Sustainable mortar Smet Building Products and Haldane Fisher
Sustainable Mortar Soloution
Sustainable mortar solution from Smet Building Products and Haldane Fisher. Click link to view latest advertisement for NHL by Smet in the Northern Builder Magazine and click link to read the Sustainable Mortar Solution at Haldane & Fisher online.
SMET and Haldane Fisher NHL Brochure
Leading building supplier, Haldane Fisher, supported by Smet Building Products Ltd, has launched a range of sustainable Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) based mortars. Haldane Fisher now offers the complete range of high quality, German made EN 459-1 compliant NHL 2, 3.5 and 5 Natural Hydraulic Limes across the company’s 12 branches located in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, closely supported on all aspects of logistics, technical support and aftercare by Newry-based Smet Building Products Ltd. Whether the job is restoration, conservation, retrofit or a new build, the advantages of using NHL-based mortars over cement-based mortars are apparent from decades of experience and research.
To begin with, the manufacture of limes or Natural Hydraulic Limes (NHLs) consumes less energy and produces less greenhouse gases than that of Portland cement per unit weight. It also aids the significant efforts continually being made by binder producers to reduce their energy consumption – and, more recently, their carbon dioxide emissions – by switching from hydrocarbons to other fuels and by improving their production processes. The total energy content per tonne of lime-based mortar has the potential to be between 75-90 % of that for cement-based mortars. In addition, over a period of years of exposure to the atmosphere, lime-based mortars absorb most or all of the carbon dioxide that was driven off during their high temperature manufacturing process – known as calcination. By contrast, cement-based mortars do not normally fully re-carbonate. The sustainability credentials also help bricks to be reused, as masonry laid using lime-based mortar has lower bond strength than cement-based mortars, so the mortar can be cleaned off the bricks easily.
Lime-based mortars also offer a range of advantages from a design perspective. Walls have improved ‘breathability’ to water and water vapour, which reduces the likelihood of frost failure of the unit materials and improves the internal living environment. Walls built with lime-based mortars have more tolerance to movement caused by thermal and moisture action, while movement within masonry walls built with lime-based mortars can be accommodated in the individual bed joints between the masonry units, reducing the need for vertical movement joints.
Finally, lime-based mortars are capable of self-healing microscopic cracks by plastic flow and diffusion and are less susceptible to sulphate attack, providing all-round consistently high quality results.
Mark Freeman, Associate Director, Haldane Fisher, explained, “The addition of products like this provides wider choice for our customers and meets the ever-increasing demand for sustainable solutions.”
Joris Smet, Director of Smet Building Products Ltd, added, “As a Smet Supported Partner, Haldane Fisher is the superior choice for NHL distribution. We are working with key staff in delivering a comprehensive training programme, supported by above the line marketing and demonstration sessions, ensuring all agents are proficient in the benefits of NHL.”
For more information on Smet Building Products, telephone 028 3082 5970 or click to view this Smet Partnership in NHL online. To find your nearest Haldane Fisher branch visit www.haldane-fisher.com