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“The Cement That Built America”
News, events, history, resources and product information for authentic, historic
Rosendale Natural Cement Products.

ASTM Updates Reinstated Standard C10

ASTM C10, Standard Specification for Natural Cement,  reinstated in 2006, has been updated and republished effective December 1, 2007. The new C10-07 version of one of ASTM’s oldest standards was modified to include whitewash as a typical past use use of natural cement. The standard is available online at www.astm.org.

The standard connects contemporary natural cement to its historic roots. Conservators, engineers and architects specifying “natural cement meeting the requirements of ASTM C10”, can be assured they will get the authentic, traditional material used in thousands of 19th Century buildings and structures, and that it will meet the same structural performance requirements it was designed to meet over a century ago

ASTM Publishes STP 1494 Natural Cement

A new 320-page book is now available from ASTM. Entitled “STP 1494 Natural Cement”, the book incorporates new and historical materials, including:

• 10 original papers presented at the First and Second American Natural Cement Conferences
• Copies of the reinstated 2006 ASTM C10 Standard Specification for Natural Cement and the original 1904 cement standard
• Reprinted excerpts of rare historical materials, including Young (1817) on canal construction materials, Totten (1838) on tests of lime and natural cement for use in fortifications, Vose (1857) on masonry materials for railroad construction and Cummings (1898) on buildings and structures built using natural cement.

The volume may be ordered from ASTM International online at stp1494.htm

Fort Phoenix, Massachusetts, a Revolutionary War-era fortification, has recently undergone major restoration using Rosendale 12M Mortar, Rosendale 14S Stucco and Rosendale 15W Whitewash. Work was performed by Monaco Restorations, Inc.

1835 Lighthouse Restored In-Kind

The Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol, Maine, has been restored using the original Rosendale natural cement mortar and whitewash. New materials were indistinguishable from the 173-year-old materials, which only required spot repointing. A white EverKote 300 mineral coating completed the finish, conforming to contemporary Coast Guard requirements for the still-active lighthouse.

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park

Photos were taken during 2004 test applications of Rosendale Natural Cement mortar at Fort Jefferson, 70 miles off Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. Rosendale natural cement was used in the original construction of the fort, over 150 years ago. In 2005, work continued under the first major restoration phase, and Phase 2 is currently under way.

Rosendale Natural Cement was a common material of construction for large masonry and early concrete structures in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. It was prized for its fast set, allowing much more rapid construction than lime putty masonry mortars. It was also recognized for its exceptional durability, even under severe exposures. At Fort Jefferson, much of the 150 year-old Rosendale cement mortar remains in excellent condition, in spite of the severe ocean exposure and over 100 years of neglect. In spite of its circumference of nearly a half mile and a total lack of expansion joints, the structure shows no signs of thermal expansion related cracking or stress.

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Rosendale Natural Cement Products are manufactured in
the United States of America
from 100% American Natural Cement conforming to the requirements of
ASTM C 10.
This is the authentic historic material originally used in construction of thousands of American and Canadian buildings and structures in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Accept No Substitutes!