lime putty to sand 1 ; 3 ratio
 
sand should contain some sharp sand -- most likely you local sand will be the right colour
 
try a small bit first round the back
 
hope it goes well
 
tony

Thanks tony mate i'm a complete novice i've never done any pointing before but the quote's i've had a have very high so i'll need to do it myself is there anything else i need to know before i start, how dead to i dig in, do i wet it before repointing, what do i use for matching the the original mortar of light grey with flecks, one quote mentions uni-bond into all joints.
As you can see i need as much help as i can get!

hallo
i'm all for doing things yourself, but lime pointing! I have spent many years pointing brickwork, it dries white and mistakes show up like a sore thumb!, my advice is this; practice on some brickwork that will not be seen, lime putty is nice to use, nice and cremy, sticks to the trowel well, pointing is a skill that can be mastered but it boils down to practice, are there any dvds out there available? to rake out the joints you can buy attachments that fit to an angle grinder either discs or a type of drill type thingy ,sorry for being so vague, ebay sell them just type in pointing brickwork. the bricks have to be wet but not too wet before pointing. matching existing pointing can be tricky, if it is grey it sounds like cement mortar. the way to match is really asking someone in the know what type of mortar it is. there are ways to match but it can take batches of different mixes and then it can be difficult to match exactly good luck if you need any more info just ask
regards

Cammy, the secret to pointing is to keep the bricks clean - easy to say, hard to do. If your bricks are hard glazed ie. engineering type brick it wont be too bad, but rough surfaced bricks (or in your case sandstone) will mark up so easily. You need to hack out around an inch at least, we used to use old ice axes, perfect! Wet the bricks first but use the mortar pretty dry, then use a dry stiff brush to clean off the excess, work along the joints brushing the mortar into the joints. A dry brushed joint will look much nicer, softer than a raised hard trowelled joint

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