Fifteen hundred shades of lime For many years, lime mortar has been considered a building material of the past, something used almost exclusively for renovations of historic buildings. But the ancient material has many advantages for modern products: it is flexible, sustainable, easily recyclable and promotes a healthy indoor environment. This is why Danish mortar specialist KALK is passionate about reintroducing lime mortar to the construction world of today. By Signe Hansen | Photos: KALK
KALK and its lime products have been pivotal to the renovation of some of Denmark’s most iconic historic buildings,
74 | Issue 85 | February 2016
including Amalienborg and Kronborg. Owner and manager Rasmus Jørgensen believes that the time has now come to take advantage of lime’s many distinctive qualities in new constructions. “Renovation has been our niche for many years, but we are now entering a new phase where we are looking at transferring lime mortar’s original qualities into today’s way of constructing. When, in the late 20th century, lime mortar was replaced by other materials it was because, at that time, it was all about
speed and height. When building like that in complete brick walls, lime mortar was not the best choice. But today, almost all buildings are created with a supporting concrete wall, insulation and then a brick facing and, in that kind of construction, lime mortar has many advantages. For one, it creates a more flexible masonry that will cooperate with the rest of the house. This means that the mortar joint is able to adapt to shifting ground or other changing conditions, which will make it easier to avoid cracks in the adherence zone as well as in the plastering. It becomes a more sustainable building, and lime mortar makes it possible to separate bricks and mortar and reuse both if and when the building has to be deconstructed.” Another advantage of lime is that it creates a masonry with a breathable wall