MStrell

We tried to get pregymax at point p (after we had encountered the name frequently during reasearch) but point p had none in stock. in fact the point p in limoges seems to stock ONLY a few of the most popular materials - everything else needs to be ordered in .... which requires a 10 day wait. This is difficult when one is making specific visits for renovation. Anyway, we ended up with Doublissimo. After we did some internet research we discovered this product was getting rave reviews. Point p had it in stock (although ONLY in the 80+13 mm version which complies with some kind of minimum thickness for insulation grant aid, or something. Any other thickness needed to be ordered specially). Doublissimo is heavy ... we needed to get ours delivered on pallets that were off-loaded by a truck with a hydralic arm. Each 2.5 x 1.2 m2 sheet was a two-person lift, especially to avoid damaging the backing. Not an easy material to use. We have yet to put its soundproofing to the test, although anything will be better than the two-inch-thick-walls-with-an-air-gap that were in the house already!

I was talking to a French mason who was repointing a farmhouse near ours (the Limousin type with big gaps between natural stones). He told me that his recipe for perfect re-pointing mortar was: 4 measures of white cement 4 measures of white lime 13 measures of sand Hydrofuge (added according to instructions on packet) He was using one heaped shovel-full as a measure. He estimated that an entire house of about 300 square metres of pointing would require about 3 cubic metres of sand. My questions are: 1. Is 3 cubic metres of sand enough? It sounds quite modest considering how much mortar one can use in some of the bigger gaps. 2. HYDROFUGE. I cannot obtain the product he was using (Lanko 321 Lankosec, Hydrofuge de masse en poudre) and I don't want to buy the wrong thing. I have seen lots of containers of liquid hydrofuge in yellow containers at point-p and castorama. Will ANY of these products do? Are they all basically the same? How do I pick the right product and how much would be used in the above mix? 3. What sort of working time would the mix above have? there seems quite a lot of it, so I'm wondering if only any experienced mason would be able to apply that much product quickly enough before it goes off. Any assistance gratefully received. Thanks

Hi there I have an old natural stone farmhouse that needs repointing (pierres). I have read all of the posts concerned with repointing and I must confess to being confused. When I check out the Bricos and DIY shops in my local area (Limoges)either they don't sell the products named on these boards, or I can't find whether the products they DO sell contain lime (if that's what the product needs to contain to repoint pierres) or any other necessary chemicals. Furthermore, when I look at the Weber-Broutin website I can't find any reference to chau de nau, which was the french translation for lime given in another post. Can someone please help with this?? These are my questions: 1. what french term should I use for lime if I am trying to mix my own repointing mortar with products direct from the builders yard? 2. if I cannot obtain Procalit or the other product mentioned on these boards (I think it was Parexi), then what should I use? 3. are the products terralit and pascalit made by weber-broutin suitable for repointing pierres, and if I cannot obtain these two products what can I use instead?? I'd be really grateful for a clear response on this, so I know exactly what I'm looking for. Many thanks! Monika