Sealing around window frames, in the olden days

mortar pointing

 

Had both mortar pointing and painted putty when we first moved in to our house, built 1949.

 

the "nib" or upstand on a concrete cill was bedded in mastic putty, the sides and head where left dry and there was never a problem.

 

Why bother replying to a post if you don,t now the answer????
I,ve never seen old windows sealed with mortar or putty or read about either practice.
The frames were sealed using a finger trowel and trowel mastic,which is still available.
In the old days this would be mixed on site by the painter from fine sand and linseed oil.
As for Sammys mastic putty thats a new one on me.

 

tis a new one on you because you are a gobshite.

 

I,ve never seen old windows sealed with mortar or putty or read about either practice.

As for Sammys mastic putty thats a new one on me.



Just 'cos you've never seen it, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
*

[Edited by: admin6]

 

Why bother replying to a post if you don,t now the answer????
I,ve never seen old windows sealed with mortar or putty or read about either practice.
The frames were sealed using a finger trowel and trowel mastic,which is still available.
In the old days this would be mixed on site by the painter from fine sand and linseed oil.
As for Sammys mastic putty thats a new one on me.



Yorkshireboy, why bother replying, if you don't know the answer yourself.

shot yourself in the foot, my man.


I have taken out MANY windows that were sealed with only a bead of mortar(as original). It was a particular pain, because it all had to be chipped off before removing the frame.



Mr. Handyandy - really

 

It has to be chipped out because it is old rock hard linseed oil mastic.
Why would anyone point around a wooden window with mortar when the correct mastic is cheap and available.
It may be bodged by someone at a later date but no old time tradesman would use anything but linseed oil and fine sand.This sets hard like a mortar over time which leads to many people assuming it is mortar.

To answer the original question again..In the olden days windows were sealed with a linseed oil mastic,never with mortar.

 

"I have taken out MANY windows that were sealed with only a bead of mortar(as original)."


<u>Mortar does not adhere to wood!</u> it is definitely linseed oil mastic.

 

I beg to differ old boy.

This was 100% mortar. Hard yes. Mortar yes.


Mr. Handyandy - really

 

Then beg to differ with science, old boy.

 

"Mortar does not adhere to wood! it is definitely linseed oil mastic."


Probably the reason the frames failed to keep out the water.

Other occasions there was just render up to the window.


Not my fault. I just took it out, I didn't put it there.

Mr. Handyandy - really

 

Not my fault. I just took it out, I didn't put it there.


Fair enuff

 

And another thing. I suppose they use putty for timber frame houses, where bricks/blocks are built between the timbers eh ?


Mr. Handyandy - really

 

And another thing.


The reveals of 'timber kits' are mostly brick, these are normally sealed with oil based mastic, by contractors like these.

 

You,re getting confused Handy were not talking about putty which is linseed oil and chalk.
Unless you worked in an area where all the old windows were sealed by people who wrongly used mortar,you are mistaken.
If you are saying the old window frames were originally sealed with mortar it would be a lime mortar which does not go rock hard,it would have crumbled away long ago.

 

It was a hard mortar, which sometimes fell away in strips of say, 3"(a bit like old putty will) but this was 100% mortar. When fallen(or taken away), there was no other sealant behind. More often than not, it was found on a 'soft' brick building.





Mr. Handyandy - really

 

Not saying in your case it wasn't mortar Handy, but it should have been trowel mastic as that's what they used to use. Doubt they stock it in BandQ, but all decent merchants still stock it.