We sell Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty! Just open the lid and you can use straight away!

Ready-Mix Lime Putty Bucket Sizes:

Available in two following sizes:

4 Litre      (weight - 6.5kg)

&

10 Litre     (weight - 17.5kg)

Re-sealable buckets.

Does Ready-Mix Lime Putty contain sand?

Yes. our Ready-Mix Lime Putty already contain sand. So you do not have to add any sand for normal tuckpointing. And you do not have to add any additional sand when simply filling in small gaps in mortar.

What is the Shelf life of Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

Our Speedex Ready-Mix Lime Putty has a very long shelf life of 10 years plus if bucket sealed and stored in a cool place and not allowed to dry out.

Ready-Mix Lime Putty does not set underwater as it is regarding as Non-Hydraulic Lime so if you cover in a small sealant layer of water it should last a very long time.

Please note Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty sets by reacting with carbon dioxide in air to form limestone. This is a natural process - please see very bottom of this page for more information on "chemistry" behind Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty.

How to use Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

Just open the lid and drain out the top sealant layer of water and then stir putty. Then use as required. No mess! Our Ready Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty will save you alot time and effort. And you dont have to use all of it in one go. As long as you add a small amount of water afterwards to cover over the top of the lime putty to prevent it from drying out in the atmosphere and then reseal the lid tightly, it is possible to store the product for a long time and reuse when required. Our Ready-Mix Lime Putty can be used straight away. Some professionals prefer lime putty to sit for a number of weeks prior to use to allow better bonding and general infusion of the lime putty into the sand, so please note that aging of our Ready-Mix Lime Putty will not be a problem as long as the lime putty is kept covered in a sealant of water.

Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty is available only in standard white natural lime colour. If you desire a particular colour to your lime putty in order to match an existing home, then you can add coloured oxides to the putty according to your requirement. We also supply colour oxides in red and black. It is best to remove a small portion of lime putty into a second container and then add and mix to this small portion a small amount of coloured oxide to first see how the colour comes out first, before doing the whole mix. Tuckpointed lines are commonly white but they can be various shades red, grey, browns, yellows and almond colour. 

Ready-Mix Lime Putty ingredients are suitable for authentic heritage tuckpointing! Our Ready-Mix Lime Putty is a mixture of rocklime and fine sand dating back to how it was originally made in the rocklime furnaces of 18th century England. It is specifically made to a traditional heritage lime putty mixture dating back well over 100 plus years. No plastisizers are added that would ruin the longevity of the lime putty on the finished exposed brick and using a traditional mix will enable an existing heritage home or heritage building to be repointed properly many, many years down the track and most importantly keep its value well into the future. 

Do we have different grades of Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

Currently we are only manufacturing one grade which can be used specifically for tuckpointing and to fill in holes in mortar. But we hope to bring out some more REady Mix Lime Putty products in the near future.

Can Ready-Mix Lime Putty be used as a Mortar?

Yes, our Ready-Mix Lime Putty can be used for tuckpointing lines, and also to repair holes in brick mortar in existing heritage brickwork. You do not have to add any ingredients apart from say coloured oxide when used as a mortar "filler" between the joints, as the Lime Putty by itself is sufficiently suitable to do this purpose.

However you can add more sand when used as mortar if structural integrity is more critical. This is for very worn or very deep joints or cracks below 10mm deep but not usually for surface application as Tuckpointed Joints using Ready Mix Lime Putty are usually less than 10mm deep.

If using Ready-Mix Lime Putty as a Mortar you can add additional sand - around 20% more sand by "VOLUME". Just filling in holes does not require any more sand.

Basically this simply means:

For every 5L of Ready-Mix Lime Putty you can add a maximum of 1L of sand.

For every 4L of Ready-Mix Lime Putty you can add a maximum of 0.8L of sand.

For every 10L of Ready-Mix Lime Putty you can add a maximum of 2L of sand.

The extra sand must be well mixed in thoroughly.

The type of sand in terms of grain size you use for mortar is not too critical as long as it is washed to remove organic materials and also any soil or silt which may discolour your final mortar.

But the sand needs to be washed - River Washed Sand is ideal, or wash beach sand with fresh water. You can buy River Sand from hardware stores and is available in 25kg bags from say Bunnings etc- same as paving sand - but check label.

Do not use Brickies sand that bricklayers use for standard brick mortar - as the sand you will find is not washed and is a yellow to red colour from the impurities (iron oxides etc)  naturally found in sandy areas in Australia that it was dug out.

The Yellow or red colour in Brickies sand will discolour your Lime Putty and turn it from pink to yellow or reddish. So if you want to white wash a wall or use as filling mortar with our Ready Mix Lime Putty you want to end up with colour "White" only which you can only achieve if using washed sand.

Adding additional sand to Ready-Mix Lime Putty.

If adding additional sand to Ready-Mix Lime Putty you should mix in thoroughly with a brickies trowel, it is a good idea to wait 24 hours for additonal sand to bind to Lime Putty prior to using.

Should I add cement or plastisizers to Speedex Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

NO!! For Heritage Restorations or tuckpointing in general- NO!!. Do not add cement when using our Speedex Ready-Mix Lime Putty for any Tuckpointing work. As cement does not allow the tuckpointed area to breath and the surrounding brick or stone may crack as you want the wall and mortar to "breath"- allowing moisture to naturally ventialet throughout and during any changing season of the course of a year. 

Adding cement is not regarded as "Heritage" tuckpointing.

Cement when dried is impermiable to water,  which prevents walls in buildings from "breathing" (taking in and releasing water very slowly etc) and using cement may end up in cracks through brick and stone instead of just through the joints as cement is harder or as hard as the material it bonds together.

People who add cement to make tuckpointing line or tuckpointed mortar - you will find that bricks will crack over time.

Plastisizers also do not allow the wall to breathe! So Do NOT add plastisizers to our Ready-Mix Lime Putty - your homes walls will be more subjected to cracking as plastic does not allow moisture to move naturally from wall to outside and vice-versa.

Ready-Mix Lime Putty Physical Properties

Speedex Ready-Mix Lime Putty

Classification     NHL3-3.5     Suitable for Pointing and Repointing

Strength = 5KPa

By adding more fine sand you can increase the Strength to NHL 4 - 5, so if you want to use as a mortar you should add another 20% sand by volume please see above for more information.

Improving or Raising Structural Strength of Ready-Mix Lime Putty so can be used for load bearing walls

Adding more sand increases structural strength.

As a general rule:

You can add 1kg of sand to each 10L bucket of Ready MIx Lime Putty in order to improve its structural strength to be more suitable for load bearing applications.

If you are adding more sand for mortar then you can use coarse sand will be fine.

You need to add "Damp" sand not "Wet" sand. As Damp sand just has enough water to stick with the lime putty and bond with it.

Tips on applying Tuckpointing with Lime Putty

Please remember to dampen down the walls you are tuckpointing sufficiently prior to tuckpointing with lime putty to prevent flaking off when curing, as if lime putty is placed onto dry brick mortar /brick walls the moisture will be sucked out causing flaking. So it is important that you dampen the walls prior to tuckpointing preferably with a damp/wet towel or with a very light hose spray and then dampened down with a damp towel, depending on how dry the weather is and what surface area you are doing. The brick mortar should not be too wet as to cause the lime putty to run or dissolve but just damp enough to prevent the moisture from being sucked out of the lime putty prematurely. 

PROCEDURE FOR USING READY MIX LIME PUTTY TO A DRY WALL -

BRUSH DOWN WALL TO REMOVE ANY LOOSE DEBRIS, DUST, LOOSE SAND OR ORGANIC MATERIAL.

WASH WITH HIGH PRESSURE WASHER OR SET NORMAL GARDEN HOSE NOZZLE TO HIGH PRESSURE OR FINE/ NARROW WATER SPRAY SETTING 

WASH DOWN AREA TO BE TUCKPOINTED ONCE - LEAVE FOR HALF AN HOUR TO ALLOW WATER TO SOAK INTO DRY WALL - THEN AFTER HALF AN HOUR WASH WALL AGAIN AND WAIT A LITTLE WHILE FOR WATER TO SOAK IN AGAIN.

DRY BRICKS IF NOT SOAKED ENOUGH WILL CAUSE TUCKPOINTING LIME PUTTY TO CRACK, AND LIME PUTTY WILL NOT STICK TO OR ADHERE TO ANY LOOSE DIRT ON THE WALL.

YOU WANT BRICKS TO BE DAMP - NOT WET WHEN APPLYING LIME PUTTY (AS IT WILL RUN) SO YOU MAY HAVE TO USE A CLOTH TO SOAK UP EXCESS WATER OR A DAMP CLOTH TO MOISTEN WALL.

 

When applying Lime Putty to a brick wall you can first apply a small amount ontop of a hawk tool or straight edge and then transfer using an appropriate Tuckpointing Tool.

A Tuckpointer's Straight Edge is then lined up with the tuckpointed line and using a Frenchmen knife, which is a knife with a small upturned sharp bent tip the excess Lime Putty is "cut" away from either side of the line, so a clean fine line is produced, without rough edges. 

(more info on how to Tuckpoint is coming soon)

 

When tuckpointing you should do around a square metre or so at a time or small areas - not the entire wall.

You fill in and apply the coloured oxide base first over the given area and then you apply the fine line over the top.

 

You should NOT allow the underlying base to dry out prior to applying the tuckpointed (white or coloured) fine line. As if the base mortar is too dry then the difference in drying of the fine line and mortar will cause the line to crack due to differences in expansion or shrinkage rates.

So as a general rule the fine line should be tuckpointed within 3 hours of applying the base mortar - this is why you can only do small areas per time and move onto next area etc. Do not attempt to apply all the underlying mortar on an entire house or wall etc and then expect to do fine lining or tuckpointing as mortar and tuckpointing fine lining must both be wet and not fully cured so both layers bond. Tuckpointing fine lining will not stick to dry underlying mortar - well by this I mean you may get it to stick temporarily but it will have tendency to crack off over time.

Note: by "mortar" I am referring to the Ready-Mix Lime Putty with coloured oxides added.  

How much Ready-Mix Lime Putty do I require?

As a general estimate only:

A 4L bucket of Ready-Mix Lime Putty should tuckpoint do a minimum of 20 to 22 square metres of wall in terms of filling the underlying coloured oxide base plus adding the fine line on top.

A 10L bucket of Ready-Mix Lime Putty should tuckpoint approximately 50 square metres of wall in terms of filling the underlying coloured oxide base plus the adding fine line on top.

Approximate only!!

This is assuming that you are only filling a fairly shallow gap between the bricks (half a finger nail deep) and depends on how much you watse and other factors such as brick/stone type, size and shape and how deep and the gaps are and how much you have to fill aswell as thickness of the line itself or profile of the line.

As a rough guide - If you want to tuckpoint a front facade of a small to medium sized house only, you will need about 20L of Ready Mix Lime Putty.

How long does it take for Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty to dry?

It should take over night or next day for the given tuckpointed area to dry. So the following day the wall can withstand rain or dry to touch etc. 

How much Coloured Oxide do I add to the Ready Mix Lime Putty?

To produce a deep Red colour in the base mortar - as a guide you need to add a minimum of 3-4 Cups of coloured Red Oxide per 10L bucket of Ready MIx Lime Putty.  You should have a little bit of oxide left at hand to get final colour.

Final colour depends on its dry state. When Lime Putty dries with coloured oxide in it - it will gradually lighten in colour - so you will only get true colour after 24hrs of drying.

To lighten the colour you add more plain Ready Mix Lime Putty (without oxide etc)

So you should be fairly generous when adding coloured oxide to lime putty. You should aim to add 20% by volume or more approximately of oxide to lime putty as a general rule - but before using on actual wall make up a small colour sample on say a spare brick or piece of timber first and let dry.

When adding coloured oxide you will notice that the lime putty will tend to dry out as the oxide is basically dry powder. So yes you should add a little more water to the lime putty to improve the wetness when adding oxide. When adding adding additional water or oxide please remember to thouroughly mix it through so it is evenly mixed.

PROCEDURE - in regards to a 10L Ready Mix Lime Putty Bucket

Before adding Coloured Oxide to the entire Mix  -

Take some pure white Lime Putty out - about 1-3 cups - if using as a Mortar only then take out say 1-2 cups so you have some incase end colour is too dark and you need to lighten it later - just incase.

If using for Tuckpointing Fine Lines etc, take about 1/4 bucket (1-2Litres) out into another container so you have some lime putty for fine lines and some for base mortar. 

Remember if placing some Ready Mix Lime Putty in another separate container - make sure it has a sealable lid and make sure lime putty is covered with a small layer of water so it doesn't dry out.

 

The remaining Lime Putty or majority left in the 10L bucket - you can then add say 3-4 cups of Coloured Oxide. Mix in well.

Use Red Coloured Oxide for Red Mortar - (as a general method)

Use Ochre Coloured Oxide for Sandstone (as a general method)

Use Black Coloured Oxide for Black Mortar.

Plus - maybe use a bit of Brown or Yellow aswell to may finer adjustments for the sandstone or red base mortar.

 

***Please rememeber that Matching colour to existing mortar is the most time consuming process!!

You may be better off mixing a few samples of different ratios - and record them - and let dry all together so you have some samples to go by in the morning to dry.

If you add coloured oxide to Ready-Mix Lime Putty - does colour change depending on if it is wet and if it is fully dry or cured.

YES - colour will change slightly depending on if the mix is wet or if fully dried. This is why unless you are very familiar with using coloured oxides it is best to allow a small sample to fully dry first and then you can use the dried sample colour to check against the existing lime mortar colour.

You will find that when you look at Ready Mix Lime putty (without coloured oxides added) in a "wet" state - that is in the bucket it doesn't look pure white in colour - but when the Ready Mix Lime Putty is fully dried you will notice that the colour is pure white in colour. 

Can you remove existing Tuckpointed fine lines from a Tuckpointed wall and re-tuckpoint with Ready Mix Lime Putty?

YES - if you find that the original tuckpointed lines are chipped or missing in areas and doesnt look good. You can use a chisel (carbide tipped) or angle grinder to remove the tuckpointed lines. You dont go too deep, you can remove flush to existing mortar - or better to go 1mm deep into the mortar between the bicks so that the tuckpointed lime putty lines have somewhere to "grip" onto and adhere to better.

Can you Tuckpoint over painted surfaces with Ready Mix Lime Putty?

No- for heritage tuckpointing you dont want to tuckpoint or apply lime putty over solvent based painted surfaces, as painted surfaces dont allow the lime putty to chemically bond with it as it doesn't have the pores in it.

So you will have to remove the painted surfaces first. If the original surface appears to be lime washed then yes you can use Ready MIx Lime Putty directly on the lime wash as materials are similar and will form a good bond.

Can you Tuckpoint in Cold Weather?

You should not do outdoor repointing when temperture during day or night falls below 10 degrees. 8 degrees celsius is technically bottom limit.

It is also dependant on whether the wall is facing sunny area or in sheltered position which increases localized temperture.

Can you use Ready-Mix Lime Putty for Repointing and Repairing holes in existing Brick walls?

YES - you can definitely us Ready-Mix Lime Putty if you wish to repoint an existing brick wall which may have missing mortar or holes in brick wall.

You can fill in holes with Ready-Mix Lime Putty. And you can use to repoint an existing wall.

If repointing an entire area it is best to remove about 10mm of surface mortar and then add Ready-Mix Lime Putty to fill, level with brick wall face.

Do you need to dampen wall first when Repointing using Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

Yes, you definitely need to thoroughly wash a brick wall down prior to any repointing!

Also you may need to scrub down if required to remove any loose sand or mortar prior to repointing a section of wall.

You need to first wash down a wall well, otherwise Ready-Mix Lime Putty will not stick to dust and dirt and will crack off.

Also you need to dampen a brick wall down prior to tuckpointing or repointing so that the bricks have some moisture in them so they do not rapidly take water out of the lime putty too quickly.

Lime Putty will not bond properly to a dry brick, so the bricks need to be damp, so lime putty sticks properly.

You don't want brick wall dripping wet, but just damp. Use a damp cloth prior to repointing.

After Repointing or Tuckpointing with Ready-Mix Lime Putty do you need to dampen down wall whilst wall is drying?

Definitely not! You only dampen an area of wall prior to tuckpointing or repointing.

Once you repoint or Tuckpoint an area, walk away! Dont dampen down again!

Excessive water will ruin your repointing and wash out the lime putty and you dont want to contaminate unwanted areas of brickwork with lime putty after you complete a section.

Can you use Ready-Mix Lime Putty as a "German Smear" or White Washing entire brick walls?

YES - you can use Ready Mix Lime Putty as a German Smear or to White Wash entire walls with to give a white appearance of the walls. We have had many customers now using our Ready Mix Lime Putty for white washing entire walls. Pictures will be added here as soon as available.

If you are using Ready Mix Lime Putty to apply coat over surface of an entire wall to achieve a certain desired appearance - you have to add more water to dilute so you get more coverage - say at least 50% more water - this is for german smear or white washing only - not as mortar etc. 

If using our Ready Mix Lime Putty as a White Wash, German Smear or Render then apply on raw bricks or bricks which were previously coated with lime wash. Do not apply on painted surfaces as there are no pores for which the lime putty can bond with the brick. The ready Mix Lime Putty will probably still stick but will tend to crack off after time as not actually bonded properly.

**You still have to wash down a brick wall and dampen prior to applying a German Smear so you remove any dust and dirt and so lime putty bonds to surface - not to dirt!

If you have any internal wall, and you cannot hose down, simply use a damp cloth/sponge or scrub with brush to remove any dirt and dust prior to applying a German Smear. Put towel/s on ground to collect any runoff water.

Can you use Ready-Mix Lime Putty as a "German Smear" over normal cement based brick mortar?

YES - you can apply Ready-Mix Lime Putty over normal cement based brick mortar as a German Smear - thin layer of lime putty used to soften wall appearance.

By normal we are referring to standard brickies mortar which from my bricky days is half bag cement to 16bags course sand (plus half shovel powder lime).

So can be used on standard modern day brick walls.

If a brick wall has for some unknown reason an abnormally high mount of cement added to mortar then you should remove to depth of 5mm plus as very high cement mortar expands and contracxt differntly than the lime and it may crack off.

But for standard homes there should be no issue with applying a German Smear and you dont have to remove existing mortar even if it has a little cement added.

Can you use Ready-Mix Lime Putty over cement based mortar?

In general - No - as it will not stick or bond properly as different materials have different expansion rates and may crack off over time. 

However if youhave no choice you must remove at least 5mm deep of any cement based mortar and then you can apply Ready Mix Lime Putty.

Tips on how to make dark black colour Lime Putty mortar?

In order to achieve a dark black colour lime putty for tuckpointing fine lining or base mortar, in addition to adding Black Oxide you can add "Bluestone Dust" or "Bluestone crushed rock" to lime putty as long as you sieve very well to get finest grain size.

It is same material used for road base except you dont want gravel sizes particles but the smallest grains which you obtaine from sieving.

This helps achieve a dark colour as silica sand is normally white. Not all black oxides are same so you may have to find a brand or manufacturer that is best suitable for the colour you wish to achieve.

What do you do if you have a dampness or discolouring issue with and internal lime mortar or Lime washed wall- can you add a waterproofing agent?

As mentioned previously you dont want to add artificial additives to lime putty if possible as you want a wall to breathe naturally.

Sometime however you encounter dampness issues in internal lime washed walls  or lime mortar walls and you may need another solution.

The best way to prevent water coming up through an existing lime mortar brick wall would be to select one horizontal bed of mortar that is within or lower than say 50cm from the ground and then you can carefully remove the existing mortar between the bricks in sections - leaving some areas or horizontal sections behind to provide structural load bearing. And then you can replace the mortar in the removed sections with waterproofer mixed with lime putty and allow to dry. Please be intelligent on how to go about this as you need to maintain structural integrity of a wall at all times.

This will in effect create a horizontal impermiable water barrier across an internal wall but not over the entire surface. This is better option than adding the waterproofer in the surface lime wash as you want the wall surface to breathe.

You only do this if you notice a discolouration of the lime washed wall and need to find a solution in terms of appearance. Do not use water proofer over an entire surface of an internal wall as you want the water to move in and out of a brick wall. If you have no choice and need to add water proofer to an internal wall - do it only low in wall, below 30-50cm only.

Do not get confused with tuckpointed external wall surface where you should noy add any waterproofing agent to either the mortar or tuckpointed lines! They will crack off or the bricks will crack before mortar does.

How to removing Lime Putty from Bricks- What happens if I find some insoluble lime scum on my bricks? How do I remove this without bleaching the tuckpointed joints?

Sometimes no matter how good you are you may unknowingly or accidentally spill or drip lime putty onto un intentional areas.

If you accidently spill or get lime putty on areas you do not want then you should clean up as soon as possible, if left to dry you can use a dilute acid to wash off if any other means is not an option.

The solution is to use hydrochloric acid and brush it onto the affected brickwork. But you must use a 10% concentration only - NOT MORE CONCENTRATED! If you use too strong an acid and it soaks too much into the brick it can "burn" the lime mortar and professional tuckpointers have told me that it actually can go green. And you may not see affects till as much as 3 weeks later. So please be careful with the amount of acid you use. Also it is harmful to hands and eyes so wear gloves and eye protection.

When applying an acid, scrub on the acid and leave for 5 minutes only.

Then wash off/scrub off twice with plain water. And wash down wall to remove an acid residue.

If this does not work, then use hydrated lime over the affected areas overnight and wait till the morning to remove with water

In both cases you will have to re-tuckpoint the affected areas.

If you are still having trouble getting rid of lime mortar from unwanted areas then another remedy may be to use Selley's sugar soap.

You may want to use masking tape to cover any surrounding tuckpointing from exposure to acid prior to acid application, but remember to peel off after washing the walls so it doesn't retain any acid and wash without tape.

Is the method of Tuckpointing Stone different to Tuckpointing Bricks?

The method of Tuckpointing on a Stone Building is identical to Tuckpointing on a Brick Building.

So the procedure is to:

1. Remove all the old mortar on a stone building to 10 - 20mm deep. This depends on what condition the existing mortar is, and how much mortar is missing from a wall. Stone buildings have deeper mortar so you can go deeper.

2. All gaps between the stone need to be re-filled with lime putty flush with the stone surface.

3. Then you have to re-tuckpoint or apply the fine lining between the stone.

You should aim to finish about 1 square meter at a time. That is, filling in base mortar and then fine lining - before moving on to the next area.

Do not leave large areas to dry without finishing a smaller area completely.

Fine lining should be done within about 2 hours of applying base mortar. This allows both fine lining and mortar have time to bond and dry together.

Can you paint / repaint over walls that have had holes filled in with Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

Yes, there is no problem in applying paint over walls which have been filled in with Ready Mix Lime Putty.

You have to first remove any existing loose mortar (mortar stones) from the brick work and clean out dust and dirt.

You also have to clean way say with a wire brush any flaking off existing loose paint from the wall.

You can then fill in holes with Ready Mix Lime Putty and after wall is full dried you can apply paint.

Below is an example of a customers wall prior to cleaning and using Ready Mix Lime Putty.

 

Benefits of using Ready-Mix Lime Putty as lime mortar and using lime mortar in general (references similar to non-hydraulic limes found on wikipedia.org)

• There is no need for expansion (movement) joints - also called "articulation joints" in Australian Building Codes
• It allows buildings to "breath", and does not trap moisture in the walls
• lime mortar has low elastic modulus (Low modulus materials stretch a lot when they are pulled and squash down a lot when pushed preventing damage to a buildings masonry when used as mortar. High modulus materials are opposite—they stretch very little when pulled) (squash down very little when pushed)- bricks should have high modulus - mortar should have low modulus - so the movement is in mortar only not cracks in bricks!.
• Stone and brickwork bonded with lime is easier to re-use.
• Lime acts sacrificially in that it is weaker and breaks doen more readily than the masonry, thus saving weaker stone such as sandstone and limestone from the harmful effects of temperature expansion and mortar freeze.
• Lime re-absorbs the carbon dioxide emitted during calcination - firing in the kiln - thus partiallyt offsetting the large amount of carbon dioxide used during manufcature.

What is Ready Mix Lime Putty - is it "Slaked" Lime - is it made from natural processes - what is its chemistry?

Over the years I have had many question on if our Ready Mix Lime Putty is based on natural ingredients and processes, so I hope to explain a little bit here about the Lime Stone Cycle and how Lime Putty is made.

Limestone is also called Calcium Carbonate or chemically CaCO3.

Limestone is formed over millions of years by marine organisms/animals dying and their millions of shells settling on bottoms of oceans where they form sediments plus the natural process of calcium minerals and C02 dissolved in seawater in the oceans react with each other and

eventually combine and drop out of solution and form deep sediments over many thousands/millions years etc.

Over millions of years this limestone sediment - via sea level rising and falling and through plate tectonics - limestone ends up on dry land - and even up on very high mountains where the limestone is heated and dried and forms limestone sedimentary rock.

Humans then can extract limestone on dry land at quarries - where we dig the material out.

If Limestone or CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate) is heated in a Rotary Kiln in an industrial process (and also can be performed in small kiln ovens - which for example my Grandfather used and was and still is common in European villages.)

You drive off Carbon Dioxide CO2 out of the limestone and you then obtain Quicklime or Calcium Oxide "CaO".

This process requires energy input so is called an Endothermic reaction - you need to add energy as heat or say propane gas, electricity, wood, charcoal etc.  

The Calcium Oxide CaO or Quicklime end product is highly caustic and is called "Unslaked".

If you then combine Calcium Oxide or Quicklime with water H2O - this makes Ca(OH)2 or Calcium Hydroxide  - This process of "Slaking" which basically means adding water to Calcium Oxide creates a strong Exothermic reaction which basically means it naturally heats up without adding energy. - This reaction can be violent and will bubble and release steam and heat.

Ca(OH)2 or Calcium Hydroxide is called "Slaked Lime". If you add just enough water to Calcium Oxide you will end up with a soft white dry powder. If you add more water then the Calcium Hydroxide or Slaked Lime, being insoluble in water, will then sink to the bottom of a container and will make a Slurry.

This Calcium Hydroxide or Slaked lime is very usefull for builders, as it is "Sticky" and it forms a strong adhesion with sand or rocks and other things. In fact Romans and early Europeans first discovered this process, so it has been used for centuries by builders to stick rocks together.

If you add sand to Slaked Lime you will end up with "Lime Putty". This is what our Ready-Mix Lime Putty basically is - Slaked lime + Sand.

Ready-MIx Lime Putty is regarded as Non Hydraulic Lime (NHL) - meaning that if it is submerged in water it will not set or dry under water - so lasts in theory a long time - long shelf life. This is why we recommend that you always add some sealant water over the top of our Ready Mix Lime Putty when not in use.

Hydraulic Lime (not Lime Putty), on the otherhand is not the same as Lime Putty and relies on other chemistry - and does set under water. (as it has aluminium and other minerals to react with, as clay is basically aluminium oxide, magnesium oxide, silicone oxide(quartz) and organic matter).

Hydraulic Lime (not Lime Putty) is created by reacting slaked lime with "Clay" in a kiln.

Ready-Mix Lime Putty does not contain Clay - which is a good thing as it would be brown and not be white in colour!

The addition of clay allows Hydraulic Lime (not Lime Putty) to set faster and higher compressive strength than Lime Putty. Think of a brick - its basically made of clay etc and is strong when baked.

Hydraulic Lime (not Lime Putty) sets or cures by a process called hydration - which means basically that you need to add water (hydrate) for it to set. Cement is similar in that when you add water by hydration during mixing (such a brickies mortar) and then it cures into a hard substrate.

Non-Hydraulic Lime or Ready-Mix Lime Putty - sets or cures by a process called "Carbonation." Carbonation means re-absorbing carbon dioxide CO2 from air. The heat in a kiln drives off CO2 - then after slaking it re-absorbs carbon dioxide to cure or set.

Hydraulic Lime (not Lime Putty) sets or cures much faster than Lime Putty which is a Non-Hydraulic Lime. Lime Putty usually sets properly after 24 hours, Hydraulic Limes set in a couple hours. 

Basically when Lime Putty, Slaked Lime -  which is chemically Calcium Hydroxide Ca(OH)2  - is exposed to air and specifically to Carbon Dioxide in air - it reacts with carbon dioxide to then form Calcium Carbonate - CaCO3 or hard Limestone again. Thus completing the Limestone Cycle.

So yes our Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty is based on Slaked Lime and is based on natural ingredients and processes to cure.

Tuckpointing Fine Lining Colour

Tuckpointing fine lines are usually either pure white in colour - which is achieved by using our Ready-Mix Tuckpointing Lime Putty straight out of the container or can be "black" in colour - which is achieved by adding black coloured oxides to our Ready-Mix Lime Putty.

Apart from the obvious aesthetics to do with why a particular home would be tuckpointed or fine lined in either white or black- as both colours contrast very well against say a red coloured brick and underlying mortar. An interesting piece of information was recently mentioned to me by a professional tuckpointer/trademen at our shop regarding the reason "black" colour was used as fine lining may have been due to the death of Queen Victoria who reigned as Queen of United Kingdom and related Commonwealth from 1837 to 1901 which is what we refer to as the "Victorian Era". It was mentioned that people were mourning the end of the Victorian era due to the passing away of Queen Victoria so colour of Tuckpointing in some cases was switched from white to black. If I find some factual information or references to substantiate this I will post here as I found this theory interesting.

Postage/Delivery

We send our Ready-Mix Lime Putty Throughout Australia and New Zealand and Worldwide via Australia Post, DHL Express Worldwide, Hunter Express, Startrack and other couriers.

All Ready-Mix Lime Putty sent packaged in Heavy Cardboard Boxes

All of our Speedex Ready-Mix Lime Putty is now sent packaged in heavy cardboard boxes and strapped so they are not prone to damage via transport.

Can we send tuckpointing tools with Ready-Mix Lime Putty?

Yes we can place additional tools inside or secured to outside the heavy cardboard delivery boxes to keep delivery low as possible. We can also stick on tools to the top lid of the bucket whenever possible to save on postage and if heavy cardboard boxes not required - such as pick up from store. If you order straight edges and lime putty we stick on/attach securely the straight edge cardboard postal tubes to the top of the lime putty boxes so only one parcel is required. If multiple large 10L buckets are ordered then they are sent individually. Our automatic postage calculator does not process orders over 22kg each so if you would like multiple 10L buckets or combined tools that weigh over 22kg then please write to us at speedex@speedex.com.au and we will manually work postage out for you.  We can send just our online shopping cart does not split oders at the present time.

PLEASE NOTE regarding fastest local Australia wide delivery only: Lime Putty boxes are too large to fit inside a 3kg or 5kg Next Day delivery Australia Post Express Post Satchel so we have to send all Lime Putty Parcels in a heavy cardboard box with strapping so they are handled with care and sent by normal regular Parcel Post (5-6days delivery) or Express Parcel Post (2-3 day delivery within Australia). So the fastest delivery method within Australia is Express Parcel Post which is 2-3 days not next day delivery. Unfortunately our website shopping cart calculator bases shipping method only on weight not size so please do not expect next day delivery for any lime putty as next day delivery is only available for anything that we can fit inside an Express Post Satchel and fits inside the regular Post box slot. So if your shipping says it is next day delivery then please note that it will unfortunately be 2-3 days due to size not weight. 

Bulk orders

We also send bulk orders via Pallets Australia wide.

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Ready-Mix Lime Putty

Delivery Australia wide.

IMPORTANT: Please remember to drain off small top layer of sealant water before using or prior to stiring putty, otherwise mix may be a little too wet. If you forget and accidentally mix the sealant water through the mix, dont worry - just give bucket a quick shake, so as to settle the lime putty to bottom of the bucket and leave bucket with lid on for 24hrs (next day etc) for water to rise back up again and for solids to settle downward, then tip off small sealant layer of water. The Ready Mix Lime Putty is already pre-mixed through so you only maybe need to give a little stir prior to use. After use you can then add a small sealant layer to top of the lime putty that remains, place lid back on and leave. Mix will last for a very long time if doesn't dry out.