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    • Lime

    Portland cement has been the most common type of cement for about a hundred and fifty years. Cement is the key ingredient in concrete and mortar. Lime is a more traditional 'binder' then OPC (ordinary portland cement) and has the following key advantages -

  • Not as brittle - this allows for slight movement
  • Breathable - porous structure that wicks water away
  • Environmental - production uses less energy
  • Environmental - absorbs CO2 as it sets
  • Sustainable - allows masonry to be recycled when the building comes to the end of its life
  • Masonary Friendly - Mortar should be softer then the surrounding stone/bricks as frost damage or thermal expansion should damage the mortar rather then the masonary

    • I'll add more to this section later. For now, here are some useful and informative links-

  • ty-mawr Lime
  • Wikipedia: Lime Mortar
  • Lime Technology
  • A Conservation Engineer's View Of Lime Mortar



    • Lime samples

    Lime colour samples - different types of sand, result in a different coloured mortars



    Also see info about my stonework