Mortar Gun Pointing

[Anonymous]

Hi All,... has anyone had any success using a mortar gun to do any repointing ?
Conserv (https://www.lime-mortars.co.uk/lime-mortar/gunlime/nhl-3.5/calico-fine/25kg) advise using their specially formulated Gunlime mix with mortar guns.
So I've had a look on Amazon and I can buy a gun relatively inexpensively but they get mixed reviews, so was a bit unsure whether to bother or not.

Sure I know I know, I can have a go at pointing using traditional methods but I'm not very good at it and I can't afford to pay a tradesman... no one seems to want to just do some repairs they all want to do the whole house (understandable I guess)....

Any how I fancied giving it a try but wondered if anyone else had, had any success with them

all the best.

Paul.

 

[Zebra]

I remember asking a similar question on here a few years ago, and was advised against it by those who'd tried, because in order to have the mix sloppy enough to come out of the gun, it is too sloppy to be a strong mortar. A good mortar should be relatively stiff, and therefore wouldn't come out of the gun.

 

[paulc]

I've recycled mastic cartridges for injecting plasters in to small joints & cracks. Filling the tubes can get tiresome especially when the gaps are large and/or deep.

I have recollections of a guy featured on Grand Designs restoring a French chateau and having to repoint acres of stonework.... Found it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJt64LBYPDE - 14 minutes in, over 1000m² of stone work, and just the two of them.

 

[Easrow]

Good idea but flawed. I bought, tried and then returned one. They might work on cement and building sand but on lime and sharp sand it doesn't work. All it did was squeeze the water out of it and compress the mix in the gun. Back to doing it the normal way. Practice makes perfect.

 

[MatthewC]

I've recycled mastic cartridges for injecting plasters in to small joints & cracks. Filling the tubes can get tiresome especially when the gaps are large and/or deep.

I have recollections of a guy featured on Grand Designs restoring a French chateau and having to repoint acres of stonework.... Found it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJt64LBYPDE - 14 minutes in, over 1000m² of stone work, and just the two of them.

I was thinking of that too. I was concerned when I first saw it as their mix was pretty sloppy and was being used to fill quite large gaps; also I never saw them use a little pointing trowel on it so did it get compressed into the hidden spots? I wonder what state it is in now?

Matthew

 

[MikeG]

Anyone want one? I bought one 20 years ago, and for all the reasons discussed here it's only been used the once.

 

[Feltwell]

No thanks Mike, I've got one as well, it's chuffin' useless! Nice in theory but hopeless in practice.

 

[Bogart]

In concensus with others here a as pointless tool. Sounded good when I bought one about 15 yrs ago and that is where it ended. Save your money all it does is push water out and very little mortar.

 

[Anonymous]

hmmm interesting... Conserv however make stuff called gun lime "..which is designed for modern pointing guns", ah well I can only give it a go.
I'll report back with my findings, though I suspect everyone is correct. I have a brick outhouse to practice on !

 

[88v8]

If the mix is too wet it will shrink and crack as it dries, and it will be weak. You could counteract the cracking by bashing it with a churn brush over the succeeding hours and days. But that will not offset the weakness.

Our builder used one of these idiotic things when pointing the interior of our garage. The pointing cracked and a good deal fell out.
Might as well have used Royal icing, at least I could have eaten it.

Ivor

 

[DavidB]

Sure I know I know, I can have a go at pointing using traditional methods but I'm not very good at it and I can't afford to pay a tradesman... no one seems to want to just do some repairs they all want to do the whole house (understandable I guess)....

Paul.

Paul, I have done a bit of pointing in lime and I have been very pleased with the results, but I used two pointing trowels and a churn brush. Why I wouldn't use this gun....

1. The hardest and wort part for me is the removal of the old mortar. Once that is done the job is easy from there. Does the gun help with the worst part of the job?
2. You need to firmly press the mortar into the joints and a thin (finger trowel) is perfect. I bought two and cut one down for the awkward corners and vertical joints.
3. Once it is leather hard you need to hit it with a churn brush and compress the mortar. I scrape off the top surface before doing that. The gun doesn't help with that process.

Good luck trying it though. I'd be interested in the results.

 

[skier-hughes]

It looks like we all own a pointing gun, all have used it once and all have left it sitting in the shed.....................

 

[Flyfisher]

I haven't got one, but I've taken all the hints . . . . :wink:

 

[paulc]

Anyone want one? I bought one 20 years ago, and for all the reasons discussed here it's only been used the once.

I've got a little job coming soon, and one of these guns would (hopefully) be useful - I'd be more than happy to take one of someone's hands.

 

[skier-hughes]

Where are you?

 

[paulc]

Where are you?

Nestled in the sunny foothills of Norfolk :wink:

Norwich to be exact.

 

[El Greyo]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought I'd try a mortar gun with lime mortar. I had the same results - couldn't get any mortar to come out and gave up pretty quickly.

It wasn't a complete disaster though. The mortar gun came with a scoop for loading the mortar which is just the right size for loading seed into the bird feeder.

 

[MikeG]

Anyone want one? I bought one 20 years ago, and for all the reasons discussed here it's only been used the once.

I've got a little job coming soon, and one of these guns would (hopefully) be useful - I'd be more than happy to take one of someone's hands.

If you're near the Essex/ Suffolk borderlands you're more than welcome to it.

 

[skier-hughes]

Sorry I'm in staffs!