I know everyone swears by the plastic bed joint reinforcement strips for long walls, but after building a 40-foot garden wall in Spokane last fall, I found that using a proper lime mortar with the right mix and a slower cure gave me zero cracks, while the neighbor's wall with the strips had three vertical cracks by spring.

Has anyone else had a wall hold up better without those plastic strips, or was I just lucky with the weather?

3 comments

3 Comments

That "slower cure" you mentioned is key. Those plastic strips can mess with the natural drying of the mortar, especially in a place with big temperature swings like Spokane.

wendy_jackson1mo ago

Yeah, that makes total sense. I saw a video last week where a mason was saying those strips can trap moisture inside the wall. It dries from the outside in, so if the plastic stops that, you get a weak spot. The guy in the video basically said exactly what @the_pat did, that a good lime mortar mix needs to breathe as it cures. Trying to speed it up or seal it just causes problems later, especially with freeze and thaw cycles. It seems like skipping the plastic and just doing the work right is the better fix.

the_pat1mo ago

My uncle built a 40 foot retaining wall in Coeur d'Alene without any strips. He used a lime mix too and it's been solid for ten years. Those plastic things can create a weak spot where water gets in and freezes. Your neighbor's wall cracked right where the strips end, didn't it? Good mortar and letting it dry slow is the real fix. The strips are just a band aid for bad mix or fast work.