Was doing a garden pillar at a job in Greenville. First one went smooth. Second one? Mortar wouldn't hold the stack. Kept sliding off every third brick. Tried mixing drier, wetter, different sand. Nothing worked. Finally realized the bricks were soaking wet from morning dew. SW Carolina humidity. Let them dry out and it was fine. Three hours for what should have been 45 minutes. Has anyone else had wet bricks mess up their day?
I was working on a house off Division Street and my arch came out crooked because I didn't check my string line after setting the first few bricks. The whole thing was leaning about a quarter inch to the left by the time I noticed. Had to pull out about 10 bricks, clean them off, and start fresh with a proper plywood form. Has anyone else made a sloppy arch mistake and found a better way to avoid it?
Back on a job in Raleigh last summer, my foreman Jim kept saying "butter the head joint first, always" and I thought he was just being old school. Took me three days of fighting with misaligned corners and messy cleanup before I realized he was right all along. Anyone else have a stubborn habit they had to break after ignoring someone's advice for way too long?
I watched a guy on a job site in Austin last week mix his mortar like soup. He kept adding water until it was dripping off the trowel. Then his first course started sliding by lunch. I’ve been doing this for 8 years and I learned the hard way after a retaining wall failed on me in 2019. The mortar has to hold its shape when you butter the brick, not run off. You want it stiff enough that a brick stands on its own for a few seconds. Has anyone else had a wall settle because of wet mix or am I the only one who messed that up?
I was working on a 1920s church foundation outside Omaha last spring, and an old bricklayer named Hank walked over and told me to stop using modern mortar for the repointing. He said I had to match the lime content or the brick would spall in 5 years. Has anyone else dealt with older buildings where the standard mix just doesn't work?
I was working a basement repoint job near Des Moines last fall and this guy named Pete, must have been 70, walked over and watched me for a minute. He said I was holding my trowel too tight and showed me how to flick the mortar off the hawk in one smooth motion instead of jabbing at it. He said he learned it from his dad in 1965 and it saved his wrist from giving out. Anyone else pick up a weird trick from an older guy on site that actually works?
I was laying a retaining wall for a backyard in Phoenix when the mortar dried so fast I had to redo three courses. Ended up drenching my bricks in a kiddie pool and working till sunset just to get it right. Anyone else ever have a single job that just totally kicked your butt?
I've been using the same cheap pointing trowel for like 8 years and it finally snapped in half last Friday while I was repointing a retaining wall in Northridge. Picked up a new WHS brand one from the supply yard Monday morning and my joints came out cleaner and faster than they have in ages. Has anyone else noticed a big difference after switching out a basic tool you thought was fine?
I was reading through an old trade manual from the 80s I found at a garage sale last weekend. Turns out the standard mix ratio I've been using for load bearing walls is way off from what the modern codes call for. I've been doing 1:3 cement to sand when it should be 1:2.5 for structural stuff. That 15% difference is HUGE for strength over time. No wonder a few of my older retaining walls have hairline cracks. Has anyone else caught a mistake in their mix ratios from just assuming they were right?
Been pricing out a big repointing job on a 1920s building downtown. $18 per square foot is what I'm seeing. That's way more than I expected. Found the stat in the RSMeans guide at the library. For a 40 foot wall that's gonna be brutal. Anyone else seeing prices jump this much?
I was on a job last week repointing a 1920s foundation in Portland, and this retired bricklayer named Frank walked by. He watched me mix up a batch of Type N and said I was using way too much portland for old soft brick. He told me I was basically asking for spalling down the road, and that I should be using a 1:3 lime putty mix for stuff built before 1940. It hit different because he showed me a photo of a wall he did 20 years ago with the lime mix that still looked perfect. Now I'm second guessing all the modern mixes I've been using on older homes. Has anyone else switched to lime based mortar for historical work?
I was cutting brick in the basement of a medical building downtown and this older mason walked up and told me to soak the blade in diesel overnight. Said it stops the blade from glazing over on hard clay brick. Has anyone else tried that or am I just being paranoid about it?
Picked up some pre-mixed mortar from a big box store for a small garden wall job last week. Figured it would be faster than mixing my own, but it set way too fast in the heat. Ended up tossing half a bag and had to redo a whole section after it cracked. Has anyone else had bad luck with those ready-to-use mixes on hot days?
Overheard a guy on a job site in Phoenix last week telling a new kid that as long as the sand looks right, the mix ratio is just a guideline. I saw a wall from one of his jobs crumble after two years because the mortar was too sandy. Has anyone else run into supervisors cutting corners like this?
Last Tuesday we had a quick storm roll through, and I figured I'd save time by laying bricks while they were still damp. Big mistake lol. By the end of the day, three of them had slid right out of place and the mortar was all runny. My foreman just looked at me and said 'you know better than that.' Cost me an extra hour to fix it. Anyone else ever rush and pay for it with wet materials?
Used to just haul my mortar around in a 5-gallon bucket like everyone else. Kept having to stop and mix every 20 minutes because it would stiffen up too fast on hot days. Picked up a 24x18 mortar trough from a yard sale outside Dallas for $8 and now I can lay brick for almost an hour before needing a fresh batch. Anyone else make the switch and notice a big difference in your pace?
Switched back to the old metal wire ones after the plastic ones crumbled on a 90 degree day in Phoenix and I had to redo the whole pour, has anyone else had better luck with a different brand?
Picked up an old MK 100 mixer off Craigslist last month for $80. The guy said it ran rough but I took a chance. Got it home, cleaned the carburetor, and it fired right up. Used it on a retaining wall job for a neighbor and finished in 2 days instead of 4 hand mixing. Have any of you had luck with beat up equipment off marketplace?
I chose the full tuck point because it looked like the right way but man it took twice as long as I guessed and the homeowner kept asking if I was almost done. Anyone else ever regret doing the extra work when nobody notices?
Been laying brick for about 12 years now and my right wrist has been killing me the last few months. I was using a standard Marshalltown with the skinny wooden handle. A older guy on a job site in Columbus let me borrow his with a fat rubber grip handle. Night and day difference after just one day. My hand didnt cramp up at 3pm and I actually finished my wall without ice packs. Has anyone else switched handle styles and noticed a big change?
I was talking to an old mason named Pete over at the supply yard in Phoenix last month. He told me that when it hits 100 degrees, you gotta use ice water in your mix or the mortar sets up way too fast and loses its bond strength. I always just added more water when it got hot, but he said that just makes it weak and crumbly after a few years. I tried his method on a retaining wall job last week and the stuff stayed workable almost twice as long. Made me think about how many little tricks I probably skipped over the past 12 years. Anyone else got a heat trick for mixing that actually works?
I was working on a 1920s brick chimney in Brookline and a retired mason named Pete walked by. He stopped and watched me struggle with the mortar joints for a minute. Then he reached into my bucket, wet his trowel, and packed the mortar in at a 45 degree angle instead of straight on. He said "the joint wants to grab it, not fight it." I tried his way on the next row and it went in twice as fast with no voids. Has anyone else picked up a technique like that from someone who just happened to walk past their job site?