Me thinks Paul has made porridge but don’t tell him!
This week, Paul Coleman, Project Manager, talks about the mortar mixing process up at the Folly.
Amazing coloured sand
At the Folly its just like the Isle of Wight, coloured sand of every shade and texture everywhere.
Conservation take on a scientific approach where we’ve been looking at mortars (the stuff that sticks the bricks and stones together). We’ve been sampling different old mortars in the laboratory, analysing them to determine their make up and ingredients. Taking samples of the material, setting them in resin and taking very, very thin slices of them – we then, under high resolution magnification, can see what they put in the mix.
Yes ‘ingredients’ as like any cake its about putting in the right stuff to match the appearance and texture but also to make sure it performs structurally (the stick and stay test) but allows water (rain) to absorb and evaporate and for…
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