A young apprentice in Kansas City asked me why we still use lime mortar on old buildings

We were repointing a 1920s brick wall downtown, mixing a small batch. He watched me add the lime, then said, 'Couldn't we just use the modern stuff? It's faster.' I explained how the old bricks are softer and need the flexible, breathable mortar to prevent cracking. His eyes lit up when he felt the difference in texture. That simple question made me remember why I got into restoration work. What's the best way you've found to explain traditional methods to new guys?

2 comments

2 Comments

kai56418d ago

Actually handing them the materials works best. I'll give a new guy a piece of old, soft brick and a chunk of hard, modern mortar. Tell him to scratch them together. When the brick gets all chewed up, it clicks. They see how the harder stuff just wins the fight and wrecks the old work. That physical proof beats any lecture from me.

blair_lewis8518d ago

Last summer in St. Louis, I had a helper who just didn't get the mix ratio. I handed him a trowel of our lime mortar and a trowel of a standard type S. Told him to slap them both on a board and come back in an hour. The type S was already a rock, ours was still workable. He came back and said, "Oh, so we can actually fix our mistakes." That hands-on test changed his whole pace for the rest of the job.