How to match mortar?

[Alex100]

Hi all! 

I'm looking to match the mortar in an old house and need some advice, please!

I have a reasonably large amount of repointing to do in a 1910 house. Water has unfortunately started coming through to damage interior walls and need to fix outside to start. 

It's quite a light, sandy and soft compound (hoping for something a bit hardier).

Also trying to avoid last owners mistakes 😬

 

 

 Cheers, Alex!

[EricL]

Hello @Alex100 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your brick mortar.

If this is very old mortar we're looking at odds are it has been bleached by time and the weather so it's no longer its original colour. If you look at your third photo, there was an attempt to repoint the bricks with standard mortar. You can clearly see the colour difference between the old and the new.

It is technically possible to lighten the tone of the standard grey mortar by adding Dulux Avista Oxide 1kg White Cement Colouring. But it will be nowhere near the finish of the old mortar. There is also the option of using Easy Mix 20kg White M4 Mortar and making its colour darker by adding black oxide.

Here is a handy step by-step guide: How to mix mortar

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Alex100]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the reply - I ended up using a sandstone colour oxide with trade mortar to match the 1910 mortar colour as close as possible.  I used a Roughneck Mortar Gun to fill and apply and various pointing tools to complete the job. Again, thanks for the reply. I'm more than happy with the result, the new skill and the money saved doing it myself!

Cheers,

Alex

[Ozheart]

Hi Eric,

I’m in a similar situation, needing white mortar to repoint my brick wall. Your suggested Easy Mix White M4 Mortar looked to be unavailable across the board at present. Do you have alternative product suggestion to achieve the same aim, also hopefully not in such large quantity for these DIY jobs. Thanks!

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Ozheart. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about mortar.

If it's just a small job you have to do, have you considered using Mortafil 450g White Mortar. It's a flexible filler that looks like mortar. If white mortar is not stocked at your local store, you may want to speak with the Special Orders team to see if it's something we can order for you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[Ozheart]

Thanks. I’ve looked at Mortafil earlier and again today, but it’s more of a smooth rubbery quality after curing which I think would not look too good. If going down the caulking solution, I suspect No More Gaps Brick & Mortar may be better based on my past usage experience as it cures with a gritty consistency, would match the existing mortar better but in colour. The problem now is that the job is not that small nor that big, so would really like to get some white mortar if possible. It’s also more cost efficient and would have a far better colour match. I’m surprised by how difficult it is to find supply of it short of mixing it from base ingredients.

[EricL]

Hello @Ozheart 

If you can tell me what the closest store is to your location, I'll see if any of the other surrounding stores in your area has the white mortar. Otherwise, it might need to be specially ordered at the special orders desk.

Eric

[JacobZ]

Hi @Ozheart,

A premixed white mortar, such as this Easy Mix 20kg White M4 Mortar would work, assuming it is available in your area.

Otherwise, mixing a mortar product with Dulux Avista White Oxide would certainly work.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[Ozheart]

Jacob,

May I confirm that this Avista White Oxide would be able to turn those regular mortars white? Or will it be to a lighter shade of grey/brown? If this works, then I’ll go down this route. Thanks for your experienced guidance.

[JacobZ]

Hi @Ozheart,

This is how coloured mortars are made, and it is almost certainly how the original mortar was made. Oxide is strong stuff, so it will have no problem making the mortar white. 

I'd suggest giving it a test mix, taking note of the ratio and tweaking it to suit your existing mortar, noting that the colour will change slightly as it dries. Once you've done your testing, you can follow the same ratio to mix up a larger batch and apply it.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob