Build Bright - Lime Mortar Repointing, Restoration and Repair

04/11/2024

Just a tidy up!
Repairing other peoples work...
The few days I spent on this has made the world of difference to the front of this beautiful house :)

This lovely house had previous bad repairs that stood out like a sore thumb and distracted from its beauty. I had limited time to rectify the worst areas. This involved repointing and brick resetting. On this job, I used materials from the Wi******er Lime Centre. We were able to closely colour-match

20/09/2024

It must be a September and 2 yearly thing... Actually I find it's one of the nicest times to work with lime.

The present job, the removal of a cement plinth that defaced pretty much all the bricks as expected. I was able to repair the majority of them and clean up what I could.

Due to the bricks now being very soft I used the appropriate lime mortar to compensate for this. Everyone is happy!

My next port of call was a re-visit to a beautiful Edwardian house we worked on some 2/3 years ago.

The work we had done back then looked bloody brilliant, the home owner was singing my praises . The patina of time has started to set in and the work looks set to last. Beautiful!

30/09/2022

It's been a long time since I posted here.
I should probably be answering emails...
One has worked on lots of beautiful old houses but this one is kind of super cool. It is in my home town and is 200 years old. I think it originally had another cottage on the side of it and there was another row opposite the same. The ones opposite got taken down in the 1900s to make way for a Victorian property as did the ones to the left of the house I'm working on.

The remaining Cottages nearly got taken down in the 1980s but were thankfully saved by a developer. The developers left a few scars with their modern building practices but the properties were saved from demolition.

Looking at the brickwork you can see the movement that has occurred over time with the brickwork being up and down in places. It has also had some 80s bad repairs that I feel add to the charm, they tell a story of which I am telling now. We chose to leave some of these imperfections for that reason.

However, I did take out and turn around about half a dozen bricks that had blown faces and as you can see from the photo I am in the middle of half a dozen brick repairs.

I have had to cover the work and keep it wet daily as it gets hit with the sun at about 2pm.

The house aside it is down a lovely little gravel road with just over half a dozen properties. When you work on a place for a while you get to know the neighbours and you have to. You make their life hell for a short while as you cover everything with dust and steal parking spaces. Once the nasty stuff is out the way people generally are cool and welcome a passing good morning and hello. Lots even compliment the work.

I have about 2 days left on this and a week or so curing before the final reveal. Dahm it's getting cold out :)

23/09/2021

One of the most damaged houses we have worked on.
It was labbeled the Tipeex house. This had cement slurry all over it, a cement repoint, it had been painted red and the mortar joints painted white (Not always in the right place). Lots of damaged bricks and anything else you can think of.
We have a few bits to finish and the stonework is going to be sorted out and the painting as well. 🙂 ( Yes we changed the downpipe to black)
Cheers

25/02/2021

Wall surgery currently in progress. Cement, the cancer of old buildings. You would not believe how wet this wall became when the cement was removed. It was like the building exhaling after holding its breath underwater for far too long.

18/09/2020

A lot of work has gone into this lovely house so far.
These two bays needed repointing twice in stages due to the depth of the missing mortar. They also needed bricks replacing and brick repairs.
The cavities were also cleaned out and new metal airbrick installed rather than the modern clay bricks, always a nice touch. The mortar once cured will dry a nice cinder colour.

A lot of work has gone into this lovely house so far.
These two bays needed repointing twice in stages due to the depth of the missing mortar. They also needed bricks replacing and brick repairs.
The cavities were also cleaned out and new metal airbrick installed rather than the modern clay bricks, always a nice touch. The mortar once cured will dry a nice cinder colour.

28/07/2020

A recent project I undertook with the help of Hallsworth Thatching. The replacement of two chimney pots custom made from West Meon Pottery and a deep repoint in a lovely gritty lime mortar from the Wi******er Lime Centre.

Working on a thatched roof is not something I do every day. Unlike one of my oldest and best friends from school who is a Master Thatcher and also skilled in working with lime mortars.

Between us, I must say we worked incredibly hard and long hours over a weekend and had much praise ( And food) from the surrounding neighbours.

A funny thing is Phil worked on this thatch over 25 years ago as a young man... Ha! He's 50 this year ( Like me, we were born within 24 hours of each other...

Despite the long hours, it was a total joy to work with Phil as we are both passionate about what we do and share a great sense of humour.

10/07/2020

A little update on bay one of 3.
After a good clean, the old mortar, a mix of cement and plant matter was removed. This left very deep voids that needed repointing in stages before a final cinder coloured coat could be applied. Alongside this new period, cast iron air bricks are to be fitted and some brick repairs needed to be done, hence it is not fully finished. :)

25/05/2020

These bay windows took a bit of cleaning up ready for raking out and repointing. No harsh bleaches or acids were used and they should look great when finished. Happy Bank Holiday :)

01/05/2020

I have started to view potential new projects. The email said they have a plant growing up the wall that might be causing some missing mortar...

When you get there... 😁😂😷 It's good to be back!

29/04/2020

Corona Virus 30/04/2020 Update.

After taking an initial step back from our intended work schedule for the last few weeks. We now feel we are in a position to commence work if done under strict and safe guidelines.

Please visit our website for more information

26/03/2020

A little video I put together dealing with damp issues from bridged cavities.

Old houses with damp problems-Bridged cavities. How to fix or pay me to do it. Lime mortar repointing