I finally saw what a bad mortar mix can do to a wall after only 6 months

I went back to a job I did for a buddy's backyard fire pit last fall and it looked terrible. The mortar was crumbling between the bricks and some were actually loose already. He said it started looking rough after just a few months. I checked my notes and realized I used a different sand than usual because the supply place was out of my go-to. That sand had too much fine dust in it and the mix never set up right. I had to tear out the whole top three courses and redo them with the right blend. Now I'm super careful about which sand I buy even if it means driving to a different yard. Have any of you run into a bad batch of sand that messed up your mortar?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty_fisher54d ago

Wait, you actually confirmed it was the sand with too much fine dust? I don't think I've ever heard of that being the main cause of mortar failure that fast. Six months is crazy fast for mortar to start falling apart like that. I've used plenty of different sands over the years and never had anything that bad happen. That must have been a real pain to tear out and redo, especially since it was a favor for a buddy. I'm glad you figured out the cause though, that kind of mystery would drive me nuts.

mitchell.shane4d ago

Yeah the lab tech actually laughed at me when I brought in a sample, which is never a good sign (or a great ego boost). Six months felt like a personal record for fastest failure ever, pretty sure I earned a weird badge of shame for that one.