Back in 2019 a foreman told me my mortar was too wet and I got defensive

I was on a job in Austin and this older guy walks over while I'm buttering a brick. He says 'you're gonna get cold joints with that soup.' I shrugged it off at first but then I noticed my bricks were sliding around way more than his crew's. So I started mixing my mud stiffer, just enough to hold a thumbprint without dripping. It made laying a straight wall way easier and I haven't gone back to wet mix since. Anybody else had to unlearn a habit from an old timer?

2 comments

2 Comments

adamcoleman7d ago

Cold joints are a real thing but I've seen guys get WAY too worked up over mortar consistency. If your bricks aren't sliding into next week and the wall holds plumb after setting, who cares if it's a little on the wet side. I've laid brick with mud that was basically dripping off the trowel and still had walls pass inspection fine. The real problem is usually putting on too much mortar in the first place, not the water content.

danieljenkins6d agoMost Upvoted

Ask @adamcoleman, what's your cutoff for too thick a mortar bed before it messes with your joints?