Am I the only one who had a mortar mix go weird in the cold?

I was laying a garden wall last month and my usual 3:1 sand-to-cement mix just wouldn't set right, it stayed crumbly for hours. The overnight temp dropped to 35 degrees and I didn't use any accelerant. Anyone have a go-to cold weather mix they swear by?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicer531mo ago

Yeah, that crumbly mix is the worst. I started using warm water to mix with and keeping the bags inside until the last minute, it made a huge difference.

emma_rodriguez301mo ago

Oh man, warm water is a game changer. Samrodriguez is right about the cold messing with things, so that extra heat helps a ton. Saves so much headache.

samrodriguez1mo ago

Cold weather will mess with the cure time for sure. My uncle lost a whole patio slab that way.