Anyone know where a Canuck can buy Lime putty or morter.

[lupinfarm2012 (WavyGlass)]

I am in Ontario,Canada...about an hour from Kingston and about one and half hours from Toronto.
Does anyone in Ontario know where I can buy Lime Putty or Mortar. The contractor who re-built my
kitchen floor this January said that there is a store in Kingston, but he didn't have the name of it.
I have tuck pointing to do outside and in ( 1960s exposed brick wall in my kitchen). The lower half
of the wall had paneling on it and I removed it ( badly damaged ) and it left a lot of holes in the mortar. Also does anyone know what I could tint the mortar with. Some of bricks are badly pitted to,
I don't want to replace them as finding a match will be difficult. I was told I could fill the small holes
with the lime mortar tinted to match the surrounding brick.

[ripfish (WavyGlass)]

Lupinfarm,
You can buy lime putty mortar from Virginia Limeworks, Lyncburg, Virgina. You can send them a sample of your mortar -- just a tablespoon or two, and they will match the color and tint the mortar. they will send you the match, and after you approve the color, you can order the mortar. They sell a natural lime putty mortar, "Mix and Go". which is easily mixed. www.Virginialimeworks.com. Ask for Ashley. I just sent her some mortar last week to approve. They will ship. 40 lb bags. If you need tips on repointing with lime putty mortar, I can help. Ripfish.

[lupinfarm2012 (WavyGlass)]

Hi Ripfish.... Thanks for the info. Wonder
What the shipping would be like to Ontario
Canada? It would be nice to get a color
Match for my existing mortar. So often I see
Repairs done to the old homes around here and
The mortar doesn't match. Infact a PO
Did some filling in of window openings
And used modern mortar. Looks bad.
My daughter says its like a pretty lady with
An ugly wart on her nose.
I will be sending in my sample for matching
Soon.

[Gothichome]

http://www.ecobuildingstore.ca/products ... rican-clay

Greenhorn, SombrEuil was kind enough to provide this link to me on OHW.

[ripfish (WavyGlass)]

Lupinfarm,
Since you mentioned inappropriate portland repointing techniques in your area, you might be interested in my experience with my 1731 historic home in Virginia. It has a brick lower story (English basement). It has about 1/3 repointing with portland mortar. If allowed to remain, it will eventually destroy the brick. It is also ugly! See the second picture below. I removed the portland (by carefully cutting a horizontal cut using a grinder with a diamond blade and chipping away with a flat chisel), then repointed with lime mortar that was color matched from Virginia Limeworks. See first picture of restored area. I am not a professional mason or restorer, just a homeowner who was interested in learning these techniques and doing some of the work myself on my home. Good luck with your project. Ripfish.

[lupinfarm2012 (WavyGlass)]

Hi Ripfish... Called a Mason supply store in Ottawa and
Was told that Lime Putty was and I quote " The English" way
Of doing it and that here in Canada we use a Restoration Mortar made
Of Portland cement Hydrated Lime and sand in a 1.1.6 ratio
It's made by King Sakrete" mind you the guy only said this I
Think because he correctly deduced that I have an English
Accent. I have phoned and emailed all over and can't find
Anyone here. My house is nothing special and has been
Abused over the years. However the re-pointing done by the PO
Is really ugly. When he covered in a window and door opening
He didn't even "Zipper in" the new brick. The restoration mason
That looked at it said it was stable so probably should be left alone.
However the cement used to do the job was all wrong and the
Not done very neatly.

[ripfish (WavyGlass)]

Hope you stick with your plan of using only pure lime mortar, without portland. Old Canadian Ontario homes are no different than old "English" homes -- PO mortar is bad for them. Shipping might be reasonable from Virginia -- talk to them on Monday. 1-434-929-8113. Another source is US Heritage Group in Chicago. They have historic sands and can match the color of most mortars. usheritage.com. I took a one-week class in 2004 to learn my basic lime mortar skills, and at the time John Spieweik was the head of the company. His number, if it hasn't changed and if he is still there, was 1-773-457-9846. John is a historic masonary specialist. Good luck. Ripfish.

[wletson]

Did you phone Ross in Belleville. He might have an idea. He's been dealing with places in that area for decades.

[lupinfarm2012 (WavyGlass)]

Hi Warren... Thanks I will, not sure I still have his phone # still.
Got a new phone since I last called him and some of the contacts
From my old phone were deleted by mistake.
Hope your family had a great Christmas

[wletson]

If you can't find his number, I likely have it in my cell phone