I was mixing up a batch for a little retaining wall project in my backyard last weekend, maybe 80 bricks total. Looked up the ratio on a bag of cement and it said 3 parts sand to 1 part cement... but I piled up what I thought was enough sand and ran out halfway through. Turns out I needed almost 200 pounds of sand for that small job, not the 50 I grabbed. Does anyone else always underestimate the sand or is it just me messing up the math?
Figured I'd save $15 on a trowel for a 5000 brick wall in downtown Austin. By hour 3 the handle was loose and the edge was chipping, cost me way more time than it saved. Any of you guys found a decent budget trowel that actually holds up or should I just stick with Marshalltown?
Figured I'd switch it up from running bond and went with Dutch bond for a 12 foot wall. The first 4 courses looked solid but by the top the staggered joints were misaligned by nearly an inch. Anybody got tricks for keeping Dutch bond straight when you're working alone?
I used to tell customers epoxy was a waste of money because it's a pain to work with and costs 3x more than regular grout. But after doing a shower niche in a house near Portland back in 2019 that got constant moisture complaints, I tried it on a whim. That niche still looks perfect with zero cracks or stains after 4 years. Anyone else here switch over after swearing it off?
I used to use whatever cheap trowel I could find at the hardware store, but my buddy who does stonework in Portland told me to try a Marshalltown. The balance is way better and my brick joints came out cleaner on a 50-foot wall job I did last week. Has anyone else noticed a big difference switching trowel brands?
Was at a job site in Austin last month and borrowed a guy's Marshalltown trowel for a few minutes. The way it balanced in my hand made me realize how worn down my old one was. I went and bought one that same afternoon and my speed picked up by at least 15% on the next wall. Anyone else stick with a tool way longer than they should have?
I drove past a house I worked on back in 2002 near Squirrel Hill and the brick wall I laid still looked solid. No cracks, no spalling, just some normal weathering after 20 years of Pennsylvania winters. Any of you guys ever go back and check on your old work just to see how it held up?
I was working on a retaining wall last Thursday and halfway through the second batch I noticed it was setting way too fast. Turned out my cement had gotten damp sitting in the garage over the winter. Had to scrap the whole batch and drive 20 minutes to the nearest supply yard for a fresh bag. Anyone else ever have old cement ruin a pour on you?
I was on a restoration project at St. Anne's in 2014, just helping with mortar. This guy Frank, must've been 70, laid out this herringbone pattern on the front steps without a single cut line. He just eyeballed it and tapped each brick with his trowel handle. I tried copying his method on my next job and messed up the whole corner. Had to rip it out and start over. Anyone else pick up a trick from watching someone older that turned out way harder than it looked?
I was on a job in Phoenix last Tuesday and mixed a batch just like the bag says, let it sit for 10 minutes, then stirred again. But the guy next to me was mixing and slapping it down right away, said the wait is a waste of time and he's been laying tile for 20 years. I've always followed the directions because I thought it was about the chemicals bonding right. So which is it, is that rest time actually necessary or are we all just following rules that don't matter?
I spent $80 on a color additive for a fireplace job I did last month in Lakewood. The packaging said it would give a consistent antique red tone, but after mixing it in, the color came out patchy and way darker than the sample. I had to tear out about 30 bricks and redo them with plain mortar, which cost me an extra 4 hours of labor. Has anyone else had bad luck with those powdered pigments?
I bought their 2-bag mortar mixer for $89 last spring thinking I was saving money. On my third job mixing type S for a retaining wall, the gearbox started grinding and then seized up completely. Had to rent a mixer from Sunbelt for $65 a day to finish the job, then buy a proper one for $350. Has anyone else had luck fixing those cheap mixers or is it just scrap metal after it breaks?
I bought this fancy pinless moisture meter for $200 thinking it would save me time checking bricks before laying them. Turned out it was reading 5% when the real moisture was closer to 15% on a batch of commons from a local supplier near Austin. Three courses I laid started efflorescing bad after a week because the bricks soaked up mortar water. Has anyone else had a cheap meter burn them on a commercial job?
I used to mix my mortar pretty loose so it would spread easy, but last July a guy with 30 years on me said I was just making the bricks swim and after I let it sit a little stiffer my wall came out way cleaner and I haven't gone back since, anyone else get told to dry up their mix?
Was doing a garden pillar at a job in Greenville. First one went smooth. Second one? Mortar wouldn't hold the stack. Kept sliding off every third brick. Tried mixing drier, wetter, different sand. Nothing worked. Finally realized the bricks were soaking wet from morning dew. SW Carolina humidity. Let them dry out and it was fine. Three hours for what should have been 45 minutes. Has anyone else had wet bricks mess up their day?
I was working on a house off Division Street and my arch came out crooked because I didn't check my string line after setting the first few bricks. The whole thing was leaning about a quarter inch to the left by the time I noticed. Had to pull out about 10 bricks, clean them off, and start fresh with a proper plywood form. Has anyone else made a sloppy arch mistake and found a better way to avoid it?
Back on a job in Raleigh last summer, my foreman Jim kept saying "butter the head joint first, always" and I thought he was just being old school. Took me three days of fighting with misaligned corners and messy cleanup before I realized he was right all along. Anyone else have a stubborn habit they had to break after ignoring someone's advice for way too long?
I watched a guy on a job site in Austin last week mix his mortar like soup. He kept adding water until it was dripping off the trowel. Then his first course started sliding by lunch. I’ve been doing this for 8 years and I learned the hard way after a retaining wall failed on me in 2019. The mortar has to hold its shape when you butter the brick, not run off. You want it stiff enough that a brick stands on its own for a few seconds. Has anyone else had a wall settle because of wet mix or am I the only one who messed that up?
I was working on a 1920s church foundation outside Omaha last spring, and an old bricklayer named Hank walked over and told me to stop using modern mortar for the repointing. He said I had to match the lime content or the brick would spall in 5 years. Has anyone else dealt with older buildings where the standard mix just doesn't work?
I was working a basement repoint job near Des Moines last fall and this guy named Pete, must have been 70, walked over and watched me for a minute. He said I was holding my trowel too tight and showed me how to flick the mortar off the hawk in one smooth motion instead of jabbing at it. He said he learned it from his dad in 1965 and it saved his wrist from giving out. Anyone else pick up a weird trick from an older guy on site that actually works?
I was laying a retaining wall for a backyard in Phoenix when the mortar dried so fast I had to redo three courses. Ended up drenching my bricks in a kiddie pool and working till sunset just to get it right. Anyone else ever have a single job that just totally kicked your butt?
I've been using the same cheap pointing trowel for like 8 years and it finally snapped in half last Friday while I was repointing a retaining wall in Northridge. Picked up a new WHS brand one from the supply yard Monday morning and my joints came out cleaner and faster than they have in ages. Has anyone else noticed a big difference after switching out a basic tool you thought was fine?
I was reading through an old trade manual from the 80s I found at a garage sale last weekend. Turns out the standard mix ratio I've been using for load bearing walls is way off from what the modern codes call for. I've been doing 1:3 cement to sand when it should be 1:2.5 for structural stuff. That 15% difference is HUGE for strength over time. No wonder a few of my older retaining walls have hairline cracks. Has anyone else caught a mistake in their mix ratios from just assuming they were right?