A retired mason set me straight on lime mortar yesterday

I was repointing a 1920s row house over on Maple Street in Columbus and this old timer, Jerry, walks up and starts watching. He said I was being too rigid with the Portland mix, that old brick needs to breathe. He had 40 years on me laying in Philadelphia and pointed out cracks forming before I even saw them. Got me thinking, how many of you still use lime putty on older structures, or is everyone on the fast setting bag mix these days?

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ray_sullivan4d ago

That line about old brick needing to breathe is the whole ballgame, and it is wild how many guys still won't hear it. I've watched the same thing happen, hairline cracks showing up a year or two after a repoint because the wall can't shed moisture and the brick starts spalling instead. Jerry spotting them before you did tracks, those guys can read a wall in about ten seconds. You got lucky running into him, most of us learn that lesson the expensive way.

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