Had a 30-year mason point out my mortar mixing was off

Last Tuesday I was working on a retaining wall in Richmond when an old timer stopped by to watch. He told me my batch was too wet and that I was weakening the joints by adding extra water for workability. He showed me how to keep the mix stiffer and use a hawk to spread it instead of my trowel. Took about a dozen tries to get the feel right but the bond is way stronger now. Anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from just watching YouTube?

2 comments

2 Comments

nora7358d ago

Caught myself doing the same thing last year with my first block wall. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos that made it look easy but they never talk about how wet the mix should be. Had a buddy who does commercial work rip out half my joints because they were crumbling after a week. He showed me the hawk trick too and it changed everything. Now I keep my mix like a stiff peanut butter and just work faster instead of adding water. The old school guys really know their stuff even if it takes longer to learn.

paigewood7d ago

Oh man, that peanut butter comparison is spot on. I actually read something in an old masonry manual about keeping it stiff and using a flat trowel instead of a curved one. @nora735 is right about the old school guys, they just have that feel for it you can't get from a tutorial.