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Vent: That tricky corner bond stopped me cold until I dug out my granddad's notes

Back when I started, masons would just force odd angles with extra mortar, which always cracked later. I hit a wall on a garden project with a sharp corner that wouldn't hold no matter how I laid the bricks. After struggling, I found my granddad's handwritten tip about cutting a brick on a steep bevel for a tighter fit. It solved the issue and made me realize we've lost some of that hands-on wisdom for quick fixes.
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3 Comments
quinncoleman
Honestly YouTube has some solid videos with those same old school tricks now.
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jana_burns
Man that hits home. My first brick patio looked like a toddler's puzzle because I just slopped more cement into the gaps. Took me three seasons and a lot of cracked corners to finally ask an old guy at the hardware store what I was doing wrong. Turns out there's a whole silent language to this stuff that never makes it onto youtube. Your granddad's notes are like finding lost treasure. Makes me wonder what other simple fixes I'm missing because I just google the fast way instead of the right way.
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joelrodriguez
My own first patio looked like a drunk spider wove it, @jana_burns.
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