ben436•23d ago

Can we talk about how much mortar we waste on a typical job?

I was reading through some industry stats last week and saw that the average brickie wastes about 15 percent of their ready-mix mortar on every job site. That adds up quick when you think about a big project, like the one we did on that apartment complex in Austin last year. Between dropping mortar off the hawk and cleaning out the mixer at the end of the day, I bet I lost close to 200 pounds of material. Has anyone else run the numbers on their own waste?

2 comments

2 Comments

piper17523d ago

Hold on... 15 percent? That actually sounds low to me if anything. I remember doing a big hotel job in Phoenix and we had to clean out the mixer every single afternoon because the boss wouldn't let us batch small amounts. Must have tossed half a wheelbarrow full every day just from the dried crust alone. And don't get me started on the stuff that falls off the hawk when you're reaching for a brick... I swear I lost another 20 pounds a day just from that.

alex_coleman23d ago

Phoenix heat is brutal on mortar, @piper175, I feel your pain on that wasted mix.