Rant: That job in Tacoma with the bad mortar mix almost cost me a week

The supplier gave us a batch that set up way too fast, like 15 minutes fast. We had to tear out half a wall before lunch. Anyone know a good supplier up there that's reliable?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly_sanchez751mo ago

That's rough, but sometimes the mix can be blamed on the weather or water ratio on site. In my experience, even good suppliers can have a bad day if the conditions are off. Might be worth checking your process before writing them off completely.

brooke5201mo ago

Totally agree about checking the process, because switching to measuring water by weight instead of volume fixed my own mix problems!

hugo_schmidt1mo ago

Yeah @brooke520 mentioned weighing water and that's a game changer if you haven't tried it. For me the real fix was using a moisture meter on the aggregate before mixing. Had a supplier who's sand was always wetter than expected and throwing off the whole batch. Once I adjusted the water based on the actual moisture content the mix came out perfect every time even on humid days. Water ratio really is the sneaky culprit here.