The Design Community Hub

c/bricklayers

17

betty_ward•1d ago

Hot take: the new mortar mix at my supply yard is giving me fits

I've been laying brick for about 12 years now, and last Tuesday I picked up a pallet of that new pre-blended mortar from the place off Highway 17. Mixed it up like I always do, same water ratio, same technique, but the stuff wouldn't hold a bead worth a darn. By Wednesday afternoon, I had a whole wall on a garage in Greenville that looked like it was sweating sand. I called the yard and they said it's a new formula they're testing, but nobody warned me before I bought it. Now I'm stuck with half a pallet and a customer who's giving me the side eye about the finished product. Has anyone else run into trouble with these new pre-mixes, or is it just my luck?

12

terry_hayes18•2d ago

That job site in Ohio back in 2008 taught me the real value of a dry mix

I was working on a retaining wall outside Cincinnati and the mortar kept slumping no matter what I did. The old timer running the crew walked over, watched me for 2 minutes, then told me to cut the water back by half. I thought he was crazy but I tried it and the stuff held perfect. Turns out I'd been mixing too wet for years because that's just how I learned. Has anyone else had a pro call them out on a basic habit like that?

22

the_leo•3d ago

Called BS on laser levels for years until I used one on a garden wall

I was that guy who swore by a spirit level and a string line for everything (you know, old school). Last month my buddy talked me into borrowing his Bosch GLL 3-80 for a 40-foot garden wall I was building. I figured it would beep at me and lie about being level. Nope, I set it up in 2 minutes and every single course was dead nuts perfect. I still used my string for a sanity check, but man, that thing saved me like 3 hours of fiddling. Has anyone else had a tool they ignored for years that turned out to be a game changer?

22

rose_murray•6d ago

Vent: Spent 3 hours on a garden wall last Tuesday and a dog knocked it over

I was finishing up the last course on a small retaining wall in some guy's backyard. His golden retriever ran straight through it before the mortar even set. Has anyone else had an animal mess up their work like that?

4

lucas159•7d ago

Noticed a huge difference in my brick joints after I switched to a 3/8 inch trowel 2 years ago

I used to fight with fat mortar lines and messy cleanup until I made that one change at a job in Austin and the walls started looking crisp and consistent, anyone else find a simple tool swap that just clicked?

11

lucas972•8d ago

Tried wetting the brick before laying it on a hot day last week

I was working on a retaining wall outside Phoenix last Tuesday. Temp was 108. The mortar was drying out way too fast. An old timer I was working with told me to dip the bricks in water first. It bought me about 3 extra minutes of working time per brick. Made a huge difference in the bond. Anyone else do this or am I just slow to catch on?

31

mila_jones39•9d ago

Warning: tried using a diamond blade on a regular grinder for firebrick and it shattered after 10 cuts

Blew pieces everywhere on the job site in Austin and now I'm stuck using a rented wet saw for the rest of the chimney, has anyone else had a blade fail like that just from switching materials?

25

veraramirez•11d ago

I thought laser levels were a gimmick until I used one on a retaining wall

For like 10 years I was a string level guy all the way. Thought lasers were for guys who couldn't read a bubble. Then I took a job building a 60 foot retaining wall in Tacoma last fall and the ground was way too uneven to pull a tight string. Borrowed a Bosch GLL from my buddy and honestly it saved me like 3 hours of rework on the first course alone. The thing kept every block dead level across the whole run without me having to climb up and down 50 times. Now I feel kinda dumb for being stubborn about it so long. Has anyone else switched over from old school methods and felt dumb for waiting?

15

derekwalker•13d ago

Dropped 150 bucks on a laser level for brick walls and it saved my back in one day

Figured the old string method was fine but after laying 500 bricks on a garden wall last weekend I'm never going back to squinting at a line, anyone else make the switch to laser and feel stupid for waiting?

23

ray210•13d ago

Buttered my joints wrong for 20 years

Was laying brick on a job in Nashville last week and my mortar kept sagging. A old timer walked over, said "you're buttering it backwards, son." Switched to the long edge method and everything locked up solid after that. Anyone else ever get schooled by a random passerby?

9

derekwalker•14d ago

Saw how a crew in Nashville handled soft ground on a new build

Was visiting my cousin's job site near Nashville last month and the ground was pure clay after rain. The foreman had them lay a 6 inch gravel base before even mixing mortar. They used a laser level to keep it dead flat across the whole footing. I always figured gravel was just for drainage, but seeing how even it kept the first course of block impressed me. Has anyone else run into trouble with settling on soft fill dirt?

11

lee_barnes70•15d ago

Overheard a foreman bragging about skipping expansion joints on a long wall

Said he'd done it for 15 years and never had a call back, but I watched a 40-foot wall crack right through the middle last spring on a job in Tucson and the homeowner sued for $12,000 - has anyone else seen this come back to bite someone?

8

willow_anderson85•16d ago

Had to choose between lime mortar and type N for an old house repair

I was working on a 1920s brick foundation in Portland and couldn't decide between lime mortar and type N because the homeowner wanted it to last but the old bricks are super soft. I went with lime mortar after a local mason warned me type N would crack the bricks over time, and so far the wall is curing nice and slow. Has anyone else had to pick a mortar type for an older house and regret going one way or the other?

25

shah.evan•17d ago

my mortar was drying too fast in the summer heat so I tried wetting the bricks first

I was working on a small garden wall in Phoenix last August and the mortar kept crumbing before I could even get the next brick placed. The sun was beating down and the sand mix felt like it was setting up in minutes. A older guy I met at the supply store told me to try soaking the bricks in a bucket of water for about 30 seconds before laying them. I thought it would make the mortar slide off but he insisted it slows down the suction so the mortar stays workable longer. I tried it on my next row and it worked way better than I expected. The mortar held its shape and I had time to tap the bricks level without rushing. Has anyone else used this trick in dry climates or do you have a different method for fighting fast set times?

17

the_gray•18d ago

Old timer in Tulsa told me to butter the ends of my bricks on cold days, figured he was just being fussy until I had a whole wall blow out on me last January.

Lost a 12 foot section on a garage build because I skipped his advice about pre-wetting the brick in freezing temps, who here still does the old school methods vs sticking with modern specs?

27

the_jenny•19d ago

I wasted $300 on a fancy trowel that sits in my truck now

Bought a Marshalltown carbon steel trowel last spring thinking it would make my brickwork smoother. Thing got rusty after one rainy job in Atlanta and the handle cracked by week three. My old $40 trowel from the hardware store still works fine after two years. Anyone else fall for the expensive tool hype?

4

bailey.sandra•20d ago

Am I the only one who thinks lime mortar gets too much praise these days?

I went to a historic house tour last month in Charleston and watched a restoration crew using a pure lime mix on a 150 year old chimney. Everyone there was acting like it was the only way to go. But I've been laying brick for 35 years and I've seen lime mortar fail in wet climates time and again. It crumbles too fast when you get freeze-thaw cycles. I'm not saying modern Portland cement is perfect, but I think we've swung too far the other direction. Anyone else seeing this in their area?

9

barbara429•20d ago

Tried wetting my bricks before laying in 95 degree heat last week

I was on a job in Phoenix and the mortar kept drying too fast. I tried dunking each brick in a bucket of water for 10 seconds before laying it. It made the mortar stay workable for almost 15 minutes longer. But I also noticed the bricks slid around more and I had to wait an extra 20 minutes before they held firm. Learned that wetting works but you gotta adjust your speed and use stiffer mortar. Anyone else mess with this technique in hot weather?

29

the_jenny•21d ago

Went to a job site in Portland last week and noticed everyone using different mortar mixes

Half the crew was swearing by Type N for everything while the other guys were mixing Type S for the same brick walls. I saw one guy literally get into it with his foreman over which one bonds better in wet climates. What mix do you all use for exterior work in rainy areas and why?

25

felix488•22d ago

Just had a old mason tell me mortar color doesn't matter much

Talked to a guy named Pete at a job site in Cleveland who's been laying brick since the 70s. He said he never bothers matching mortar color exactly because after 5 years of weather and dirt, it all looks the same anyway. At first I thought he was crazy but then I looked at some of his old work and honestly he's got a point. Has anyone else run into old timers who just ignore half the modern rules?

14

paul_burns•23d ago

Unpopular opinion: mortar mix ratios are way too hyped up

I spent 6 hours on a garden wall in Austin last week chasing the perfect 1:3 lime mix, only to realize my sand had clay in it and the whole thing was pointless. Ended up just going with a standard Type S and it held fine... why do we overthink this stuff? Has anyone else just said forget it and used regular mix?

15

joel280•24d ago

Watched a crew repoint a 1920s wall in 3 days flat - what I saw changed how I prep joints

I was working a pest control job at a old church downtown, and these bricklayers came in to repoint the whole back wall. I watched them for maybe 20 minutes on break. They used a angle grinder with a diamond wheel to cut out the old mortar, then they hit the joints with a air hose before buttering in new stuff. I always just used a chisel and hammer by hand, takes me forever. They did a 10 foot section in like an hour. My question is - does the air hose step actually make a difference or is that just for show? I figure dust would mess with the bond. Has anyone else tried switching tools for repointing and saw a big time save?

12

robert_bennett29•24d ago

Hot take: mixing mortar by feel instead of measuring is a bad habit

My cousin who works commercial jobs told me last week that he's been using a bucket with marked lines for water and sand for 5 years and it cut his waste by 30 percent. I always just eyeballed it on my residential patios and firepits because that's how the old guys taught me. Has anyone here actually switched to measuring everything and seen a real difference in consistency?

19

the_ben•24d ago

Serious question, when did everyone stop buttering the hardie?

I remember back in 2019 on a job in Spokane, my old foreman would have us butter every single piece of hardie plank before nailing it off... said it kept the seams from cracking in the dry summers. We'd go through buckets of modified thinset like it was nothing. Now I see guys just butt-jointing the boards with a 1/8 gap and hoping for the best. Last month I walked a house in Boise where every single seam was already starting to check after just two seasons. The builder blamed the material, but I could tell nobody had buttered a single board. So what gives - are y'all just trusting the fiber cement now, or did I miss a memo where the install methods changed?

11

grant_torres•26d ago

Switched from pointing trowels to a margin trowel for repointing and it's not even close

Was doing a repoint job on an old chimney in Seattle last month. Usually grab my standard pointing trowel but it kept dropping mortar in the gap. Guy next to me handed me his margin trowel. Smaller blade, easier to control. Finished the whole stack in half the time. Anyone else make that switch or am I late to this?