Old Morter

[p4o2]

I have a half a bag of morter that is in one piece. Can I grind it up and use it?

Also morter and cement; whats the difference?

[Joseph Meehan]

No, it's dead.

[roger61611]

You can grind it up and use it for things other than mortar, such as landfill, but that's probably not what you meant. From about.com:

cement: The binding element in both concrete and mortar.

concrete: A product composed of cement, sand and gravel or other coarse aggregate. When water is mixed in with this product, it activates the cement, which is the element responsible for binding the mix together to form one solid object.

mortar: A product composed of cement and sand. When water is mixed in with this product, the cement is activated. Whereas concrete can stand alone, mortar is used to hold together bricks, stones or other such components.

[TPutmann]

I bet someone forgot to put the holes in the bag and it suffocated !

[calhoun]

An important ingredient in mortar is lime.

[John Gilmer]

It's an ingredient in "lime mortar."

Often, mortar is just portand cement and sand.

(Lime mortars would "set" by drying out and then SLOWLY harden by reacting with the CO2 in the air. Portland cement hardens by reacting with water and "setting up." Portand cement is about as strong as bricks and blocks. Cracks tend to break the bricks and blocks. Lime mortar isn't as strong but does "flex" . Small cracks might not be noticed and larger movements result in the joints failing but with the bricks/blocks not being harmed.)

[calhoun]

Must be different areas use different terms. Around here Portland with sand is sand mix. It is used like concrete for pours less than 3". Have never had much luck trying to set block/brick with it since doesn't have much workability.

Masonry cement (which is Portland and lime) and sand is mortar. It is much stickier and has a longer open time.

Lime mortar is just that lime and sand (no Portland). It is used in historic restorations or when using old clay bricks. It is easy to use but is soft when set.