Craft · 6 pages · 12 min
How lime mortar stays softer than the brick
Lime mortar hardens slowly into a porous joint that yields and weathers before the brick does.
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From the opening
Traditional lime mortar is sand mixed with lime that hardens mainly by taking carbon dioxide from the air and turning back into calcium carbonate. The joint it makes stays more porous and less hard than a well-fired brick, so the wall's movement and wear happen in the joint. The opening covers carbonation leaves a porous joint, the joint fails before the brick, and hard repointing can spall faces.
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Inside
- Carbonation leaves a porous joint
- The joint fails before the brick
- Hard repointing can spall faces
- Hydraulic lime is less soft
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Carbonation of non-hydraulic lime mortar
- Sacrificial mortar joints in historic masonry