lime plastering - expected costs vs gypsum

Well, thanks to all of you for the good information. When I find one of those round tuits I shall definitely give this a go. I have a feeling I might have met my match when it comes to plastering, but I dont want to remain in that state of mind unless its really necessary :)

Regards, NT

In message , John Rouse writes

The materials dearer (once you factor haulage in) and you cant chuck it on like sand & cement. Its a lot dearer in my experience. (Having done both in the course of making a living).

Well, a dust mask and a bit of care, anyway....

I doubt anyone would be able to tell. There's a lot of ponceing about and mystecism with regard to lime, usually by various bodies with vested interests in pushing their services.

Not even by reading the date on the sack?

J.B.

Crikey, you must have a good oven, you need about 1000 deg. C.

Does it have a trade name?

All my local Jewson could come up with was Linseed Oil Putty!

"It's the only sort of putty we sell, sir."

MBQ

Looks like not every Jewsons is stocking it yet. Right next to the warehouse desk in my local Jewson is stacked a pallette of tubs labelled "Bleaklows Slaked Lime Putty" if I remember rightly

Tell me where you are in the country and I'll see if I can come up with another supplier

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

What's the cost difference to a DIY-er of buying prepared lime putty or using hydrated lime to make?

J.B.

This was the Aylesbury Jewson. Do you have any opinion of

MBQ

Sort your headers out or whatever it is you need to do to keep a thread intact.

Putty is made with whiting which is a neutral filler I think although I am not sure what. I don't believe it is lime though.

I can't. This has been mentioned before. Andrew Gabriel mentioned the problem.

Not glazing putty for windows, lime putty for lime mortar etc. You can buy ready-made lime putty, or tip a bag of hydrated lime into water to get the same stuff, to all intents and purposes. I was asking about the price difference.

Chalk

Though I use Bleaklow myself as I am 12 miles away, I hear nothing but good things about Mike Wye. If he is near then use him.

I've not used Mike Wye's stuff myself but he's respected in the trade

Also in your neck of the woods

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

Thanks for the links!

MBQ

None of my business of course. I don't really want to know. Just nosey.

Question for Anna really, but also anyone else who knows the answer:

What is the "ready mixed" lime mortar you can get from people like Tilcon or RMC and how does it differ chemically from lime putty mortar? I guess it's a mixture of sand and hydrated lime, but can it be used as lime mortar in the same way as lime putty? If not, why not? I'm confused about this as all the suppliers' literature I've seen seems to assume it is going to be mixed with cement on site.

Thanks Peter

It uses hydraulic lime which is similar to cement - add water and use quickly. Mostly comes from France under St.Austier label I believe. Don't use it myself - only a few miles from the Bleaklow site which sells the authentic English non-hydraulic lime.

Yes that's right, but it's not the product I meant. From people like Tilcon and Readymix Concrete Ltd you can get bulk deliveries of wet lime/sand mortar which can be stored on site almost indefinitely (as long as it's protected from the weather). This is mixed with Portland cement before use for bricklaying - I don't think it will set without the cement, but maybe I'm wrong there. This website shows what I mean:

Peter

When the cement is added, there is just a normal cement set, with the lime acting as a plasticiser for the mix

But had the cement not been added, yes the ready mix is chemically similar to lime putty mortar - just add water -

As well as this cement ready mix, it is also possible to get two other different sorts of REAL lime ready mixes

Lime putty and sand readymix I use all the time. Comes by the bucket. Take the hard graft out of mixing, just add hair, fluff up and go

The other is hydraulic lime mortar in big hoppers. This generally gets used for newbuild

Anna

I've not heard of either of these brands which make me think that they must be hydraulic lime mortar

Just to confuse everyone, there is hydrated lime which is dried bagged putty lime

And there is hydraulic lime which is lime putty with impurities in notably silicon . Hydraulic lime always comes as a dried powder never as a putty cos one of the effects of the silicon is to make it set underwater.

Another effect is to make it set quicker

Another effect is to make the final plaster harder; a bit more like cement which is a BAD THING

There are weakly hydraulic limes and strongly hydraulic limes ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|