Lime Mortar for Repointing?

[Rheghead]

I'm reading a book about old stone buildings and they recommend a mix 1 part cement, 1 part quicklime, 6 parts sand and enough water to get a thick paste consistency for repointing. But they say there may be a local mix ie for Caithness that needs to be respected for planning or just to be in keeping with colour matching or weather proof requirements etc. I believe a 3:1 part mix of rough sand and hydrated lime is recommended. Can anyone advise? Thanks in advance

[Dog-eared]

Dont use Portland cement or hydrated lime. Hydrated lime is the wrong stuff. There is no standard mix , but 3:1 is too lean. Use 5:2 or 2:1You need lime putty or Natural Hydraulic Lime. P M me your phone number if you want some advice. I've got a lot of conservation experience and used to teach conservation masonry.

[smithp]

You can't go wrong there I would think. Only thing I would add is if you want to be really bang on you can send your old lime for analysis and they'll give you a mix from that. You can buy lime mortar in tubs - all comes down to pounds and pence though in the end.