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Ran into a retired mason at a hardware store in Phoenix who gave me a mortar tip
He saw me grabbing a bag of standard mix and asked what I was building. When I told him it was a small garden wall, he said 'Kid, for that heat, add a cup of lime to your batch. It'll cure slower and won't crack.' I've been doing it ever since. Anyone else tweak their mix for really dry climates?
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skylerr236mo ago
That "cure slower" part is what gets me. I get the theory, but for a small garden wall, is it really going to matter that much? Mortar cracks sometimes, it's just what it does. I've seen plenty of old walls here without special mixes that are fine.
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green.jenny6mo ago
The old walls you see standing used lime mortar, which is flexible. Modern cement mortar is much harder and shrinks as it cures, which is why it cracks. For a small garden wall, that shrinkage stress is still there. Using less cement or adding lime lets it cure slower with less shrinkage, so it's less likely to pull itself apart.
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emma_young6mo ago
Ever notice how new walls crack but old ones just crumble?
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