Hello. I recently repointed a small hole in between a couple of bricks. I had to color the mortar to match the existing mortar. I had some left over. So instead of tossing the unused mortar I put it into a plastic bag and placed it into the freezer to be used at a later date. Has anyone ever tried doing this? What's the chance the mortar will be any good when I thaw it? Any thoughts?? Thanks much.
For it to still be good to use you will need to cover it with a damp paper towel and quick thaw it in the microwave just be use.
I find that about 10 minutes at 60% power does the job.
Wet, mixed mortar in the freezer? Here they lay bricks throughout winter and the mortar sets hard, albeit slower than normal. You should end up with a solid lump.
Powdered mortar? It needs a very dry location so that it cannot absorb moisture from the air or nearby items or it will harden in the bag.
By the way, if you used a little pigment to tint the mortar to match the existing mortar, it won't match in a few years. New mortar has portland cement and lime on the surface and looks quite white. After it has weathered it is the sand that is used that provides the colour on old mortar. Brown sand give a brown tint, white sand stays white, gray sand will look gray, etc, etc.
cement cures, and it's a chemical reaction. putting it in the freezer may slow it down, but probably won't stop it.
Freezer, so those crystals that form on my frozen food must not be water? I would not use any very old mortar, the portland cures by itself in high humidity.
No chance at all. Toss it.
Mortar, concrete, and plaster all cure by chemical reaction with the added water. This reaction releases heat; putting it in the freezer will slow it down some, but it won't stop it. The *only* way to preserve mortar is to keep it dry -- IOW, once you mix it with water, about the only things you can do with it are use it, or throw it away.
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