Lime Mortar Repointing and Historic Restoration

Preservation Works Ltd.

Knowing When to Repoint

Repoint Only what needs to be repaired

Repoint When mortar is damaging the building

Repoint When mortar is cracked or deteriorated

Repoint Only after water issues have been fixed

Your home or business is a major investment and regular maintenance is critical to maintaining the value of that investment. Keep in mind that extensive repointing is done only about once every 100 years. Masonry restoration can be expensive, consider spreading the cost over a few years by repointing one or two sections at a time.

Preservation Works Ltd. specializes in lime mortar repointing. We repoint brick and stone buildings generally built before WWII with materials that are compatible and similar to the original materials used to erect the building. We use lime mortars that will not damage masonry units, will not inhibit vapor permeability, will not cause mold problems and will stand the test of time. We follow the standards of Preservation Brief 2 which is used by historic communities across the country as a standard for masonry restoration.

Mortar is the Sacrificial Element of a masonry Building. The primary purpose of mortar is to protect the masonry from the damaging effects of water, the effects of freeze-thaw cycles, natural expansion and contraction of walls, micro movements in the building and so forth. It is softer and more absorbent than the masonry and it acts to pull water away from the masonry units...that is... in ALL building systems designed before the invention of Portland Cement.

Portland Cement mortar is a material used in a modern building system and should not be used in traditional building repair. Portland can cause substantial damage to historic brick and stone buildings when used to repoint. Many conventional masons will use a premixed cement mortar that contains lime. This is not lime mortar this is cement mortar with some lime in it and it will generally cause damage to historic masonry buildings over time. Type S or Type N mortar is much harder and less vapor permeable than a pure lime mortar. Preservation Brief 2 available on the Web is a great source for better understanding different types of mortar.