Frog joint mistake I made for 2 years before a foreman pointed it out

I've been laying brick for about 8 years now, mostly residential stuff in the Charlotte area. Always thought I was doing everything right until last month. A foreman I was working with on a fireplace job watched me butter a brick and said "why are you hiding the frog?" I had no idea what he meant. Turns out on most extruded bricks, the frog (the indented part) should face down when you lay it unless the spec says otherwise. I'd been putting it up the whole time because it held mortar easier. He said it weakens the bond because you get a thinner mortar bed on the face side. Checked with the manufacturer's data sheet and he was right. 2 years of my own house projects and probably 20 jobs doing it backwards. Has anyone else had a basic practice they got backwards for ages? What tipped you off?

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emma_wells834d ago

Check your local brick supplier's dry stack or sample board next time you're grabbing materials. Most of them have a cutaway showing the frog facing down, and the manufacturer's website usually posts the same thing under their technical specs. I caught myself doing the same trick with the mortar holding easier, but once you get used to flipping it, you'll see the bed stays way more even and you don't get those weird hollow spots behind the face. Also, watch how the older guys load their boards if you're on a mixed crew, that's how I finally figured out I was the odd one out.

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