Diary > Monday 7th June

[Viktoria]

Thanks Roobarb but I had not finished it and it disappeared !
Never mind .
Will try again,have just come in - Barbecues to the Right of me, Barbecues to the left of me,for the football, then B/ day party, in front of me and loads of guests everywhere .
Considering our area is now very high I don’t get it at all.

I Hope restrictions are not lifted too soon because there will be problems and repercussions with this happening all over the country.
Well must check my chicken casserole.
Cheerio and thanks .
Viktoria.

[BushInn1746]

Roobarb, I love your new pic   
Once the schools were back, Mrs P & I went to our pub midday in the week last week and we felt reasonably safe inside   (as safe as one can be currently). In the evenings and weekends our local looks extra busy and even though many are in the back garden, we'd give it a miss.

My view is, if we take one look inside, we are not happy and we have not booked, we leave it. We wouldn't book anywhere that is not operating a Covid-19 safe / spaced policy. I need to feel both relaxed and safe. Not much point otherwise.

Viktoria
That caserole sounds good and healthy    I hope your eye continues to make good progress and your Son improves soon.

MH, garden trip to Dartmoor sounded pleasant  . It is too hot, close and humid here currently for garden trips.

Caroline, the boys pushing out the Spitfire, that's different! 

TY, not just in the shade here, inside and in the coolest room (lawns mowed earlier), with windows closed (until it cools)    . A storm from France with torrential rain is being expected over Southern England - per weather report.

LM, keep an eye on those sweet peas, perhaps too hot for them to reach the strings 

PharmaT
I hope you are making sure you are getting your water drinks when you need them 

Monday 14th June 2021
Our Covid England Restrictions Briefing is scheduled for 6pm (with CMO & CSO).
The Secretary of State for Health at 8.30pm.
I can't see us changing too much

Take care all, Mark


Oh dear, just realised I've posted on a week ago     

It's the heat     

[louisa maud]

Bushinn
Sweet peas growing but they don't want to attach to the pea stick or whatever you call them but they look fine, nice and green I wonder if I put them in to late, luckily they only get sun till about midday, on the other side the sun is relentless and some of my bedding plants were wilting, I water every evening, I also bought a hanging basket from the orange supermarket, £5, it is purple petunias and it beautiful, best fiver I have ever spent but it takes a lot of water and they wilt s at the drop of a hat, so water 3 times a day
I know you shouldn't water when the sun is on plants but I have carefully been watering the ground around it
Gardening has been my savour this last few weeks with some very sad news that just won't go away, but we have to over and move forwards
Thank goodness for RC
Take care everyone

LM

[Viktoria]

Thanks Bushinn ,I feel a milestone has been passed, over two weeks gone for one type of drop so two more weeks of those, four weeks for another and eight weeks for a third,the rest are permanent and I am used to those .
Blurred vision in Rt eye,gradually clearing.

Well quite chilly today after a moderate start.
But did stay dry,and got washing out.

Bacon chop for tea with new potatoes ,green beans and broccoli .
Yog for dessert.

Odd day ,a builder called re my back house wall being pointed ,the bricks are Jericho bricks ,made in Bury and akin to the hard Accrington bricks .
They need proper lime mortar, but seemingly mastic is good too, and now  available in grey and stone colours as well as the usual red.
I will consult the Oracle ,—- my son!

Well no lifting of many restrictions ,as yet ,I personally think it is for the
 best ..Especially here where the Delta variant is rampant.
Other variants are probably on their way too.
 Hope everyone is well and we know of some posters who have heartache at this time and hope you all stay strong and if good wishes do any good well you will surely get through .
Cheerio everyone.
Viktoria.

[BushInn1746]

Louisa, I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. Getting outside and doing something in the garden can give the mind a little positive change for a brief moment.

Viktoria, pointing with mastic? Was he wearing spurs and have a horse tied to a nearby lamp post?

I'm a retired Building Inspector and when pointing brickwork, we'd expect to see the brick joint carefully chased out to about 1 inch deep and be carefully repointed with cement / lime mortar (no mortar left on brick faces and no damaged brick edges).

Time consuming when done properly to a good standard and obviously not cheap labour wise. Best to see examples of their actual work too and on direct recommendation from a friend of yours or someone known to you. Not pictures in a book they show you, it could be anybody's work.

Has the weather worn away the mortar badly in the joint between the bricks, causing a recess between the bricks? If it has not bady worn away the lime mortar and no evidence of damp penetrating the lime mortar joint, I'd leave it.

Once the sun and then Winter weather gets on a mastic, over the years most mastics will dry out, crack and then even fall away.

Take care, Mark

[BushInn1746]

Viktoria
It is surprising how many people have grass growing in their gutters, or partly blocked guttering / outlets, down pipes (usually in the swanneck) or blocked overflowing Hopper Heads.

Rainwater (or mains water from overflow pipes), left running down a house or any structure wall (unless it is a dam, or weir, etc.,) are bad news and can be one of the causes of wall / damp problems.

If your house is Listed or in a Conservation Area any pointing will likely need to match existing, if so the Council's friendly Heritage / Conservation Officer can advise.

The correct type of a mastic or correct sealant, are usually intended to use around door / window frames to brickwork, or around baths and shower trays.

I have seen a special type of mastic used in a wall to seal a vertical expansion joint built into long new boundary walls, but these joints (often vertical) are expansion joints to specially allow a wall to move in relation to the adjoining wall section. Not applicable to standard houses, nor intended to repoint house brickwork.

Mark

[Viktoria]

BushInn,the present pointing is very poor.The house was built in the 1920’s .
The original is lime mortar but badly eroded ,behind is that black mortar .
There are bad cuts on the bricks where some past pre- pointing cutting out was done .
The builder was quite puzzled by the narrowness of the space between the bricks ,not the usual 10 mm ,only six to seven in places ,some cutting discs are that thick .
The bricks are not spalling but there is some  surface erosion ie the low glaze ( like that  of Accrington NORI bricks)is pitted, but I am a corner house ,the wall in question is almost due South, there are cross winds too.( my washing is dry in  no time ,dancing on the line.)
 The builder lives further down the road ,so his work will be visible to neighbours .
I did with difficulty find someone who would do the old lime mortar ,but then along came Covid 19!
I did wonder if mastic would dry out,you used to “ feed “ it with boiled oil I think.Otherwise it sort of rolled back on itself and the surface skin left the middle exposed.
It was round the doors and windows at our old stone built house .
I can see me up ladders feeding mastic with oil!
So which will be best!

Thanks for the advice, it is very welcome.

 Viktoria.

[Viktoria]

Do tell me re the joke about mastic?
Did you mean the builder was a cowboy? 
Wicks , Jewsons and other building suppliers all stock  mastic in drums enough for 56 square meters of pointing so perhaps it is in some way different to that for just sealing ,as you mentioned.
It is not possible to do a whole wall as it is to do just round doors and windows.
I am puzzled .
There will be about 40 ,square metres, allowing for windows and French windows .
Cheerio.
Viktoria.