Working with Lime at this time of year

[Tom]

Hi all

We still have a lot of major patching up to do on our house outside. When I say patching up, there are some stones that need cutting out and replacing altogether and some that are already out. There is also a huge amount of repointing to be done. The good ol' BBC are forecasting 2 nights (Thursday and Friday) where the temperature is going to drop to 2 degrees. What will happen if we carry on with the work outside? Obviously the temperature isn't going to get any warmer very soon so I'm concerned about whether we should stop work or get as much done as possible. Stopping would lead to water ingress through the damaged walls but carrying on would mean....? A waste of time and money?

Jaqy

 

[tom.harrigan]

I use a thermometer and start work when the temperature is 4 degrees C and rising. As long as you finish by 4pm and cover all your work with a double layer of hessian, then you will most probably be OK. If you are particularly worried, then using a hydraulic lime, or making your mortar hydraulic with additives will probably help - the setting reaction being mildly exothermic I believe.

I confess that last Feb, I was forced to change from a 3:1 to a 8:2:1 mortar for fear of the night frosts destroying my day's work - I was building my garage from reclaimed horton stone. It was certainly below 0 several nights, but I had no problems.

Tom

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom

Thanks for your reply. I'm staggered that you could work in such low temperatures, after all I've heard about the 5 degree cutoff!! Can anyone else comment on this, as to whether it really is ok to work in low temps, please?

Covering the work in hessian is not a viable option, as we're working on the whole of the outside of the house and we have scaffolding all around it, too.

Jaqy

 

[Ushy M]

Jaqy,

We repointed the gable end of our house (replacing the cement with lime) during late January-early February this year. We decided it was a good time to do as there was scaffolding already in place while the roof was being re-thatched. It was bitterly cold during part of this time so we used hydraulic lime (also the site is high up, exposed and windy). We used double layers of hessian to cover up at night - we bought a big roll of it from Jewsons and secured it to the scaffolding with those big metal clips market stall holders use to secure tarpaulin. It worked a treat!

 

[Gervase]

It's quite possible to work throughout he year, provided you cover the work to keep frost at bay. This house was repointed in October/November last year with fat lime, and there were no problems:

The hessian was wrapped around and stapled to battens which were screwed to the wooden soffits.

 

[Tom]

Ushy

How much does a roll of hessian costly, roughly, and how big is it? Just wondering how much I'll need and how much it'll cost.

Also, where do you get the big clips from, please?

Thanks
Jaqy

 

[Gervase]

A roll 50 metres by 2 metres will cost around £40. For the clips, try Screwfix online, they'll be the cheapest.

 

[Tom]

Thank, Gervase. Not a bad price at all....I was expecting it to be a lot more! Off to chat with the builder

Thanks again
Jaqy