I have trawled through various messages / archives and deduce that the colour of the mortar used for pointing is driven predominantly by the colour of the sand used. As I live in NW England our building sand is deep red in colour, however I want a grey mortar mix for the pointing (an attempt to match to the flags which I know is not a spectacular idea but I am hoping it will hide to some extent the poor job I have done so far, thus appeasing the missus). Anyway, someone told me you can use children's play pit sand mixed 3:1 with cement for the pointing. As the play pit sand is much lighter in colour the final result will be nearer the grey I am after rather than the brown I get with the my building sand.
Can anyone confirm that this info is correct and that I will get the desired results and are their any handy tips which will help me (not including paying a professional next time)
Grey pointing mix
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Tony McC
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- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
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Get a silver sand from your local BM, or ask for a Mersey Grit, and use that, rather than the red building sand we normally have around here. Childrens' Play Pit sand is expensive and may not have the best grain size for mortars.
Some of the kiln-dried sand supplied for jointing block paving is a pale-beige colour and makes a reasonably good grey mortar.
Some of the kiln-dried sand supplied for jointing block paving is a pale-beige colour and makes a reasonably good grey mortar.
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