Using Lime in Building

Posted by Simon

I had a good journey over to Portsmouth and found the campsite. Looked a bit rough and ready but was okay. The tent was up in two seconds and it took all of ten minutes to finish setting up camp. What now? Well of course I'd better check out the bar and a taste of English pint. After an excellent pint of bitter (I only had enough sterling for one and a half pints - shame) I headed back to the tent and to brave the elements. Frost, freezing cold, rain - you name it I didn't have it. In fact I woke up to a pleasant and mild morning. I opened up the flap of the tent and watched both a blackbird and robin seeking their breakfast, all of a metre away.

After a breakfast of tea, cereal and a boiled egg (after I managed to buy a lighter) I set of for the course. This was being held at Bursledon Brickworks at Swanwick - http://www.bursledonbrickworks.co.uk/. After coffee and introductions the course started with a morning theory session. Basically this covered the properties, types and usage of lime and the difference to cement.

After lunch we had a brief tour of the museum. This is having a revamp at the moment but was extremely interesting, some of the old machines used in the brick making process are fascinating. Then we had some practical demonstrations and an opportunity to have a go ourselves. I found it much easier to use than the equivalent in cement, but it is much more time consuming. I had a very interesting day and learnt a lot which has given me much more confidence for our future projects.

Now I'm staying with my sister near Matlock for the weekend and we are going to see Leicester v Ospreys in the Heineken Cup tomorrow before I head over to Shropshire for the course on natural swimming pools.