Swapped from a trowel to a margin trowel for buttering and it changed my day rate

Used to always grab my 10-inch trowel for buttering every brick on a 4,000 brick wall job in Akron last month. Now I use a 5-inch margin trowel for that step and my wrist doesn't ache by noon. Anyone else made a small tool switch that saved your joints?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_henry16d ago

Wait, have you tried flipping that margin trowel on its side for corner work? That little guy digs in way too hard for me on buttering, takes twice the strokes. I keep mine for detail stuff mostly, but for a full wall of brick your wrists must be made of steel.

grant.sam15d ago

Gotta push back on you here @the_henry, I actually love that digging in feel for corners. The way it bites in means I can really slam the mortar deep into those joints without worrying about it slipping off. Buttering a full wall of brick with it is totally doable too, you just gotta grip it loose and let the trowel do the work instead of fighting it. Wrist fatigue is real but I'd rather have the control than something that slides around all soft.

margaret9915d ago

You ever notice how small changes in your tools or routine end up making the BIGGEST difference in how you feel the rest of the day? It's like switching to a better coffee mug or a different pair of boots - the little things add up fast.