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Just realized most guys mix mortar way too wet and blame the brick for sliding
Watched a young guy on a job in Dayton last Thursday fighting a wall that kept sliding on him, and he kept cussing the brick lot like it was bad material. Thing is, I walked over and his mortar was basically soup, running off the trowel before he could even lay it. I have been laying for 22 years and the number one thing I see newer guys get wrong is adding water to make it easier to spread, but all that does is kill the bond and make every course shift. Real mortar should hold a ridge when you cut it with the trowel, if it flops over flat you already put too much in. I showed him how to check by slicing the board and watching if it stands up, took him about 10 minutes to feel the difference and his wall stopped creeping. Anyone else run into guys who think wetter mortar is faster, or is it just the crews I keep crossing paths with?
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mila61522d ago
Had the same thing happen on a porch job in Fairborn back in April, guy had his mortar so wet it was dripping off the trowel like pancake batter. He went through 3 courses before the whole thing bellied out on him and he blamed the brick yard. I told him the same thing you did, cut the mortar and see if it holds a ridge, and he looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. Took him half a day to get it through his head that wet mortar feels easier going on but you pay for it every course after. Some of these young guys learn it in a class or off youtube and never had an old timer slap their hand for adding water. Once you feel proper mortar under the trowel you never go back to the soup.
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