I have an old historic building that needs some joints repointed. What mortar should I use?

Your old historic building needs a different mortar type than the mortar types used in modern masonry construction. Most historic buildings were constructed with bricks and mortar that are much softer and more permeable than modern bricks and mortar. The use of modern mortar to repoint soft masonry can result in long-term problems such as spalling and cracking of bricks, as well as moisture transmission problems. Prior to the introduction of Portland cement to the masonry industry in the early 1900s, all masonry was constructed with lime mortar. The lime used was not the same as the hydrated lime used in modern masonry, so historic mortars cannot be replicated by simply leaving out the Portland cement from your mortar recipe. There are several options for replicating the properties of old mortar, including mortar formulations with small amounts of Portland cement, and the use of small-batch craft limes available from Europe and some manufacturers in the United States. It is also important to use aggregates that match the original in sand type and in the aggregate particle size distribution, and to match the color. A mortar analysis that includes measurement of the aggregate gradation and the binder to aggregate ratio is helpful for designing an appropriate mix.
Guidance for the design of a mortar mix appropriate for your building can be found from many sources, including the National Park Service Preservation Briefs (www.nps.org), the Historic Scotland (www.historic-scotland.gov.uk ), and the Association for Preservation Technology. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) provides ASTM C 270, Standard Specification for Masonry Mortar, the standard for modern masonry mortar.

Workforce shortages across the country were made worse when Congress allowed part of the the H2B program to expire last year, dramatically reducing the number of LEGAL migrant workers in this country. Construction, restaurants and ski areas have been on their knees since Jan. 2 when all the H2B Visas were snapped up for the entire year by noon.
I got a big kick out of this editorial from today's New York Times regarding the latest snafoos from Congress's efforts to straighten out immigration:
"Immigration, Outsourced"
Not content to botch immigration policy all by itself, Congress has handed large parts of the job to others to mishandle. It gave the homeland security czar the czarist powers to overturn any law and ignore any court to seal the border. Now Michael Chertoff is clear-cutting a forest of regulations to wall out Mexico by the end of the year. And through the program known as 287(g), his agency is parceling out duties to a growing number of local police and sheriff’s departments, raising an army of junior deputies in the war on illegal immigrants.

read the entire editorial at www.nytimes.com

Q. I am planning to build an anchored stone veneer wall with 4” deep rough, natural stones stacked in a random ashlar pattern. Do I need air space?

A. You need the air space to be solidly grouted to stabilize the uneven stones. The grout pack will shrink and pull away from the building paper (which you have stapled in front of the sheathing, right?). This gap will only be 1/16” wide or so, but it is a continuous slot where moisture can slip down the wall, hit the flashing and weep out of the wall. I recommend 100% cotton rope as weeps for this system.

The Chinese did it

This is interesting - according to the latest expert, it's China's fault that the American residential market is in the tank. It's not the American sub-prime mortgage lenders, it's not the American people who bought more house than they could afford. It's not thousands of American homeowners running away in the middle of the night and letting their homes go into foreclosure. It's the Chinese's fault. OK. Well, read the article for yourself and see if you follow his reasoning
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/03/housing-put-in-perspective/

Play nice when the economy is down

US. Sen. Ken Salazar is trying to make business and labor play nice in the sandbox. He's telling both sides that while the economy is down, they need to work together. Maybe they can fight when the economy gets better?
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8803870

Jobless Claims Up

The government is reporting that unemployment claims have hit a 2-year high. The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance jumped by a seasonally adjusted 38,000 to 407,000 for the week ending March 29. We've heard that the masonry business is slow in other parts of the country and that masons are sitting idle, but when we invite them to Colorado, where there is a plethora of jobs and a shortage of trained masons, they won't come. Why enjoy a paying job and spring & summer in the Rocky Mountains when you can sit at home on your couch and try to survive on unemployment? Go figure.

On a sad note, OSHA will be busy today in Arkansas:
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Three construction workers fell from a work platform that collapsed Wednesday and were presumed dead after falling from a highway bridge into the swollen Arkansas River.
There was no sign of the men for more than an hour after their fall, Little Rock Fire Capt. Jason Weaver said. Divers could not enter the water because the current was too swift

Unions vs Business in Colorado

We are a merit shop trade association, and while most of our contractor members are non-union, some of them are union. It presents an interesting political situation as the battle between business and unions continues to heat up in Colorado. In Sunday's Denver Post the Editorial questioned whether bringing the Democratic National Convention to the Mile High City is worth the power it has given the unions over the city. "The economic shot-in-the-arm, whatever the total actually ends up being, will be a welcome boost," the Post Editorial Writers expounded. "But we're beginning to question whether the short-term benefit is worth the long term expenses."
The battle was further escalated when the unions proposed five ballot initiatives for the fall election to counter the business-backed "right to work" ballot initiative. Here's the full story: http://www.denverpost.com/frontpage/ci_8763664