Historic Mortar Testing

 

Call AMR Labs for pricing/details
817-366-8376

AMR Mortar Testing Labs provides mortar testing and matching services for newer masonry mortar and historic lime mortar restorations.

The most important part in any masonry restoration is the mortar used. The replacement mortar needs to match the original mortar in mortar type and crushing pressures. We also match the color and the sand to provide a complete mortar match.

Mortar Testing/Testing Historic Masonry

AMR Labs is a mortar testing lab dedicated to the analysis of mortar for matching new mortar to the existing historic mortar of masonry through a variety of mortar analysis and historic mortar testing methods. Our tests are all for the analysis and matching of hardened historic mortars, and follow the ASTM testing standards for testing historic mortar. Our full mortar analysis provides the most detailed report about the sample mortars, and provides the most reliable results for determining the historic mortar composition and formula of any historic mortar testing procedure available. We get the most reliable results by collecting more data about the mortar being tested. This is done through the combination of multiple testing methods. Some of the tests of mortar include testing compressive strength of mortar, chemical analysis or acid digestion test of mortar, microscopic examination or magnification of mortar samples, and analysis of the sand. Then we use some scientific mortar analysis in the use and interpretation of testing results to narrow the range of results. This portion uses things like the weight loss during analysis with the specific gravity of the identified binder materials of the mortar and allows us to provide more reliable interpretations and recommendations for matching old mortar. You may also be interested in our custom mortar color matching services and bags of pre-matched mortar.

There are many masonry products available on the market for new construction, and many companies who try to use them for masonry repair. This simply cannot work. These products come in grey and white and require full package consumption at time of use to achieve the labeled mortar type. When small portions of these bags are used to blend a matching mortar color, there is no way to know how much of the Portland or lime that make the mix are being used. This makes the resulting mortar type unknown. This is why we mix from the base units to create a matching mortar. It is the only way to know what type of mortar and crushing pressure is being created. We offer our mortar testing and matching services across the country. To learn more visit our products pages. Some of the products and services we offer are: 

Mortar Testing - Mortar Analysis - Mortar Matching and Mortar Composition Testing -