Tried a lime mortar mix on my last job and the bricks won't stop sweating

I gave in to this old school guy at the supply yard who said lime mortar is the only way for period properties. Mixed up a batch for a retaining wall in St. Louis last month. Now every time it rains the wall looks like it's crying. Learned that lime needs way more curing time than Portland and I was too impatient. Anyone else had moisture issues switching to traditional mixes?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy97712d ago

Man that's rough, sorry you're dealing with that. Lime is definitely a whole different animal, takes forever to fully cure and set up right. Had a similar headache on a historic row house here in Philly, wall looked like a sweaty glass of iced tea every time the humidity spiked.

troy97712d ago

Man that's a bummer, I feel your pain. What finally worked for me was switching to a 50/50 lime putty and sharp sand mix, then keeping the whole wall covered in wet burlap for a full two weeks, misting it twice a day. Also found out the hard way that any Portland in the mix, even a little, makes the sweating way worse.