Why does nobody talk about not laying brick in direct sun over 90 degrees?

Two summers back I was on a job in Phoenix laying a retaining wall and it hit 108 by 11am. The mortar started setting up in the tub before I could even get a level on it, and I ended up tearing out 40 feet of work I did the day before because the bond was shot. Half the guys I know say you just add more water and keep moving, but my old lead told me any mortar set in that heat is a cracked wall waiting to happen. Now I start at 5am or I don't start at all. What do you all do when the thermometer just won't cooperate, do you push through or pack it up?

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kimr336d ago

I had a similar thing happen with grout on a tile job in July, it started skinning over in the bucket within minutes and I had to toss the whole batch. The old timers on that crew swore by mixing small amounts and keeping the bucket in the shade, but the real fix was just starting before the sun came up. Heat like that does not care how fast you work.

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