Coloured Pointing Mortar  

Coloured Pointing Mortar

“Repairs that stand the test of time”

Perhaps the most frustrating part of any re-pointing job is not that it is painstaking and time-consuming, but that so often the repairs don’t last.  Kingfisher Coloured Pointing Mortar and Kingfisher Pointing Solution address this problem head-on.  With proven chemistry and a track record of durability going back almost thirty years, you can easily achieve stunning visual results, unparalleled durability and outstanding resilience to penetrating damp.

Coloured Pointing Mortar is crafted from fine silica sands, lime, selected pigments and Portland cement to produce an exceptionally workable mortar, for either traditional trowel application or via powered delivery systems, including Quikpoint.

•    Colour consistency you just can’t match with batch mixing
•    Suitable for brick and stonework
•    Heritage lime option with “611” ratio sand/lime/cement
•    With Quikpoint is 5 x faster than traditional methods
•    Fewer shrinkage cracks
•    Ability to make the pointing colour a design feature
•    Waterproof mortar in just 30 minutes with Kingfisher Pointing Solution
•    Exceptional workability, enhances productivity
•    Formulated for Quikpoint for faster, more accurate pointing

Our “Heritage” lime option is particularly popular as its “611” ratio formulation, perfectly blends the need for sympathetic lime mortar that won’t induce cracking in softer surrounding masonry, with the waterproofing and durability offered by Portland mortar.  We can speak from the experience of literally hundreds of customer enquiries regarding leaks through new “pure” lime mortar pointing.

How does it work?

It is worth taking a brief moment to consider the origins of and problems caused by mortar joint failure.  Mortar joints can fail for a number of reasons; frost damage (spalling), long term exposure to moisture, chloride erosion (salt damage), organic invasion (moss/weeds) or even a weak mix when the wall was first built.  No matter what the cause, the impacts on the building are broadly the same; deterioration in the appearance of the building externally and damp ingress internally, with all that entails in terms of damp and rot.  Effective repair methods are therefore essential for;

Professional pointing of:
•    All types of brickwork
•    Most stone masonry
•    Roofing ridge tiles
•    Blockwork
•    Paving
•    Flagstones
•    Coping stones

In domestic, commercial, agricultural and industrial buildings where consistency of colour and performance is desired.

“Time is money” as the old saying goes but perhaps a more apt observation in building maintenance is that “labour costs more than material”.  This applies especially to pointing which is a traditionally laborious process, made infinitely faster, decoratively superior and more reliable using Kingfisher Coloured Pointing Mortar and Kingfisher Pointing Solution.

Pointing colour consistency
There are two different ways to achieve attractive coloured mortar joints.  You can either batch mix the colour on-site, using mortar dye or you can use a pre-mixed solution.
The difficulty with batch mixing is that it can be awkward to consistently weigh out the exact proportions of sand and cement on-site, never mind accurately calculating the correct proportion of dye to be added every time.  If you get it wrong the shade variations, especially on large areas, can be noticeable and spoil the appearance of an entire wall.  Coloured Pointing Mortar removes this uncertainty because all the components are pre-mixed in controlled, factory conditions, so you simply add water & Kingfisher Pointing Solution, to get uniform coloured mortar joints from each mix, across the whole job or project.

Pointing adhesion & waterproofing
For accurate pointing, firstly you carefully trowel mortar into the joint, so that it closes up flush with the bedding mortar and secondly you strike the joint, to finish the exposed face to the desired linear profile.  Sounds simple enough, but it takes skill to trowel in the mortar so that it is uniformly bonded to the bedding mortar, without slumping out and without staining adjacent brick or stone faces.  Additionally, there is the worry of an unexpected rain shower washing out the new pointing before it cures.

Coloured Pointing Mortar combined with Kingfisher Pointing Solution improves the adhesion and flexibility of the mix, making it much easier to work with.  This is technically referred to as a “polymer-modified mix”.  Additionally, this mix becomes showerproof in as little as 30 minutes, reducing washout risk.  Once cured the mortar joint has significantly superior flexibility and waterproofing compared to standard sand/cement pointing.  In practice, this means that driving rain cannot penetrate, even after many years and frost damage is almost non-existent.

Quikpoint rapid pointing system
Although not a new innovation, the Quikpoint powered pointing gun has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, as rising labour costs have driven interest in niche tools that save time.  Additionally, the revolution in lithium-ion battery power tools has lent cordless versatility to Quikpoint for the first time, further extending its appeal.

Coloured Pointing Mortar mixed with Kingfisher Pointing Solution and water is the perfect companion mortar for the Quikpoint system, providing a rapid and consistent bead of coloured mortar.  The auger feed effortlessly pushes the mortar to the back of the joint, ensuring total fill, even where joint depths and profile may vary considerably.

The refined formulation of Coloured Pointing Mortar is perfect for Quikpoint, as it is free from contaminants like stray gravel which often contaminate sand stored on-site and can jam the Quikpoint auger drive mechanism.  Additionally, the sands blended in Coloured Pointing Mortar are not as course as standard building sand, resulting in substantially reduced abrasion wear on the Quikpoint gun.

How to use Coloured Pointing Mortar?

1. Pre-treat with Kingfisher Bio Wash (kills moss, green mould & lichens).  Liberally spray the entire wall surface with Kingfisher Bio Wash using a low-pressure sprayer (as for garden weed-killer) and leave to activate.

2. Clean Wall (remove debris)  Typically a wall that needs re-pointing will be in a vulnerable state, with crumbling mortar joints and possibly “blown” faces.  Consequently, aggressive cleaning methods like pressure washing are unlikely to be appropriate as this will inevitably result in further damage and in the worst-case moisture penetration into the building.  Use hand wire brushes, mechanical scrapers and Kingfisher Eco-Brick Cleaner where appropriate.

3. Rake out Joints  Joints should ideally be raked to a depth 1.5 times their width which is sufficient to give the joint both intrinsic mechanical strength and sufficient adhesion into the substrate.  “Raking out” can be effected by using manual mortar raking tools and wire brushes on both stone and brickwork.  Brush out and flush loose material residues from the joint with a compressed air line or a soft hose.  Spray with clean water, using an atomiser spray but do not over-wet.

4. Pre-mix Gauging Liquid.  In a 10L builders bucket or similar mix one-part Kingfisher Pointing Solution to 5 parts water and stir.

5. Mix mortar.  In another container add the desired quantity of mortar (we recommend starting with a small 5Kg mix) and then slowly add the diluted Kingfisher Pointing Solution (approx 0.8 litres per 5 Kg mortar).  Ideally, you should power paddle this with a Kingfisher mixing attachment on a slow speed drill (400-600 rpm) until you achieve a workable consistency.

6. Stand.  Allow the mortar to stand for about 5 – 10 minutes to allow full saturation, and briefly remix, adding a small amount of liquid, as necessary to give optimum consistency.

7. Apply.  Either fill the Quikpoint Gun and apply in accordance with equipment instructions or trowel apply by traditional method.
a) If using the Quikpoint Gun, insert the nozzle at least 4mm into the joint and gently squeeze the trigger.
b) Fill the vertical joints first and after 1 to 2 m return to fill the horizontal joints.
c) Draw the nozzle slowly along the joint, matching the delivery flow rate such that the bead of mortar effectively fills from the back of the joint.
d) Strike off excess to required shape when the mortar has lost its sheen and finish smoothly with a slender pointing trowel/ spatula.
e) Brush off any excess mortar after the initial set but before it fully cures.

How much will I need?

The pointing mortar quantity you will need varies according to the type of building material and the dimension of the mortar joints.  The following guide can fairly be described as a rule of thumb for calculating pointing mortar:

Repointing Bricks
The typical coverage is 4 to 6 sq m per 25 Kg bag for standard brickwork.  This is based on a 10mm wide joint with an average depth of 15mm.

Repointing Stone Masonry
This can be more difficult to estimate as stone sizes vary, making it difficult to calculate projected mortar usage.  Chalk mark a test area of 1 sq m which is representative of the area to be treated and carefully note the volume or weight of pointing mortar used.  This will give you a fairly accurate coverage rate with which to calculate the amount needed to re-point the whole area.

Repointing Blocks
Blocks come in varying sizes but assuming a 10mm wide joint, 25Kg will re-point 45 to 50 linear joint metres at 15mm depth.

Bedding & Laying Bricks, Blocks & Stone Masonry
10kg mortar will lay 10 bricks with a 10mm joint (brick: 230mm x 100mm x 10mm deep.)
20kg mortar will lay 10 blocks with a 10mm joint (block: 460mm x 100mm x 10mm deep.)

Rendering
15kg will cover 1 square metre of render at 10mm thick.
Please note, the foregoing quantities are approximate, don't forget to allow for wastage, typically around 5% to 7%.

Technical Support

As always we recommend that you read the Technical Data Sheet & Safety Data Sheet thoroughly before commencing any work.  If in doubt please call us for advice, we are here to help.