Heard a foreman say mortar mix ratios don't matter much

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?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_reed2214d ago

Two years and it crumbled because he eyeballed the mix? That is wild.

stella_scott9614d ago

Feel for you @david_reed22, that's such a bummer after putting in all that work. Hope you can salvage something from it or at least learn from the mistake.

wader7114d ago

Honestly that foreman has a point if he's been doing this long enough. Sand quality varies so much by region that a strict 3:1 ratio is just a starting point. I've been on jobs in Tucson where the local sand is so fine you'd waste half the cement trying to hit the right color and texture. Two years crumbling might've been bad sand or bad curing, not the ratio. Plenty of old timers in Arizona can eyeball a mix that holds up for decades as long as the sand is clean and sharp. The real problem is when the new kid doesn't understand what "looks right" actually means for bonding.