That time a foreman told me to stop soaking bricks before laying them

Old school guy named Dave swore by it, said it stops them from sucking the moisture out of the mortar too fast. I thought he was full of it since I'd always laid dry bricks. First big wall I did his way, the mortar stayed workable way longer and I got way fewer hairline cracks after a week. 6 months later that wall still looks tight. Anyone else had a boss push some old method that actually worked out better?

2 comments

2 Comments

joel2804d ago

Funny how that works, old timers usually have a reason for what they do even if it sounds like a wives' tale at first. It's like listening to someone who's been driving the same route for 30 years, they know all the shortcuts that don't show up on a map.

dixon.anthony2d ago

@joel280 nailed it. I had a foreman on a commercial job in '09 make me wet the bricks too. I was skeptical as hell but that mortar stayed loose almost 20 minutes longer. The difference on a hot afternoon was night and day. Old Dave knew his stuff, same way your route driver knows every pothole.