Can we talk about how mortar mixing has changed in 15 years?

I was talking with my old foreman Mike last Saturday at a job site in Cleveland and he showed me how he still mixes mortar by hand with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. He said I was wasting money on the electric mixer and that the feel of the mix is better when you do it yourself. Has anyone else gone back to hand mixing or am I just being nostalgic for something that takes twice as long?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily_ramirez41mo ago

@luna_jackson28 I get what you're saying but Mike's method actually throws the hydration off unless you're real careful with the water. Machine mixers blend more consistent unless you're doing tiny batches.

luna_jackson281mo ago

Omgg the feel thing is SO real! My uncle still hand mixes and swears he can tell when a batch goes from wet to perfect way better than any machine. I tried it once just to see and yeah it takes forever but there's something kinda satisfying about it honestly.