pozzalons are common, my local has coal and granite in. But you could also be getting elements that produce different crystals altogether. Varying range of sizes 0-8mm is the usual maximum. In some cases this type of sand is excellent in others it can cause major problems and fail.  

Sharp/concreting sand  is clean sand which has been washed of very fine silty materials. Then tested and graded for use with cement. Sometimes doesn't have enough fines for use with air limes so lime dust, chalk, silver or kiln dried sand should be added. Max. 4% silt. 0-4mm

Building sand is fine round grained sand of normally uniform size suitable for use with water limes and some other applications such as internal plasters but consideration for salt content must be made and excessive shrinkage can be caused due to too high a fines content which can also induce a hydraulic set as a 'pozzalon'. 0-2mm

Kiln Dried Sand is a artificially dried fine angular grained sand from a variety of sources. 0-1mm

Silver Sand is a fine angular grained sand that dries a silver grey colour from limited natural sources such as the Wirral and South Coast. The important difference with silver sand vs kiln dried is Titanium Oxide and Silica, both of which hastens the initial set. 0-1mm 

Plastering sand is a washed angular grained sand with a limited range of grain sizes specifically selected for cement and sand plasters or renders which can be suitable for some applications. 0-2mm

Trituration definition