28
Switched from premix to mixing my own mortar and the difference is night and day
I used to just buy the bagged premix from Home Depot for years on residential jobs. Then I got a big commercial patio job 6 months ago where we had to match the existing grout color exactly. The premix colors were all off so I had to start mixing portland, sand, and lime myself. Frankly I will never go back. The working time is way better when I mix it fresh on site and I can dial in the consistency for whatever brick I'm laying. For that patio we laid 800 sq ft in 4 days and had zero cracking compared to the last premix job where I had hairline cracks showing up after 2 weeks. If you are doing a big job have you guys ever bothered with mixing your own or is premix still the standard?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
joel6038d ago
Premix from Home Depot? No way. I've been burned by that stuff more times than I can count, especially the way it goes bad if the bag sits on the pallet too long. You saying you got zero cracks on 800 sq ft mixing your own is basically a miracle in my book. Tbh I've always been scared to try it because I feel like I'd screw up the ratios and end up with weak joints. But hearing you talk about the working time and dialing it in, that actually makes a lot of sense for a big flat job.
6
mark3618d ago
Pouring 800 sq ft is enough time to second-guess every single shovel full of sand you dump in... I remember one time I was mixing for a backyard patio and I kept thinking the color looked off, turned out I just had a bad light bulb in the garage.
4