pointing materials & help please??

surfsister

Hiya I have a repointing job to do and am not sure what materials I need and how exactly to do it! I have bag of sand and am told to get a bag of cement. I also have the raking out tool.

Can a helpful person advise me how to mix up the pointing mortar? and any tips how to do the job plaese?

mattk35

3 Sand to 1 Cement plus water with a touch of fairy liquid in it. If you dont have a pointing tool a 8" bit of copper pipe with a bend in it will do the same job. Fill the joints up and let the mix go off a bit and then go round and tidy the jonts up.
Matt.

ormus

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/RE-POINTING.htm

hope this helps you?

surfsister

thanks both also do you add hydrated lime to aid water retention and workability?

mr_taffy_2

Id get yourself 1 of these well worth the money and saves a lot of time and mess.

Durgun-45-Mortar-Gun from screwfix.
cant post links sorry on clearance at present aswell

Canucklehead

mr_taffy wrote: »

Id get yourself 1 of these well worth the money and saves a lot of time and mess.

Durgun-45-Mortar-Gun from screwfix.
cant post links sorry on clearance at present aswell

Good evening: We have a Durgun
The key is to sieve the soft building sand to remove possible obstructors and use plasticiser in your mix.
We have used it on patio slabs, jointing stone/brickwork and as well as sealing new boiler flue openings/making good.

HTH

Canucklehead

surfsister

thanks both will look at this what is plasiciser? i have ben recommended to use lime?

SailorSam

The fairy liquid acts as a plasticier

Canucklehead

surfsister wrote: »

thanks both will look at this what is plasiciser? i have ben recommended to use lime?

Good morning: Plasticiser used in place of lime....available at all builders merchants, B&Q etc.


HTH

Canucklehead

andrew-b

For a decent ready-mixed cement that you just add water try Wickes Patch Repair and Pointing Mortar - however it is quite a grey mortar so if your trying to match up colours you may be better off with mixing your own.

Andy

nomis21

DO not use fairy liquid...! This is a no no in the building trade! Use a well known additive (febmix)
Mix using 4-1 (4 sand 1 cement)
When mixing add the plasticiser and water, your cement needs to be firm do not add to much water (it needs to be a stiff mix)
Rake out joints 10-15 mm in depth.
Clean debris n dust from joints with a brush.
Depending on the type of pointing u want either use a pointing trowel for weather pointing or jointing bar for half round pointing.
Take your time, do not rush !!! and clean all smudges.
Any smudges and stains can be cleaned with brick acid but be careful when using this.
Make sure the wall you are pointing is dry before starting.
You could use lime instead of a plasticiser but you mind find the durability and usage time of yr cement dries to fast so i would not recommend this to a first timer.
Have fun .