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Watching a crew in Omaha lay a walkway showed me a common mortar mistake
I mean, it's about the water ratio in the mix. I saw them adding way too much, making it soupy. That stuff will shrink and crack like crazy when it dries, maybe in a week or two. I learned the hard way on a patio job about five years back, had to redo a whole section. A good mix should hold its shape when you grab a handful, not just slump. Anyone else notice this on sites lately, or is it just me?
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wyatt1355mo ago
Oh man, that hits home. I used to think a wetter mix was easier to work with, so what's the harm? Then I helped my brother-in-law fix his crumbling brick steps last fall. Every single joint was powder because they'd drowned the mortar. Took us a whole weekend to chip it all out. Now I see a soupy mix and I just cringe, knowing the headache it causes down the road. You're totally right about it holding its shape.
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spencer4005mo ago
Ugh, watching that would make my eye twitch. My neighbor hired a guy to repoint his chimney who used a mix so wet it was basically gray paint. It washed out in the first good rain, left streaks all down the brick. The guy tried to say it was a "weathering issue.
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charles215mo ago
Yeah, I was reading this old book from the library, a masonry guide from like the 70s. It had this whole section just on water, calling it the most common error. They said if your trowel leaves a wet, shiny trail in the mix, you've already gone too far. It should look kinda dull and crumbly, like brown sugar, before you add the final bit of water. That image always stuck with me.
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