Figured out after 6 months I was mixing mortar way too wet because of a YouTube video

2 comments

2 Comments

Had the same problem with my first brick wall. Watched some dude on YouTube dump water in his mix like he was making soup and figured that was normal. Yeah no, ended up with mortar that wouldn't hold its shape and bricks sliding all over the place. The trick that finally clicked for me was squeezing a handful of the mix tight in my palm. If water drips out, it's way too wet. If it just holds together with no drip, you're golden. What kind of mortar mix are you using?

drew_west6d ago

My buddy who builds stone walls up in Vermont told me those YouTube guys are probably just trying to make the video look dramatic with all that water splashin around. He said he read somewhere that old school masons would just wet their trowel and keep the mix on the drier side because it sets up way stronger and won't crack later. Once I started following that advice my joints actually held together instead of turning into a crumbly mess after a week. That squeeze test saved me too, I had been mixing it like pancake batter and wondering why nothing was sticking right.