Swapped a 3/8 trowel for a 1/2 inch on a fireplace job

I was doing that stone veneer fireplace last week and kept getting bad coverage with my old 3/8 notch trowel. Wasted a good hour before a buddy stopped by and told me to step up to a 1/2 inch square notch. The difference was night and day. Has anyone else had to switch trowel sizes mid-job because the material just wasn't grabbing right?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_flores1d ago

Honestly, that 3/8 to 1/2 inch swap makes total sense. I remember reading an article from a tiling magazine a few years back that said stone veneer is thirsty for mortar, way more than regular tile. Ngl, you probably would have wasted the whole day fighting with that 3/8 if your buddy hadn't showed up. Sounds like the coverage was just too thin to grab onto the stone's rough back. Good on you for listening to advice and making the switch, it's always the little things that save a job.

ward.anna1d ago

Hang on, you were using a 3/8 on stone veneer? That's wild. I can't believe you got any coverage at all with that. No wonder it was driving you crazy.

mason_reed471d ago

Funny you mention that because I had a similar thing happen with a backsplash job last year, except it was the opposite problem. I started with a 1/4 inch notch on some big subway tile and the mortar was oozing out everywhere like toothpaste from a squeezed tube. Had to switch down to a 3/16 V-notch mid-job and scrape off all that excess goop, which was a mess. Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut (or your buddy's advice) and swap tools on the fly, even if it feels like you're losing time.