My foreman said I was buttering bricks too wet and I didn't believe him

Old Mike, been laying brick for 30 years, kept telling me to get my mortar stiffer. I thought he was just being picky. Two days later on a garage wall in Denver, three bricks slid right out of place after I had already set them. Had to tear out a 4 foot section and redo it. Anyone else have a veteran call you out on something that ended up saving your back and your work?

3 comments

3 Comments

joelwells1mo agoMost Upvoted

Old Mike was right, wet mortar just makes a mess and a weak wall.

milesj701mo ago

Watched a guy try to set a brick on a wet mortar bed and it just took a slow, sad ride down the wall like it was headed for the unemployment line. That's a hard lesson to learn when Denver's dry air is already sucking the moisture out of everything faster than you can say "oops." Old Mike probably saved you from having to explain to a homeowner why their garage wall looked like a funhouse mirror. Wet mortar's great for making soup, not for stacking bricks.

the_evan17d agoTop Commenter

Yeah, "soup" is right... I learned that one the hard way too, wait a day.