Old bricklayer corrected my mortar mix 2 years ago and I still think about it

He told me my mud was too wet and that I was "making soup, not brickwork." I cut back the water by about 20% and my joints stopped sagging overnight. Anybody else get told their mix is off and had it totally change their results?

4 comments

4 Comments

alice2692mo ago

You ever stop and think about how mortar is just like cooking though? Too much water and it gets weak, not just saggy. I had a guy tell me the same thing once and I realized my bricks were actually sliding around way more than I thought.

joseph_ellis852mo ago

Oh man, "saggy mortar" is my new band name (if I could play an instrument, that is). You're totally right about the cooking comparison though. I messed up a batch last summer and it was like soup, bricks were doing the worm all over the place. My buddy who actually knows what he's doing said I basically made mortar-flavored pudding. It wasn't pretty, but at least the chickens didn't complain about the extra water in the garden.

mila_brown101mo ago

alice269 that cooking comparison is spot on... I heard a guy say once that mortar is basically concrete's picky cousin and that stuck with me. Too wet and it's like a runny pancake batter, nothing holds together right. I had my mix wrong for months before someone finally showed me the difference between a good drop and a puddle. It's wild how such a small change, like cutting back a little water, can turn your whole wall from a wobbly mess into something solid that actually stays put.

graydavis1mo ago

Wait, when you say "good drop" how much sag are we talking before it's too wet? Like is there a specific test you do or just eyeball it based on feel?