Was watching an old mason named Pete lay a tricky corner last week and noticed he buttered the far end of every brick first, not the near end like I've been doing the whole time, so now I'm wondering how many other basic things I've been doing backwards without knowing it.
I was fighting with mortar squeeze-out on a retaining wall in Detroit last month, and this old timer just handed me a butter trowel (the cheap plastic ones from the dollar store). It scoops out the excess clean in one pass without gouging the bricks - has anyone else tried this instead of a pointing trowel?
I was doing a small retaining wall job for a guy in Allentown and just out of curiosity I started keeping a tally. After 12 years in the trade I figured I had to be somewhere around 80,000 bricks give or take. Well I hit 100,000 this past Tuesday and it really made me stop and think. That's a lot of mortar mixing and level checking and back aches. I never thought of myself as someone who would track that kind of thing but now I'm kind of glad I did. It puts into perspective how much repetition goes into this work and how each brick is just another step forward. Has anyone else here ever counted up their total bricks laid over the years?
Was at a jobsite last Tuesday and overheard a younger bricklayer telling his foreman that thin mortar joints make every wall stronger and faster. I had to bite my tongue because on this big commercial job in Phoenix, we're seeing freeze-thaw issues on thin joints that are cracking after two winters. How do you handle new guys who think their textbook knowledge beats 20 years of practical experience?
I was building a small retaining wall in my backyard in Austin and spent an entire afternoon fighting a footing that kept sinking on one side. Turned out I was just compacting the base wrong lol. A buddy came over, showed me to wet the gravel first and tamp it in 2 inch layers, and the whole thing was level in 20 minutes flat. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that make you feel dumb for overcomplicating it?
I used to think you just had to wet your bricks before laying them, like my old foreman showed me back in 2019. But last month on a job in Austin, this older mason named Carlos watched me sprinkle water on a stack of clay commons and just shook his head. He told me I was making the mortar dry out too fast and that I needed to slake my lime putty overnight instead of using it fresh out the bag. I tried it his way on the next batch and I swear the mortar stayed workable for a full 20 minutes longer than usual. The bond was way stronger too, no more little cracks forming along the joints after a day. I felt like an idiot for doing it wrong for 4 years. Has anyone else switched from wetting bricks to fixing your lime mix and seen a difference?
I had to pick between lugging my mixer to a tight backyard job in Denver or just mixing 15 bags by hand for a small retaining wall. Went with hand mixing to save setup time and honestly it was a mistake. My forearms are wrecked and the mortar felt a little stiffer than when I use the mixer, had to add extra water to keep it workable. Anyone else just refuse to break out the mixer on small jobs even when you know you should?
I'm up in Minnesota and last December I was out on a job near Duluth. Temp was around 20F. I was soaking my bricks like I always do so the mortar doesn't dry too fast. Old timer walks by, stops, and just stares at me. He goes 'you know the water freezes inside those pores and then expands right?' I felt like an idiot. Had been doing that for over a decade every winter. How many of you adjust your brick soaking based on season or weather?
Moved a job from Ohio down to San Antonio last spring. Used my regular mix and the mortar dried way too fast before I could even tool the joints. The local supplier told me the sand and lime content is different here. Took 3 tries to get a mix that didn't crumble or crack. Anyone else run into regional differences with their mortar?
Ngl I used to spend forever pulling string lines for every course when doing block work. Then this old timer on a job site in Denver showed me his laser level setup and I was hooked. Got myself a basic rotary laser for like $120 and it cut my setup time by half at least. Anyone else made that switch or still prefer the old school way?
Was reading a spec sheet from a local supplier in Phoenix and realized I have been using Type S for residential foundations when Type N would have been better for the softer brick around here. Who else has been using the wrong mix and found out way too late?
Last summer I was working on a retaining wall for a new parking lot near the mall in Scranton. The foreman rushed us to lay 500 bricks in like 6 hours, so I skipped mixing the mortar the proper way (you know, letting it slake for 10 minutes). By noon, my back was screaming from re-doing three courses that slid out of place because the mortar was too stiff. Has anyone else had a boss push for speed and then blame you when the quality goes to crap?
Had to repoint an old retaining wall in Austin and I didn't check the sand moisture before mixing, figured it was fine. Ended up with a batch that crumbled after drying, had to chip out about 40 bricks and redo the whole section on Saturday. Anyone else run into this with bagged mix on humid days?
He took 3 minutes to set each brick, checking level and plumb like a dentist inspecting teeth, and his wall looked perfect while mine always have that slight wobble I have to hide with mortar. Anybody else have that one old-timer who made you see the value in slowing way down?
Last summer I was working a job in Dallas where it hit 102 and the mortar was crusting over before I could even lay 3 bricks. I tried wetting the board more but that just made a mess. Then an old timer I was working with told me to throw a damp burlap sack over the mortar pile when I'm not using it. It sounds simple but it actually kept the mortar workable for like 45 minutes longer. I also started wetting my bricks ahead of time which helped a ton too. Has anyone else tried something like that for hot weather jobs? What do you do when the sun is beating down?
I was talking to an older mason at the supply yard in Toledo last Thursday and he told me he always tests a small batch first after getting burned on a bad load of sand 20 years ago. I figured that was overkill but last week I mixed up a whole wheelbarrow for a retaining wall and it felt off, crumbly like. Had to tear out 3 courses before I stopped myself. Has anyone else run into bad bags or is it just me being paranoid?
Was running low on mortar in the middle of a job in Akron last Tuesday. Ran to a Sunoco for a cheap level since mine broke. Three bucks short of a real one. Crystal clear bubble somehow. Finished the whole retaining wall. Has anyone else gotten lucky with junk tools like that?
I used to skip wetting bricks before laying. Thought it was a waste of time. Mike from the union hall told me I'd get weak mortar joints. I ignored him for two years. Then a wall I built last summer started cracking after the first freeze. Mike showed me his wall from 2017 standing solid. He was right. Dry bricks suck the water out of mortar before it cures. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way?
I dropped $200 on one of those Marshalltown Pro-Lite trowels last month, thinking it would fix my hand fatigue after long days. But now I'm wondering if the lighter handle is making me sloppy with my strike-offs. Anyone else tried a high-end trowel and had mixed feelings about it, or did it actually pay off for you?
I see guys swearing by story poles for curved work but a brick line with a jig cut the time in half on a circular patio last spring. You get constant gauge without stopping to measure every third course. Anyone else ditch the pole for tight radius jobs?
Used to always grab a 10 inch margin trowel for everything, even big commercial jobs. Then last fall I was doing a 40 foot wall in Denver and my buddy Bob handed me his 12 inch Marshalltown. Idk why I fought it so long, but the wider bed means way less passes and my lines stayed straighter. Has anyone else made the jump to a bigger trowel and found it messes with your mortar consistency at first?
I was on a job in Akron last summer, laying a garden wall for this older guy who came out to chat every 15 minutes. He kept asking me to stop using my spirit level and just "feel" if the bricks were straight with my hands. After the third time he asked, I put the level down and tried it his way, and the whole row ended up a quarter inch off by the time I got to the end. Anyone else ever had a customer try to change how you work halfway through a job?
I was working on a retaining wall job in Toledo about 3 years ago, and this older guy named Frank walked up to watch. He said nothing for 10 minutes, just stood there sipping coffee. Then he pointed at my joints and said 'you're rushing your line, kid. Let the mortar breathe.' That was it, he turned and left. I remember being a little annoyed because I'd been doing this for 6 years already. But later I noticed my rows were actually straighter when I slowed down and checked my levels after every 3 bricks instead of 5. I still think about that one tip every time I start feeling rushed on a job. Has anyone else had someone give them a simple piece of advice that actually changed how they work?
Picked up a cheap laser level from a hardware store in Omaha last Saturday. Figured it would save me time on a garden wall I was building. Thing quit working after I set maybe 12 bricks. Took it back and the guy laughed, said those are made for hanging pictures not laying block. Now I'm out $80 and back to using a string line like a normal person. Anyone else get burned by those mini laser gadgets?
Saw a crew in Nashville last summer laying brick with joints so sloppy the mortar was squeezing out 3 inches on each side, and the foreman told me they were 'just being thorough' before the inspector made them tear out 40 feet of it.