Heidi,

I would worry a lot if the handyman (I won't call him/her a mason) used a
very portland-rich mortar. Once it shrinks and that wall shifts a little and
all the hairline cracks open up, there's going to be a lot of water seeping
into that wall that can't get out easily -- especially since the joints were
feathered out over the face of the stone. Depending on your winters,
eventually that wall is going to self-destruct a whole lot faster than if it
had just been left alone and unpointed.

John Horton

----- Original Message -----
From: Heidi Harendza <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 20, 1999 12:00 PM
Subject: An actual question

> Does anyone have any thoughts or comments on the likelyhood of this
> repointing job actually harming the wall? Crappy aesthetics aside, I doubt
> there was any attempt to figure out how the original mortar was
formulated.
>
> -Heidi