Needs to reach one hundred degrees before it reaches the minimum slaking temperature.

powder, lump or kibble?

@@michaeljamesdesign Powder

@@2BeefHair there aren't any lumps to mature in powder so you can probably use it after a few weeks. The longer you leave it the more the lime breaks down.

@@michaeljamesdesign Thanks Michael. Wasn’t sure if it was a usability i.e textural issue or a chemistry issue. Cheers.

No but Nigel Copsey has. He's on youtube.

The brown lime plaster may even be earth/lime. There's still some around. CL70 is fine but you'll have to be careful slaking it as it's usually got a slow burn to it so you can easily drown it. Never buy premixed NHL because that's the dog shit stuff. NHL5 mixed with cement is just really bad. They don't need any cement whatsoever. "This guy" 😂😇 Ha ha!!

You guys must have access to quicklime out there though as it's used by farmers to condition soil. www.mlc.com/products/quicklime/ It's probably miles away from you but anyone who can get quicklime in 25kg bags or even buy it in bulk bags and containerise it has a viable business.

@michaeljamesdesign negative goodsir. They used pulverized garden lime. Aka. Crushed limestone. Non hydraulic and non-reactive. Quicklime is considered hazardous. And, was nearly impossible to order anything over around 1kg from an industrial supply storehouse. Until a new restoration importer opened up shop last year allowing us access to quantity weight of kibble (quicklime) and even 30 yr aged lime putty from Italy! Woohoo. Guess im back to buying kilos again, only never thought it would be of the masonry kind.... guess prison didn't teach me anything the last time.... lmao

@@IannoneBuilding There us one more possibility and that's to do what we used to do which is to build a small kiln in your yard and burn some limestone. Nigel Copsey has had some success with home kilning.

@michaeljamesdesign ive actually attempted to fire limestone four times. On the last time, I reached the nearly 2800 degree mark for an hour and was so excited.... but, I noticed when I finally unloaded my lime a strange sulfur smell and knew something was wrong... but, i tested it anyways... taking a small amount and adding a drop of water... no reaction. I thought what the hell now!?! Then, I had a random thought of that sulfur smell... and, I quickly googled the formula for gypsum.... and, wouldn't you know, the fine 100% all natural high purity calcium chalk I used, was not actually chalk, but gypsum! I was devastated because firing large quantities of the fine powdered garden lime proved troublesome as to obtain the temp supplemental air is required (for a small campfire sized pit), and with powder, poof, gone like a fart in the wind. Second attempt, I welded a contraption that solved the blowing away issue, but instead ended up with so much ash, charcoal, and foreign matter in the end product it was useless.... and, the metal surround reduced the amount of heat exposure to the lime. Attempt three, adjusted my contraption, solved the debris problem, but couldn't get high enough temp for long enough due to wet wood. And then I switched to chalk because It was much easier to handle, lacked the problem of blowing away and even if debris got in, the chalk pieces were easy enough to remove. Just a little post fire sorting party. Lol. 🥳. And, I the stage was set, had dry wood, charcoal for the bottom, and an open enclosure. The flame was white, the chalk was glowing, which made me smile as you know when you've got the good stuff when your limestone glows luminescent usually. So, i was excited as a pig in shit, even recorded the whole process post-glow. So, you get 20 mins of me explaining and with a child like Gettiness. And, then, no sizzle... cue insane cussing rant of epic proportions at 5am, in suburbia, and....that video was erased from existence out of utter shame and devastation. Lmao. So, it's a work in progress, plan on trying again when I can get my hands on enough free limestone or "real" chalk!

Thanks for the comment John. There's a saying that a good example of pointing looks like a bad example of plastering. There's a lot of truth in that. Although most of it is gone, there used to be many examples of a half and half pointing/rendering way of partly covering stone. It was sooooooooooooooooo rustic and appealing to look at. It really resonated with the senses. I find that as these older properties age and become more dilapidated because of lack of essential maintenance (mainly in the south of England) that I'm now forced to knock back much of the friable stone. The result is this semi-rendered finish. Looks lovely. Takes a bit of skill and know how but as long as there's a combination of stone and lime mortar showing it's very aesthetic.

Yes. More lime with kibble or lump.

Nigel is very accommodating as far as his help is concerned.

But if you've got a good lime mortar then there'll be no need for Stormdry. You've got to look at the use of old buildings. Many of them were used to store food products. For example, mill barns where flour and grain was stored. These large lime and earth mortar built storage units would be located close to the river because that's where the mill was. If flour gets damp then it goes rank. If grain gets wet then it gets moldy and people starve. That's why lime had to work. There's just as much need for Stormdry now as there was then.

That's good. But what you have to bear in mind is that recessed mortar means there's less of it to pull moisture away from the stone or brickwork. The result is that harmful salts have a longer dwell time which means that stone erosion is speeded up. It also means that moisture hangs around longer. The upshot of this is that the freeze/thaw cycle has more of an impact in winter so weathering is accelerated. Jus' sayin'.

In what respect?

@michaeljamesdesign is it any good. Would you use it and if so why

@@leemills1357 I've used it but only for colour. It's just the same as all the rest.

​@@michaeljamesdesignbecause it makes a cream mortar?

@@leemills1357 This is the kind of subject your supplier should be telling you. It's made with argillaceous rock so this will always influnece colour in the direction of grey. Respectfully, you really should be in dialogue with your retailer. What do they say?

You know, soon after I made the comment about there not being a compressive strength figure for hot mixed mortar I remembered that there are actually figures. What we don't know is how they differ because of all the sands and pretty much everyone adds some kind of pozzolan even if it's just a colloidal sand. And there did actually used to be and NHL1 and Singleton Birch tried to roll one out but there was little demand. Gerrard Lynch has made some in his home kiln as well. Thanks for the comment and the figures, much appreciated. Keep 'em coming.

@@michaeljamesdesign No worries. Btw I’ve just been doing a load of plastering onto laths using quicklime and hair scratch and float coats. I’m finding it’s very prone to shrinking and cracking compared to when plastering onto bare brick and been having to float out the cracks every day until it carbonates which has took many days into weeks. Would an NHL have set quicker and been less prone to cracking do you think?

@@2BeefHair How long did you spend wetting the lath?

@@michaeljamesdesign I sprayed the lath 2-3 times periodically before starting.

@@2BeefHair A couple of times isn't really enough. I'll spray brickwork 3 or 4 times but lath needs a lot more. Do it a few times the day before then drench it and soak it before you apply. But trowelling out cracks is all part of quicklime. It'll always shrink more than NHL as it's got more lime. Hence it can be more expensive.

It varies depending on the circumstances. I use lots of different suppliers.

@@michaeljamesdesign how do you work out how much pozz

@@Jameschris18819 Like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnK5apd9mLukb5Y

There was never any prevention. Hardward just rusted. However, not very much. People now use galvanised steel where they can.

Indeed. Dip 'em before you put 'em down.

Questions: what's the weather like and with what were the units originally pointed.

@@michaeljamesdesignThe summer gets up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, wet mostly, winters go to 20 below zero Fahrenheit at max now, used to be colder and more snow.

The units were laid in a lime mortar and fine sand, they didn’t have Portland cement here when it was built. It’s very soft.

And they won't have the vapour permeability of lime. Add in your perlite, hemp or pumice and you'll have a superior product which can be tradtionally lime washed.

@@michaeljamesdesignThe lime wash acts as a poultice to pull even more moisture out,correct?

@@ianwhitehead3086 Yes. And it'll do it to anything. Including dead bodies.

Erm, yeah, I was showing my age a bit with that one. For replacement bricks and stone you'd usually stick with the same mortar. Unless you had something lying around from previous work which you might want rid of.

Too much sand

@@michaeljamesdesign thanks Michael would 3 sand work please

@@kruger-w You could go 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3. But it'd depend on the spec. 1:3 works for most people.

I was taught the same mate. But the scales slowly fall from one's eyes over time.

Give it a go anyway?

I’m also full of an eternity of questions up here in Canada , living and working as a stonemason in an historic town full of 150plus year old stone buildings.

Powdered still expands a great deal though. I slaked some putty in a galvanised bin recently… I thought it would take 2 bags of calbux and lots of water. It wasn’t funny! 🌋 😮

@@2BeefHair yes I meant in comparison to kibbled quicklime when making mortar which definitely does expand more, the powder can be quite reactive when making putty or hot limewash, do be careful, I wear protection, gloves, mask and goggles, maybe overkill but I don't fancy getting lime burns or any of it in my eyes.

@@tyremanguitars I don’t think it is overkill, I’ve had some very dicey experiences when slaking quicklime.

Can you just go with what looks like a good fit?

@@muhammada5178 yes, that's roughly how it's done

The chemical formula is different. Lime hydrate is calcium hydroxide but lime putty (which is fully slaked) is calcium oxide. Lime hydrate is not as good as lime putty. The finish ain't the same. It's also a different white. Very white. Which means mortars are very very light indeed. Looks different to other limes. FYI: Otterbein is made in Deutschland.

@@michaeljamesdesign Forgive me if wrong in saying the expansion and heat you create with kibbled lime is a benifit you like having rather than hydrated bag lime?

@@295walk I've just slaked half a bag of quicklime I've had lying around for a couple of years. It was second hand when I got it so it's probably about two and a half years old. And it's fine. You could never to that with lime hydrate.

This was my question, as well. Twice in the course of the video Mr. James mentioned the unsuitability of lime hydrate--but it wasn't until his reply to this comment that he actually explained the reason, or at least partially explained it. With all due respect, that's a flaw in the presentation! Especially considering that a lot of us live in areas where lime hydrate is the only lime to be had.

@@gungadin164 I'd say it's less suitable for me but I'm not the blueprint for everyone else. Hydrate was very popular hundreds of years ago and it's a useable product today. And as far as flaws are concerned: I could pick holes in this monologue all day long

It's a stream of consciousness rather than a delivery. Did you glean anything?

@@michaeljamesdesignindeed I did. I wish my superiors would have been taught about how the walls are supposed to work….

17 years in the lime, 21 working with mortar. Self taught apart from a bit of help here and there. It's not something you can go to college to learn.

It's just one big waffle concerning lime really.

It’s the way to go

Who was your source of information concerning price and aftercare?

@@michaeljamesdesign it was on a website I’ll see if I can find it, not sure how it could be cheaper lol

@@Jameschris18819 It's not. Non-hydraulic limes always need more attention and nursing. As my current clients have since discovered.

@@michaeljamesdesign would you recommend using hot lime in this weather then? I need this job doing fast and can’t be pratting about using damp hessian every day

@@Jameschris18819 No such thing as fast lime. As my current clients are discovering. And you will always use hessian on pretty much every lime job. Let it dry out too quickly and you'll have serious problems.

I always make and apply my own mortars. That way I can tailor them to each job. You can actually apply it cold on very cold days. We often would mix fresh every day and towards the end of the day it'd be going on luke warm. It was pretty cold inside over winter as there weren't any windows but that didn't stop Jay the Plasterer laying it on.

Aww, bless the wee thing. Terriers is best.

Don't go anywhere near it as it has zero conservation credentials. It's just a scam. If you want a recommendation then just get some NHL2 and mix it with three sand. It'll be better.

Oh I wouldn't know. It's hard to say without seeing it.

Ok I understand. For me does not matter the color resulted, it matters only to be strength and flexible enough. Thanks for your answer! ​@@michaeljamesdesign

Hey Clive, well pointed out. I was only just looking at the roof and also the stud walling upstairs. All fairly recent. I'd be interested to see what it looked like previously. I would assume pantiles. Sorry if I caused offence with the plonker comment but I got sick to death of the so called "conservation architects" in the south of England - particularly Oxfordshire. Many of them were just chancing their tails trying to secure work on grade 11 listed properties as there are so many of them. It's interesting that you should point out the sand bedding mortar as well. I mixed fine Bath stone dust with nothing but water and it set like cement. Far harder than earth stabalised mortar.

@@michaeljamesdesign Too many historic building professionals are not conservationists but preservationists so that they have to replicate whats there instead of creating a building solution and I suspect because they really don't understand construction. I worked on Coombe Abbey and there we had the original Cistercian monastery, a Jacobean manor house, a Renaissance stately home and a Victorian revivalist extension all in one building, with major Georgian stables and Real Tennis building all sitting happily together with each being the latest and modern style of the day. That brought into sharp focus that buildings need to evolve and change, even when repaired otherwise they deteriorate and become less relevant and lose their character. Fortunately, we had an excellent contractor and a great Conservation Officer and LA Building Control officer and that relationship has lasted, with at times when we often consulted each other of various aspects on other jobs long after Coombe Abbey was completed.

@@clivewilliams3661 This is it. Beautifully summed up. And if a solution is born out of a lack of architectural understanding coupled to unrealistic client expectations where the completed project is concerned then often the result is often a green-washed mish-mash of modern and traditional products and finishes. Particularly if it's a commercial venture.

I wouldn't know. What it will be is a low organic matter content colloidal soil.