Flint wall restoration

Apodemus

If you are going to do it slowly over the summer, make sure you keep the working area damp and covered with sacking to stop it drying too quickly. You could use a sports bottle to keep wine and lime apart!

LadyDee

There are places where they hold courses to learn traditional crafts - I should think it would be a lovely way to learn how to do it properly. The Weald & Downland Living Museum is one such place, but I'm sure there are others.
https://www.wealddown.co.uk/courses/flint-walling-3/

FreeBear

april89 wrote: »

It's just a shame that lime is a little toxic so it's probably not wise to accompany summer evening pointing with a glass of wine!

I think you are confusing toxicity with caustic - Calcium Hydroxide (the chemical name for lime) is widely used in the food industry. In terms of toxicity, the lethal oral dose for a rat is some 7.4g per kilo. Compare this with table salt which requires a dose of 3g per kilo.


Wear a pair of rubber gloves and suitable eye protection, and you will be fine. Use a dust mask when measuring & mixing dry powders (always a good idea regardless of what the powders are).

Apodemus

FreeBear wrote: »

I think you are confusing toxicity with caustic - Calcium Hydroxide (the chemical name for lime) is widely used in the food industry. In terms of toxicity, the lethal oral dose for a rat is some 7.4g per kilo. Compare this with table salt which requires a dose of 3g per kilo.

...or compare it with the LD50 in older rats of the ethanol in your wine, which is about 7.0 g/kg when taken orally!

april89

Thanks all, does that mean doing any pointing in the evening is likely to be better for it so it is cooler overnight or does it need much longer term protection with the sacking?

Re: having an occasional drink, I might still go for the sports bottle. I think I had confused toxicity was causticity but consuming lime still doesn't sound appetising. Alcohol and chocolate may be poisons but I've done a personal risk assessment for those.

and LadyDee, thanks for the link. That looks really interesting. I'll have a look around to see if I can find anything this spring!

Apodemus

You should really let new pointing have about three days protection to set properly - chemically it takes time for the CaO to absorb CO2 from the air and become CaCO3 (aka limestone) and should remain damp long enough for this to happen. Simply laying some sacking (or polythene if you must) over and misting with water will help.

PasturesNew

I'd google for workshops .... and go and learn and do it myself over the next 2-3 years.

Googling, here's the sort of thing, just to show it "is available" at least. Then you just have to work out where it might be available, for how much etc.

http://www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/caught-knapping/