Glossary & FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Cost is important to every customer, and it should be. The cost for any property has lots of factors that come into play. Location. Accessibility to the work. What kind of material it needs (lime or cement). What kind of brick or stone we are restoring. And the labour process. For example; A property that needs an entire gable repointed in NHL lime mortar will cost considerably more than a property that only needs a dpc repointed in cement mortar.
We are not the cheapest but we try and stay competitive. We work on anything between large high-end restoration projects and small garden wall repointing jobs. We provide you with an itemised quote so you know where every penny of your investment is being spent. Additionally, we are providing you with years of knowledge and expertise, so you feel your investment is being used right.
Our work is dependent upon weather, which easily fluctuates the start date for any job. Upon accepting or signing the quote, I give you an estimated time and as we approach, I contact you with an exact date.
Yes. We offer a full 10 year warranty on all full repointing, restoration, and building jobs. This warranty can be passed along to a new buyer if you decide to sell.
Did you know?
It can be difficult to understand brickwork and its needs, below is our attempt to provide a glossary to familiarise the public with the common terms and issues of the industry.
Glossary
Calcium Oxide [CaO] or Quicklime is produced by firing Calcium Carbonate to 900° and driving off CO2. The result is a dry product that is highly reactive with water that causes very hot steam (see Calcium Hydroxide).
Calcium Hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] is produced when water is reabsorbed by Quicklime. Calcium Hydroxide has a PH of 12 (caustic!) and requires personal protection. Lime Putty (Calcium Hydroxide), is a highly plastic and workable material with molecular and free water (usually around 50%).
Carbonation commonly refers to “curing” or “setting” of lime mortar describes the chemical reaction between carbon dioxide (in the atmosphere or dissolved in rainwater) that reacts with the lime (calcium hydroxide) to create calcium carbonate. This reaction slowly moves the pH of lime from 12 to neutral depending on the rate of carbonation completed.
White deposits that form on bricks when water with dissolved salts rises to the surface. This can happen when there is too much moisture in the masonry.
Hydrated Lime refers to a form of Calcium Hydroxide that only contains molecular water, leaving a dry powder. Common names are “Hydrated Lime,” “Builders Lime,” “Mason’s Lime,” or “Bag Lime” for building.
Lime Putty is slaked lime, or calcium hydroxide, in paste form. Workable putty derives from slaking from oxide directly to a hydroxide paste.
This lime is produced by burning and slaking limestone which is quarried with a proportion of silica and trace elements. It is the silica and trace elements that when burnt, become reactive with water and will cause an initial hydraulic set of the mortar when mixed with water.
The process of removing the old mortar between the bricks or stone and replacing with a new more suitable mortar.
Slaking refers to the process of adding water to Calcium Oxide to produce Calcium Hydroxide or Calcium Hydrate. Adding water later to a hydrated bagged lime is called soaking, not slaking, as there is no longer a chemical reaction, only the addition of free water.
Similar to repointing, but tuckpointing uses a different color mortar to create a highlight over the newly installed material.