Mortar dried before I could lay the last 20 bricks on a Saturday job

Last Saturday I was repointing a garden wall in Woking and mixed a full batch of mortar for the top course. My helper ran late picking up more lime, so by the time he got back at 2 PM, the mix had already gone crusty in the wheelbarrow. I tried adding water and chopping it with a trowel, but it just turned into crumbly lumps that wouldn't stick. Ended up dumping the whole lot and remixing, which put me an hour behind and I was working in the shade by 4 PM. I've since started mixing half batches when I know there's a gap in delivery, but my question is, how do you lot keep mortar workable on a hot day without a retarder? I tried wetting the barrow with a damp sack over it, but that only bought me 20 minutes.

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1 Comment

garcia.kelly16d ago

Crumbly lumps that wouldn’t stick" sounds like my last relationship, mate. Next time just tell the brickies it’s a dry-mix challenge and charge extra.