Repointing

[LydiaEdwardianHouse]

Hi there,

looking for some advice on repointing work.

last summer we got a guy in to repoint the parts of our house that he said needed doing, and he did a great job. However, we had no idea that it would make the house look so patchy (see first pic) so got him back in this week and basically explained we wanted the rest doing so it all looks the same.

he came yesterday however I’m concerned he has used a different material. Might be totally wrong (fingers crossed!) as he’s said it will look the same once dry and is all like. Appreciate it’s pretty awful weather at the mo but it looks entirely different. Both pics were taken within hours of the job being done, and I can’t see how it’s going to lighten that much?

looks exactly the same today, hasn’t lightened at all. Based down south so a little bit of rain but not much and it’s 10 degrees outside.

many help or thoughts appreciated.

thanks
Lydia

 

[johnny2007]

Is the wall 2 tones or is it supposed to be all one colour?

 

[LydiaEdwardianHouse]

All one colour. He’s saying it will dry the same and it’s the weather but it looks entirely different and I can’t see how it will end up the same?

 

[stuart45]

Looks like lime mortar finished with the churn brush.
It will take longer to cure and go white this time of the year.

 

[LydiaEdwardianHouse]

Oh ok so it will still go white will just take longer? Last time it turned white immediately! Know the weather is different but wasn’t anticipating such a huge difference

 

[stuart45]

As long as he's used the same sand, same lime and mix proportions it should end up the same.

 

[LydiaEdwardianHouse]

Ok thank you. That’s our concern - we just have to take his word that it’s the same sand but it looked very very different after immediate application

 

[GarrySibbald]

The simple answer is to wait and see rather than pre-empt an answer but usually you can see the final colour by looking at the small areas that are drying first.
Lime does cure and dry slowly and starts off a lot darker than the final colour so you will have to wait until fully dry but I can see your concern as at a glance it does look like ginger sand has been used above lighter coloured sand.
Often sand from the same quarry can vary slightly between batches so we always advise the whole elevation is repointed at the same time to avoid colour variations and also shading differences due simply to the ageing process.
Most pointers will advise the whole elevation is repointed for structural and aesthetic reasons and to avoid colour differences that do occur when patch-pointing so this may be the unfortunate consequence if the scope of the work has been reduced from the original recommendation.

It does look like lime has been used rather than cement which will mean that the ratio of sand and lime is pretty much fixed at a 1:3 ratio and unlikely to be wrong therefore the final colour if different when dry will be down to the colour of the sand used and the difference in the ageing progression between the two.