Repointing side wall

stuart45

It's mainly the sand that gives mortar it's colour. When mortar is first jointed with a metal tool it brings a cement laitance to the top and forms a weathertight skin. This is a greyish colour. Over the years on an exposed face the skin gets worn away and the colour of the sand shows more.
Looks like you are doing a good job and saving yourself a lot of cash.
Some of those bed joints are Sunday roast joint sizes.

danrv

Thanks. The lime also lightens the colour but I think I’ll stick to 5/1/1. Agree horizontals are wide. Easier to fill but the perps are very narrow in places. 

danrv

Coming on. Gone through a couple of homemade alloy pointers so will probably buy an 8 or 10mm finger trowel. 
Just doing a bit whenever free and when weather’s ok.

stuart45

Looking good. Worth getting the right tools.

danrv

stuart45 said:
I usually use a hose pipe with the mister to soak it for about 10 mins while the mix is on. Then let the surface dry.

Just wondering if this is when the mortar has set for a few hours. 
Sometimes I have to repoint in direct sunlight so need to mist over the filled beds as soon as possible.
Any more than a light spray though and the horizontals often set with a vertical ripple effect. Maybe because the gaps are wide.
Not sure what causes this and not noticeable unless close up.

stuart45

I put the mister over it before I start pointing while the mix is going round in the mixer. It looks like you might have misted it after you just finished pointing it, maybe a bit early. You need to leave it a bit longer and if you do notice it was a bit early run the jointing iron back over it. On site with cement mortar the brickwork is just left once jointed up. Maybe covered over if rain or frost is expected.

danrv

stuart45 said:

I put the mister over it before I start pointing while the mix is going round in the mixer. It looks like you might have misted it after you just finished pointing it, maybe a bit early. You need to leave it a bit longer and if you do notice it was a bit early run the jointing iron back over it. On site with cement mortar the brickwork is just left once jointed up. Maybe covered over if rain or frost is expected.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe dampening too soon. There’s no hurry when overcast but when the sun is baking the mortar after application, I fear it’s drying too quickly.
I don’t have those large hessian sheets but do mist over the finished work periodically to keep it damp.
I’ll wait a bit longer before dampening.

danrv

stuart45 said:

These are quite useful as well.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amtech-G1635-Tuck-Pointer-Trowel/dp/B00LQP3CS0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8

I think I’ll pick one of these up. There’s also sets of trowels available with varying sizes but won’t need the larger ones.
With wide beds and narrow perps, it’s tricky getting the right size but really only want one.

stuart45

That's the advantage of the Bullhorn jointers for rubbing up, as they will do tight as well as Sunday joints.

danrv

stuart45 said:

That's the advantage of the Bullhorn jointers for rubbing up, as they will do tight as well as Sunday joints.

Yes. I find it takes three tools for repointing. One for applying and the other two for shaping and finshing.
Not sure if there’s a best way but mine is three stages:
Apply mortar to the perps or beds in a single row with a flat, narrow jointer or finger trowel
Use bucket handle tool to shape the mortar
Allow to dry a little then scrape off excess with a pointing trowel