Thanks for sharing your experience, currently doing up our old house and finding getting good knowledge hard to find. Really enjoy the attempts I have made but be nice to develop better understanding of the mixes to use
As an american in America, i have come across the exact problem with lime putties. Its seeming near impossible to acquire lime to d.i.y. slake. And alot of lime putties that have been slaked and aged here is - slaked hydrated lime- lol. Its infuriating.
I feel your pain bruv. Just run some to a putty the night before and you'll be fine. But make sure, if you do, that you don't add the putty by volume. The problem with making lime putty this way is that you end up with a huge volume submersed in water because hydrate reduces down to nothing when you add water. So people end up putting the equivalent of 3 buckets of lime with 3 buckets of sand. Just take a gauge, mix it with water, lay it down overnight and incorporate with sand the next day.
Another insightful video. Along with Nigel, you have taught me a lot about limes. I was taught that nhls were the daddy, quicklimes are crap and putty is for ashlar. Now, after 13 years, I've changed my ways, and I'm glad I have.
Very usefull educational video.👍🏻 A suggestion for another video would be ,"all about cracks". It seems to be a big topic, especially on how to avoid them. Thank you.🙏🏻
Thank you Sir for your videos. I have learnt a lot from them. Thanks to you and Nigel Copsey I only used NHL for around a couple of weeks. And because I am also into baking my own sourdough bread I decided to stop using the NHL. Just like making my bread I want to know what is in my pointing mortar. Therefore I make hotlime mix from then on. 🙂
great explanation, I recently tried hot lime but with powdered quicklime, now it makes sense why it didn't expand as much as I thought, still lots to learn.
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.
Great video, much appreciated. Always love a Paul Daniel’s reference. Something I was wondering listening to the video - if you needed to replace bricks would you still use the pointing mortars as described? Or is that a different specification.
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.
so helpful....Michael thank you for reminding me of some of the knowledge my dad and his old crew of traditional builders passed to me.. inspiring me to do more. Do you know much about lime setups for bucket dipping bricks rather than troweling- a practice that was common locally here with handmade bricks at turn of the century??
I didn’t know you could use hot mixes for plastering as well. I thought it was just used for pointing or lime washing. Very interesting because as you say I’m paying a fortune for the pre mixed bags.
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.
Great video, very useful, thank you. With regard to quicklime kibble vs quicklime powder, would the type of quicklime in use alter the ratio of it in your mortar mix? (say a 1:4 vs a 1:3 ?)
Thank you for this video - it comes at exactly the right time! (That is, as I am trying to understand the various lime products available here in Austria.) Just one question, if I may: Why does mixing lime hydrate with more water not produce "real" lime putty? Or did you just mean that it still needs to sit for several months to mature?
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
Thank you for sharing your expertise. I lasted the distance, but I don’t think I’m an aficionado just yet, sadly… My cottage (built 1604) near Buxton has been patched with all kinds of stuff over the years. Now it’s my turn on patching duty I’d like to make good choices! My first task is some holes in the bedroom plaster where some shelves were knocked out. I found old hay mixed into the lime plaster, which was an exciting discovery! Planning to get a chisel and try to remove the concrete that my father(?) has used to secure the shelves. I’m thinking now to avoid NHL. Need to do more research into quicklime, since I think this is the way to go, though slightly daunting. How do you store it please, if you get a sack and can’t use it all at once?
Can you talk about lime mortar used with Accrington brick . Any experience repointing ? often existing mortar blackened with coal dust or naturally white but excessive hard very thin joints which the brick doesn't absorb much moisture from the mix .
I watched the entire video, thank you for the information. I live on the east coast of the US in New York and am a mason. In my area we have some brick homes built with lime mortar. Typically the brick are very soft and easily affected by freeze thaw cycles. We are also very limited on what is available for NHL, forget about lime putty or hot lime. I found a place about 4 hours drive away that is selling NHL 2, 3.5, 5, I have a customer that wants there brick home repaired using their original brick and lime mortar could you suggest what I should use? I realize you haven’t seen the house and the question might not be answerable. Thank you for what you do.
@@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.
I got the badge and would get th t-shirt f sure, the times my partner walks in while im cooking or sipping some green wine and she says "you watching this guy again..!?" Hellas.. Very useful content thank you, we are reviving an old house in SE Portugal, most of the stone work is schist with lime rendering and pointing, at least what survived the last round of renovations that include whole walls in cement render.. Question: all of the original render/pointing has been done with a medium brown lime, coarse/ish sand, no hair, but it's brown or latte color. across the boarder in Spain I have been able to source hydrated lime that is latte colored, but it's a CL70, is this dogshit? we are just using it for plastering to mix & make the Secil lime warmer really, but Secil is the only stuff we can get our hands on.. there is some Keracoll stuff too that is 3.5 but comes as a ready mix and it's 20£ bag.. "breathability miracle" they sell it as.. The local builders use only NHL5 mixed with cement to tell clients it has lime.. it's sad to watch..
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!!
Hi Michael. Going to start building a boundary wall(rubble pennant stone) using st astier 3.5 Would the mix below be suitable please in a pretty exposed location. Lime..3.5..........1 Hydrated...........0.5 Sand.................4 or could you please advise.
I’m in an ongoing process of slaking a load of lime putty with quicklime for top coat plaster. I know they say ideally it wants to mature for at least 4 months before use. I’m going to hold off using it as long as possible but if I have to use some of it fresh will it still be ok? How does the maturation improve it exactly? Is it purely workability or will the end product be affected?
@@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.
So many questions. I own a company that specializes in historic masonry restoration in Virginia. Would you be up for communicating by email? I don’t think this format lends itself to the detailed questions I’m dying to ask.
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.
17:08 The Conserv website states their hot mix lime mortar made using Buxton Quicklime has a compressive strength of: 0.75 N/mm² ± (at 91 days) (which if accurate makes it less than equivalent to an NHL 1 if their was such a thing.) Not sure who carried out this test though and how reliable it is.
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 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.
@@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?
Been doing this, historic masonry restoration, for going on ten years. And, it went from almost no info and research and/or availability for materials in the USA. And, it has exploded in the research department, still mostly overseas, of course, but availability has gotten a little better.... it's still a little hard convincing officials on anything other than portland cement here. It's bogus.
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!
Best explanation on the subject yet. Thank you.
Need to watch that again to take it all in!
It's just one big waffle concerning lime really.
Thanks for sharing your experience, currently doing up our old house and finding getting good knowledge hard to find. Really enjoy the attempts I have made but be nice to develop better understanding of the mixes to use
As an american in America, i have come across the exact problem with lime putties. Its seeming near impossible to acquire lime to d.i.y. slake. And alot of lime putties that have been slaked and aged here is - slaked hydrated lime- lol. Its infuriating.
I feel your pain bruv. Just run some to a putty the night before and you'll be fine. But make sure, if you do, that you don't add the putty by volume. The problem with making lime putty this way is that you end up with a huge volume submersed in water because hydrate reduces down to nothing when you add water. So people end up putting the equivalent of 3 buckets of lime with 3 buckets of sand. Just take a gauge, mix it with water, lay it down overnight and incorporate with sand the next day.
Another insightful video. Along with Nigel, you have taught me a lot about limes. I was taught that nhls were the daddy, quicklimes are crap and putty is for ashlar. Now, after 13 years, I've changed my ways, and I'm glad I have.
I was taught the same mate. But the scales slowly fall from one's eyes over time.
Very useful information
thank you so much foe this video.
Great video content michael
Very usefull educational video.👍🏻
A suggestion for another video would be ,"all about cracks".
It seems to be a big topic, especially on how to avoid them.
Thank you.🙏🏻
Thank you Sir for your videos. I have learnt a lot from them. Thanks to you and Nigel Copsey I only used NHL for around a couple of weeks. And because I am also into baking my own sourdough bread I decided to stop using the NHL. Just like making my bread I want to know what is in my pointing mortar. Therefore I make hotlime mix from then on. 🙂
It’s the way to go
great explanation, I recently tried hot lime but with powdered quicklime, now it makes sense why it didn't expand as much as I thought, still lots to learn.
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.
Great video, much appreciated. Always love a Paul Daniel’s reference.
Something I was wondering listening to the video - if you needed to replace bricks would you still use the pointing mortars as described? Or is that a different specification.
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.
so helpful....Michael thank you for reminding me of some of the knowledge my dad and his old crew of traditional builders passed to me.. inspiring me to do more. Do you know much about lime setups for bucket dipping bricks rather than troweling- a practice that was common locally here with handmade bricks at turn of the century??
Indeed. Dip 'em before you put 'em down.
thanks. i did last 52 minutes..i shall mix some hydrate into nhl tomorrow.
Well done.
I didn’t know you could use hot mixes for plastering as well. I thought it was just used for pointing or lime washing. Very interesting because as you say I’m paying a fortune for the pre mixed bags.
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.
I suppose I'm wiser about the lime materials, but I still wouldn't have a clue about which ones to use for a given task.
Great video, very useful, thank you.
With regard to quicklime kibble vs quicklime powder, would the type of quicklime in use alter the ratio of it in your mortar mix? (say a 1:4 vs a 1:3 ?)
Yes. More lime with kibble or lump.
Thank you for this video - it comes at exactly the right time! (That is, as I am trying to understand the various lime products available here in Austria.)
Just one question, if I may: Why does mixing lime hydrate with more water not produce "real" lime putty? Or did you just mean that it still needs to sit for several months to mature?
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
Have you burnt any limestone yourself ? That would a good video and the lime cycle . Thank-you great video now i can understand more .
No but Nigel Copsey has. He's on youtube.
Thanks for the information!
Can you use bagged hydrated lime for brick laying/pointing?
You can. But not if it's old or has been exposed to air.
Thank you for sharing your expertise. I lasted the distance, but I don’t think I’m an aficionado just yet, sadly… My cottage (built 1604) near Buxton has been patched with all kinds of stuff over the years. Now it’s my turn on patching duty I’d like to make good choices! My first task is some holes in the bedroom plaster where some shelves were knocked out. I found old hay mixed into the lime plaster, which was an exciting discovery! Planning to get a chisel and try to remove the concrete that my father(?) has used to secure the shelves. I’m thinking now to avoid NHL. Need to do more research into quicklime, since I think this is the way to go, though slightly daunting. How do you store it please, if you get a sack and can’t use it all at once?
You can get it in tubs from Womersleys or cornish lime.
Can you talk about lime mortar used with Accrington brick . Any experience repointing ? often existing mortar blackened with coal dust or naturally white but excessive hard very thin joints which the brick doesn't absorb much moisture from the mix .
I've got Accrington bricks did you figure this out yet?
I watched the entire video, thank you for the information. I live on the east coast of the US in New York and am a mason. In my area we have some brick homes built with lime mortar. Typically the brick are very soft and easily affected by freeze thaw cycles. We are also very limited on what is available for NHL, forget about lime putty or hot lime. I found a place about 4 hours drive away that is selling NHL 2, 3.5, 5, I have a customer that wants there brick home repaired using their original brick and lime mortar could you suggest what I should use? I realize you haven’t seen the house and the question might not be answerable. Thank you for what you do.
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.
May I ask how long you have been involved with the lime trade/building trades and where you were trained pleased
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.
I got the badge and would get th t-shirt f sure, the times my partner walks in while im cooking or sipping some green wine and she says "you watching this guy again..!?" Hellas..
Very useful content thank you, we are reviving an old house in SE Portugal, most of the stone work is schist with lime rendering and pointing, at least what survived the last round of renovations that include whole walls in cement render..
Question: all of the original render/pointing has been done with a medium brown lime, coarse/ish sand, no hair, but it's brown or latte color. across the boarder in Spain I have been able to source hydrated lime that is latte colored, but it's a CL70, is this dogshit?
we are just using it for plastering to mix & make the Secil lime warmer really, but Secil is the only stuff we can get our hands on.. there is some Keracoll stuff too that is 3.5 but comes as a ready mix and it's 20£ bag.. "breathability miracle" they sell it as..
The local builders use only NHL5 mixed with cement to tell clients it has lime.. it's sad to watch..
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!!
Hi Michael.
Going to start building a boundary wall(rubble pennant stone) using st astier 3.5
Would the mix below be suitable please in a pretty exposed location.
Lime..3.5..........1
Hydrated...........0.5
Sand.................4
or could you please advise.
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’m in an ongoing process of slaking a load of lime putty with quicklime for top coat plaster. I know they say ideally it wants to mature for at least 4 months before use. I’m going to hold off using it as long as possible but if I have to use some of it fresh will it still be ok? How does the maturation improve it exactly? Is it purely workability or will the end product be affected?
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.
So many questions. I own a company that specializes in historic masonry restoration in Virginia. Would you be up for communicating by email? I don’t think this format lends itself to the detailed questions I’m dying to ask.
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.
17:08 The Conserv website states their hot mix lime mortar made using Buxton Quicklime has a compressive strength of: 0.75 N/mm² ± (at 91 days) (which if accurate makes it less than equivalent to an NHL 1 if their was such a thing.) Not sure who carried out this test though and how reliable it is.
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.
What company do you buy your quicklime from?
It varies depending on the circumstances. I use lots of different suppliers.
@@michaeljamesdesign how do you work out how much pozz
@@Jameschris18819 Like this: ruclips.net/video/hAV9dGcVq94/видео.html
How do you rate ionic old white 3.5 cheers
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?
Been doing this, historic masonry restoration, for going on ten years. And, it went from almost no info and research and/or availability for materials in the USA. And, it has exploded in the research department, still mostly overseas, of course, but availability has gotten a little better.... it's still a little hard convincing officials on anything other than portland cement here. It's bogus.
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!
His delivery is confusing.
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….