Rant: Old timer told me my mortar mix was garbage, he was right

Been laying brick for 6 years in Cleveland and always used the bag mix from the big box store. Last month a guy named Pete, must be 70, watched me mix a batch on a commercial job and said "son, that's sand with glue, not mortar." He showed me his recipe, 3 parts sand, 1 part cement, half part lime, and the difference is night and day. My joints came out way cleaner and it didn't dry as stiff on the trowel. Anyone else ever get schooled by an old timer and actually learn something?

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sean85417h ago

Bag mix gets a bad rap but it works fine if you know what you are doing. The stuff is already graded and blended so you get the same batch every time, where site mixing by hand means your sand could be too wet, too much clay in it, or the guy with the shovel gets lazy and you end up with weak spots. Nobody is saying Pete's recipe is wrong, but 6 years of bag mix on commercial work means it passed inspection and held up, so calling it sand with glue is a stretch. The real win with Pete's mix is probably just that you slowed down and paid attention to your ratios, not some magic in the lime.

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