c/bricklayers

PSA: Saw a brick archway on a new apartment building downtown and the mortar joints look way too thin, maybe 3/8 inch. Is that a new style or a problem?

Shoutout to the old-timer who warned me about mixing mortar in a galvanized bucket for a big job

I ignored him on a three-day foundation pour in Tacoma, and now my trowel is permanently stained a weird blue-green color from the reaction, so what's the best way to clean it or should I just buy a new one?

That week in July where we had to tear down and rebuild a whole wall

Got a call for a repair in Charlotte, a garden wall that leaned after heavy rain. Everyone said just patch it, but the base was shot. We pulled 800 bricks in two days. The owner was mad about the extra cost, around $2,400 more. But a month later, he called to thank us. Anyone else had to push for a full rebuild when a quick fix was the popular choice?

My uncle said to use a 3/8 inch joint for a garden wall and I should have listened

He told me to stick with a 3/8 inch joint for the whole thing, but I figured a 1/2 inch would be fine and go faster. Halfway through the build in my backyard, the wall started to look wavy and the mortar was drying too fast in the sun. I had to tear down two courses and start over with his advice. Has anyone else had a joint size mess up a simple job like that?

Watched a guy in Philly lay a whole course without touching his level once

He was just tapping bricks into place with his trowel handle and they were perfectly level, while I was constantly checking and adjusting. It clicked that I was over-relying on the tool instead of trusting my eye and feel for the material. How many of you actually work mostly by sight and touch like that?

Saw a brick arch in Charleston that made me rethink my whole approach

I was in Charleston last week checking out some of the old houses, and I saw this brick arch over a garden gate that was just perfect. It was on a house built around 1850, and the mortar joints were so thin and crisp, you could barely see them. I always thought those old arches were just for looks and a pain to build, but this one was clearly holding up the whole wall above it. The bricklayer must have cut every single wedge brick by hand to get that curve so smooth. It made me realize I've been avoiding arches on my own jobs because they seem hard, but maybe I just need to practice the old way. Has anyone here actually built a true structural arch like that, and how did you figure out the cuts?

I finally switched from a standard 10-inch trowel to a 12-inch Marshalltown for big block work

For years I stuck with my old 10-inch, thinking the bigger one would be too heavy. Tried a coworker's 12-inch on a foundation job in Dayton last month and it was a game changer for spreading mortar on those 8-inch blocks. My wrist doesn't ache at the end of the day now. Anyone else made a simple tool switch that saved you a bunch of strain?

Watch out for that old lime mortar on heritage jobs

Got a call last week to repoint a 1920s brick wall in the historic district. The homeowner said it was a simple job, maybe two days. I showed up, mixed my usual modern mortar, and started chipping out the old stuff. That's when the trouble started. The original mortar was a soft lime mix, and my harder cement-based mortar started cracking within hours as the old bricks moved. I had to stop everything, research proper lime mortar mixes, source the right hydrated lime, and redo the entire section. What was quoted as a 16-hour job turned into a full 80-hour week of work and learning. Has anyone else been caught out by not checking the mortar type on older buildings first?

Had a real scare with a leaning chimney stack last Tuesday

I was repointing an old brick chimney in a 1920s house in Springfield. About halfway up, I noticed the whole stack had a slight lean that wasn't obvious from the ground. When I tapped the mortar, a whole section on the back side just crumbled away. I stopped everything, got down, and used a laser level to confirm it was leaning almost 2 inches off plumb. We had to set up a temporary brace with some 2x4s before we could safely take it down and rebuild it properly. Has anyone else run into a hidden lean like that on an old chimney?

Update: My string line was off for a whole 20-foot wall because my pins were bent.

The client's inspector pointed it out and I had to tear down the top three courses. Anyone else had a pin fail on them like that?

Hit 50k bricks laid this year and honestly, I think the 'speed over everything' crew is wrong

I just hit a personal record of 50,000 bricks laid since January, and it made me realize something. A lot of guys on sites push for insane speed, like laying 800 a day no matter what. I used to chase that, but my joints were shot and my work looked sloppy. This year, I focused on a steady 500-550 a day with perfect lines and full joints. My boss in Tampa pulled me aside last week and said my section of the new library wall was the only one that passed the super's inspection on the first go. It mattered because it proved that quality control saves way more time than rushing and having to tear out a course. Has anyone else found that slowing down a bit actually made them more valuable on a job?

A 20-foot chimney stack in Detroit taught me to never trust old mortar without a test patch

We were repointing a century-old factory chimney last spring and the original lime mortar just crumbled away like sand when we started. I had to stop the whole crew, mix a small test batch with a 3:1 sand to lime ratio, and let it cure for two days on a spare brick before we went any higher. Has anyone else had to completely halt a job to figure out the right mix for historic brickwork?

My uncle swore by using a 3/8 inch joint for everything, but it cost me a job in Tempe

My uncle, who laid brick for 30 years, always told me a 3/8 inch mortar joint was the only way to go for a clean look. I followed that advice on a big patio job last month in Tempe, Arizona. The homeowner specifically wanted a historic, rustic feel, and when the architect saw my work, he pointed out that the thinner joint made it look too modern and precise. I had to tear out and redo two full days of work with a 1/2 inch joint instead. Has anyone else had a client or inspector call them out for a joint size that was technically fine but stylistically wrong?

Had to rebuild a curved garden wall three times last month

I was putting up a curved brick wall for a patio job in Tacoma, and the radius was tighter than I thought. The first try, I used my normal mortar mix and the bricks just would not stay put on the curve. They kept sliding out before the set could grab. That whole day was wasted. The second try, I added way too much lime to slow the set, but then the mix was too weak and the whole line sagged overnight. Finally, I talked to a guy who does a lot of restoration work. He told me to use a really stiff, almost dry mix and butter each brick heavy on the sides to lock them in. That third try, with the new mix, took me about six hours to get the first course perfect. After that, the rest of the wall went up smooth. What's your go-to mix for a tight radius like that?

Shoutout to the old guy at the supply yard in Boise

He saw me mixing a full batch of mortar for a small repair. Told me to just use a 5 gallon bucket and a drill paddle for anything under 3 bags. Saves so much time and cleanup now. Anyone else do small mixes this way?

Spent $45 on a laser level for a straight line and it was a total game changer

Tbh, I used it on a garden wall job and it cut my layout time in half. Anyone have a good brand for a more heavy-duty one?

Hit 10,000 bricks laid in a single project and it felt like a waste

Everyone talks about high brick counts like they're a badge of honor, but on this big apartment job in Tempe, hitting that mark just meant we were moving too fast for quality. I found three courses with inconsistent joint depth because we were pushing for speed over a clean line. Does anyone else think we focus too much on the number and not enough on the craft?

Why does nobody talk about the difference between a 3/8 and a 1/2 inch mortar joint on a chimney?

I built two identical chimneys for a client in Boise, one with each size, and the 3/8 joint cracked within a year while the 1/2 inch is still solid. What's your go-to joint size for freeze-thaw areas?

Got stuck on a simple chimney rebuild for three whole days

Had to rebuild the top three courses on a chimney in a 1920s house. The old bricks were a weird size, like 2 3/8 inches thick instead of the standard 2 1/4. Spent a full day just trying to find a supplier who had something close, then another day cutting and fitting them to match the existing bond. The whole thing should have taken an afternoon. Anyone know a good source for oddball historic brick around here?

Walked past a new build in Springfield and the brickwork looked... wrong

I was driving through the new Oakwood subdivision in Springfield yesterday and saw a crew finishing up the front facade of a big house. The soldier course above the main window was all over the place, like the guy laying it was rushing or something. The joints were different sizes, maybe from 3/8 to almost 3/4 inch in some spots, and a few bricks looked like they weren't fully bedded. It just caught my eye because the rest of the house looked fine. Made me wonder if they were pushing for a deadline or if the new guy got stuck with that detail. Has anyone else run into a job where one obvious section just didn't match the quality of the rest?

Pro tip: Check your scaffold plank before you step up

Last week in St. Paul, I was setting up for a chimney rebuild and didn't give a plank a second look. My foot went right through a soft spot that had rotted from the inside out. I caught myself on the frame, but it was a real wake-up call to inspect every piece, even the ones that look fine from the top. Anyone else have a close call with bad equipment?

My mortar mixer decided to quit halfway through a backyard patio job in Phoenix last Thursday

The belt snapped with a loud pop and sent a glob of half-mixed mortar straight up into a client's lemon tree. I had to finish the batch by hand with a hoe in 95 degree heat, which was about as fun as it sounds. What's the weirdest way your gear has failed on you?

Warning: a simple brick arch repair turned into a two day nightmare

Got called to fix a small arch over a garage door in an old house. The homeowner said it was just a few loose bricks. When I got up there, the whole center was shot, the mortar was basically dust, and the wooden lintel behind it was rotten. What should have been a half day job turned into a full day just to carefully take it apart without bringing the whole wall down. Then I had to source a matching reclaimed brick, which took another morning. The actual rebuild was fine, but the whole thing took two full days. I'm torn on these jobs now. Do you always quote extra time for 'simple' repairs on old buildings, or do you stick to your original estimate and risk losing money? How do you guys handle this?

Warning: The week we had to tear down and rebuild a whole retaining wall in Cincinnati

We got a call to fix a leaning wall that another crew built just six months ago. Turns out they used the wrong mortar mix for the wet ground and didn't put in any weep holes. Me and my partner, Dave, spent three full days taking it apart and redoing it with Type S mortar and proper drainage. Has anyone else had to fix a brand new job because of bad specs?

Had to rebuild a whole chimney in Duluth after a bad freeze last winter

The mortar joints on a job from three years ago failed completely, just crumbled in my hands. Turns out the old crew didn't use any frostproofing mix, and that Minnesota cold got into every crack. I spent two full days last month tearing it down to the roofline and starting fresh. How do you guys handle repointing or rebuilds when you find someone else's bad work?