Showerthought: I always figured mortar color didn't matter much until I saw the numbers on a gray vs buff job

Seth Carr · 2026-10-26T03:05:06.082461+00:00

For fifteen years I mixed whatever gray was on the pallet and never gave it a second look. Then last month a rep from the brick supplier handed me a spec sheet showing that buff mortar on a red brick wall reads about 30 percent lighter from the street, and that a lot of builders here in Fort Wayne pick the mortar before they pick the brick. I argued with him for a while, then we walked across to a finished building on Calhoun Street and he pointed out two walls side by side, same brick, different mortar, and the one with buff looked like a whole different building. I went back and looked at photos of my own work and realized half the walls I was proud of looked flat because the gray mortar was fighting the brick. So now I'm asking every customer what mortar color they want before I even quote the job, which has slowed things down but the finished work looks better. What are you all running into on mortar color, do you let the customer pick or do you just go with what the supplier stocks?

HW Forums

Loading…

Showerthought: I always figured mortar color didn't matter much until I saw the numbers on a gray vs buff job | Bricklayers - HW Forums