Refreshing pointing..what to use

As you can see from the images the front window wall needs repointing. I have removed most of the paint from the top 4 layers of brick which I may leave exposed. The lower half is proving to be very stubborn to remove so I will scrape and remove as much as possible and repaint black. Ive heard that the common cement pointing method maybe incorrect. Is it better to use a lime mix of sorts?

Also the window sill is also crumbling and the plan is to rebuild this and then repaint (black). Is it regular exterior black paint to use or bitumen paint

many thanks

What a shame! It's probably the paint that would have caused the sill to fail in the first place and it's a shame it has been repaired with cement -maybe an earlier issue to investigate. The problem with these old buildings (and worse, modern ones in the future) is water needs to be able to evaporate away. Careful with the stripping. A cold jet washer with paint stripper will rip the stone to bits. I normally DIY but got professionals in for paint stripping - it is so messy and horrible, ant they have better kit. If you must paint the stone sill then use breathable paint. I did a little experimenting with the stonework I have that was ruined by waterproof paint. You can mix up lime with sand and might quite a good match given lime and experimentation.

For the bricks you might notice in the photo the paint has failed at the mortar lines. That happens because it is the mortar that carries water away from the wall. It will be soaking wet behind bubbling paint. A lot of that water comes from inside - people seem to want to breathe, they cook, and tenants are really bad for drying clothes inside. Lime mortar is necessary again - if you use cement the wet wall will push it off when it freezes in the winter. Once again any paint needs to be breathable or the work you are doing will need to be repeated in 5 years not 100 years.

Can't see much need for repointing in the wall. Looks good to me, though has someone chugged a bit of cement into the wall in the past? Should be falling out by now.

Thanks.

I haven't removed the mortar between the bricks yet. It is crumbling, and there is a fair amount to remove.

I will be scraping it out by hand and manual tools. (No jet washer at all)

As Malcolm says, repoint with lime, NHL 3.5 (available from Travis Perkins, may have to order) and sharp sand, not soft.
Or for a small qty, easier to order from Mike Wye or Ty Mawr.
https://www.mikewye.co.uk/product/lime-mortar/
Vacuum out all the dust before you start.

How to
https://www.mikewye.co.uk/guidesheets/lime-pointing/

I'd repair the sill with lime and stone dust, but then I already have lime and there is a stone yard down the lane. Call Mike Wye and ask their advice about the right stuff. What is the sill, looks like sandstone?

For painting the sill with conventional paint, would start with an alkali-resist primer.
https://www.johnstonestrade.com/product/alkali-resisting-primer otherwise the paint will blow off again.

Indeed would be better with a breathable paint, variety here, and a great screed about them.
http://cornishlime.co.uk/information/breathable-paints-explained/ in which case you can omit the alkali-resist.

If south facing, prefer to be white or cream than black. The sun is a great destroyer of dark colours.
Cream sill, white windows, for example, would look OK.

For stripping the brick, these people will sell you the right stuff, but it is messy.
https://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/how-to/
Could paint that nice little iron vent with black gloss.

Good to be having a go at things.

Ivor

88v8 said:

I'd repair the sill with lime and stone dust, but then I already have lime and there is a stone yard down the lane. Call Mike Wye and ask their advice about the right stuff. What is the sill, looks like sandstone?

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No idea what the sill is made from. But I'll use the nhl 3.5 lime and stone dust rebuild the sill and paint over with breathable paint

Enjoying the project btw

Dot99 said:

I'll use the nhl 3.5 lime and stone dust

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Shop around for your lime - I found that even after including shipping, it was cheaper to buy NHL3.5 from someone like Mike Wye. Local builders merchant quoted me nearly £30 for a bag :shock:

Travis Perkins is usually around £18 cash, less if you have an account...