How Long Does Lime Take to Set

For pure lime putty mortars the hardening process through carbonation takes up to a month for each mm of thickness. Therefore it may take 20 months before a lime putty mortar has carbonated to a depth of 20 mm.

How long does it take lime mortar to set?

The mortar shouldn’t dry out too quickly – protect from sun, wind and rain with damp hessian cloth. Protect from rain if necessary. Build up to a maximum of 1 metre high at a time and then let the lime mortar cure for 2 to 3 days. When ‘green hard’, the joints can be brushed with a stiff brush to expose the aggregate.

How long does lime plaster take to cure?

In most circumstances it will need two weeks to dry out, but can take up to four weeks in some cases. Shrinkage cracks are likely to appear as it dries, but this is not a problem. The important thing is to avoid it drying too rapidly, which can cause it to fail.