I was laying brick for five years before I saw a guy in Cincinnati mix his mud differently

I always just dumped the whole bag of mortar mix in the tub, added water, and went at it with the hoe. I thought that was it. Then I watched this guy on a job site last fall. He put in half the mix, all the water, mixed it smooth, THEN added the rest of the dry stuff. He said, 'You get all the lumps out in the first half, then the second half just tightens it up.' I tried it the next day and my mortar was so much smoother and easier to butter. No more dry pockets or clumps. It felt like I wasted years fighting my own mix. How many other little tricks like this are we all missing because we just do things the way we were first shown?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert6421d ago

Come on, that's just making extra work for yourself. I've been mixing the same way for twenty years and my walls are still standing. If you mix it right with the hoe from the start, you get all the lumps out anyway. All that two-step stuff just adds time to the clock for no real gain.

emma_butler8720d ago

All that two-step stuff just adds time" misses the point. The real gain is in the finish, not just getting the wall to stand. A proper slake and final mix gives you way more working time and a smoother coat, which saves time on the trowel.

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