How wetting bricks before laying fixed my air pocket problem

It made the mortar bond better and reduced voids.

3 comments

3 Comments

Understand completely how frustrating those hidden air pockets can be. I fought the same issue for two whole weekends on a patio project, scraping out mortar and redoing sections. Soaking the bricks made all the difference, letting the mortar grab on properly instead of drying too fast. What mix ratio did you end up using with the wet bricks?

moore.tyler11d ago

So how wet are we talking here, like just damp or fully soaked? I mean, I tried dampening mine once but still had some gaps, maybe I didn't do it enough. @tarahart mentioned the mortar drying too fast, which makes total sense if the brick is sucking out all the water. Is there a trick to knowing when they're ready, or do you just dunk them for a bit? I gotta get this right for my next walkway section because picking out dried mortar is the worst.

faith_price74d ago

Yeah, @tarahart is right about the drying too fast part. So when you soak them, is there a point where they're too wet and mess up the mix? I mean, I'd worry about the mortar sliding around if the brick is dripping.