Stonework made easy

[PhilT]

I am about to visit our house near Montbron with the purpose of installing a window in a large hole in the wall and have two questions:-

Do I use a normal cement/ sand mixture to install the window and fill in with stone around the window?

When re-pointing do I use a Lime based mixture?

As time is short for the visit and my wife who speaks some french will be at home, can I buy the above in a ready mixed bag ( just add water) and if so, does anybody know the french name .

Hope you can help

Phil

[Les Flamands]

Do you already have the lintel in place? It is usual to build up the stonework to the dimensions of the window, fit or cast the lintel and then fit the window. You might like to look at my webpage with photos of the way we often do window openings - http://www.lesflamands.com/hr3.
You can find sand/cement mix in the bricos in small sacks - I imagine you would need a lot of them, try 'mortier a batir tout pret'. Use a mix of 'Tradifarge' and sand for re-pointing ( plus colourant if necessary to match existing).

Regards

Charles