I can find a lot of information relating to lime plaster and lime render in cold weather (don't do it if you're likely to get a frost) but a bit less on using lime mortar for internal walls.
I am due to have some work done soon to clear the subfloor of a Victorian terrace (see my other post about my horror at the dumped builder's waste). Once everythis is removed then this may involve some localised repairs to subfloor walls to get a level wallplate - difficult to tell until the subfloor is clear.
I've realised that this may be better done with lime mortar to match the original material. The builder is a general builder, but this has only just come to mind because my focus has been on the waste clearance. Its also the case that the temperature has just started to drop, which I know is not good for external lime work but I'm not so clear on the implications for interior work.
I don't know whether the subfloor of a house is likely to drop below 5 degrees even if the outdoor temperature is that cold. Its probably easier to get some insulation wrapped around a small section of wall than it would be around an outdoor chimney stack, say. This work has been waiting for so long and I was let down by another builder that I can't really delay it. Its possible that I could ask then to move on to another bit of work they're due to be doing to give the mortar a chance to set if that's whats needed, and then return just to finish off the floor as a last bit of work.
Obviously if it ends up just being a few bricks that need replacing then I don't expect a tiny bit of cement will be the end of the world. But if its a bit more than that, maybe lime would be better. If I'm going to the trouble of getting the work done at all then it would be nice to do it right.
Any thoughts on this? Whether lime is a necessity for very localised sections of repair, how long it needs to be left for relative to cement and whether an interior subfloor is generally less worrisome for this kind of thing anyway?
I am due to have some work done soon to clear the subfloor of a Victorian terrace (see my other post about my horror at the dumped builder's waste). Once everythis is removed then this may involve some localised repairs to subfloor walls to get a level wallplate - difficult to tell until the subfloor is clear.
I've realised that this may be better done with lime mortar to match the original material. The builder is a general builder, but this has only just come to mind because my focus has been on the waste clearance. Its also the case that the temperature has just started to drop, which I know is not good for external lime work but I'm not so clear on the implications for interior work.
I don't know whether the subfloor of a house is likely to drop below 5 degrees even if the outdoor temperature is that cold. Its probably easier to get some insulation wrapped around a small section of wall than it would be around an outdoor chimney stack, say. This work has been waiting for so long and I was let down by another builder that I can't really delay it. Its possible that I could ask then to move on to another bit of work they're due to be doing to give the mortar a chance to set if that's whats needed, and then return just to finish off the floor as a last bit of work.
Obviously if it ends up just being a few bricks that need replacing then I don't expect a tiny bit of cement will be the end of the world. But if its a bit more than that, maybe lime would be better. If I'm going to the trouble of getting the work done at all then it would be nice to do it right.
Any thoughts on this? Whether lime is a necessity for very localised sections of repair, how long it needs to be left for relative to cement and whether an interior subfloor is generally less worrisome for this kind of thing anyway?