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I used to think mortar mix ratios were overhyped until a wall failed on me
For years I just eyeballed my sand to cement ratio, figured close enough was fine. Last fall I did a garden wall for a lady in Oak Park and three months later the mortar was crumbling out. I went back, looked at my mix, and realized I was way too heavy on the sand. Now I actually measure every batch with a bucket, and I have not had a joint crack since. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way or am I the only dummy who thought it did not matter?
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amy_martin4mo ago
Oh man, I feel that. I did the exact same thing with a retaining wall a few years back, thought I had it dialed in by feel and it just fell apart in the freeze-thaw cycle. Now I'm religious about measuring too, it's one of those cheap lessons that saves so much headache later.
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simonk984mo ago
Totally agree dude, that freeze thaw is no joke. I started using a level on literally everything after my last fence gate turned into a parallelogram. It's like you pay for the mistakes once or pay for a tool forever.
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