Old brickie showed me a trowel trick on a job site in Portland

I was working on a retaining wall job in Portland last spring when this old timer named Ray walked over. He watched me lay about 10 bricks and said I was wasting motion with my wrist flicks. He showed me how to butter the head joint with a single scoop instead of three separate dabs. Saved me maybe 15 seconds per brick which added up over a 400 brick wall. I've been doing it his way ever since and my joints look way cleaner now. Has anyone else picked up a weird technique from an older bricklayer that just stuck with you?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_wells464d ago

Funny how the old ways focus on saving motion, not just speed.

paige_west3d ago

lol "saving motion" hits different when you realize I waste half my energy just trying to remember where I left my coffee cup. It's like my body learned every inefficient move possible then decided to master them. Seriously though, I feel this - I'm over here flailing around while the old school folks move like they're gliding on butter.