Saw a wall in Denver go from solid to cracked in under a year

Honestly, it was a new build on Elm Street where they used a cheap mortar mix from a discount yard. The freeze-thaw cycles last winter just tore it apart, and now the whole face is spalling. What's the coldest climate you'd ever risk a budget mix in?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley_king162mo ago

We had a similar issue on a shed base. Used a basic mix in upstate NY, zone 5, and it crumbled after two winters. I wouldn't push it past zone 6, and even then you need to add extra cement and use clean, sharp sand.

schmidt.reese2mo ago

Yeah that upstate NY freeze-thaw is no joke. Clean sand makes a huge diff for sure.

beth_sanchez471mo ago

In your experience, did the extra cement actually hold up long term, or did you still see issues after a few years? I've heard people say adding more cement can make the mix too brittle in colder zones, but I've never tested it myself. Just wondering if the extra cost was worth it for your shed.