That one foreman's comment about my mortar mix still sticks with me

I used to mix my mortar a little wetter than most guys because I thought it was easier to spread. Then a foreman on a job in Austin last summer pulled me aside and said it was making my joints weak and spongy. He showed me how the bricks would shift under pressure if I left it too loose. After he timed me, I was actually losing about 15 minutes per wall from having to clean up the drips anyway. So I switched to a stiffer mix with a little less water and my work held up way better through the freeze last winter. Has anyone else had an old timer correct their mortar consistency in a way that stuck?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.thomas21d agoMost Upvoted

Man that sand comment hits home, I've been there too with dirty mix.

jessem5921d ago

That foreman in Austin" sounds like he knew his stuff, man. It's tough having someone call out your method but it sounds like he saved you a lot of headaches down the road.

charles_baker2821d ago

You ever had a guy catch you doing something wrong and it just stuck with you like that? Man, @jessem59 is right, that foreman sounds like he really knew his trade. A few years back, I had an old timer on a job near San Antonio tell me my sand wasn't clean enough. He grabbed a handful of my mix and just shook his head, said all that extra dirt and clay was making my mortar weak. He made me wash my sand before mixing the next batch, and I gotta tell you, that wall I built that week is still standing solid while some of the other work on that site has cracks. It's those little corrections that really save your hide down the line.