My wife's dad told me I was too slow on a simple garden wall job

We were at a barbecue last weekend and he asked about my recent work. I mentioned a small garden wall I built for a neighbor, taking two full days. He just shook his head and said, 'A real bricklayer would have had that done before lunch.' It hit different coming from a retired guy who laid brick for 40 years. Now I'm thinking maybe I focus too much on perfect lines and not enough on speed. Do you think quality always has to suffer to get faster, or is there a middle ground?

4 comments

4 Comments

ericw931mo ago

Wait, two days for a whole wall?

jake_patel1mo ago

Honestly, @ericw93, my first brick wall took a full weekend. The trick was getting the mortar mix just wet enough so it didn't set up too fast. I laid out all my bricks first and just focused on keeping my lines straight, which saved a ton of time fixing mistakes later.

the_mia1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, the "before lunch" comment is classic... I'd still be mixing the mortar. Speed comes with practice, but rushing just makes a mess, like @ericw93 probably found out. A good middle ground is getting the job done right without overthinking every single brick.

kimw579d ago

Oh man, I totally feel you on this. My father-in-law is a retired carpenter and he once watched me build a simple birdhouse and told me I'd starve if I had to do it for a living. I spent an hour just sanding the edges smooth and he was like, "Birds don't care about smooth edges, they just want a hole to live in." It stings because you know they're coming from a place of experience. For my first real landscaping project I laid out every single stone on the ground before even touching the mortar, just lining them up perfect. Took me three days to finish what should have been a one day job but the homeowner still talks about how straight it looks. I think there's a middle ground where you get faster by just doing it more, not by rushing.