Swapped my trowel angle after watching a guy at a jobsite in Columbus last Thursday

I was finishing a retaining wall near some old townhomes and this older mason was buttering his bricks almost flat compared to my steep angle, and after trying it on the next row my joints came out way cleaner with less cleanup - has anyone else messed with their trowel grip to get straighter lines?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantp2816d ago

Honestly I used to think trowel angle was just personal preference and it didn't really matter that much. But I watched a brickie in Cincinnati a few months back using almost no angle at all and it clicked for me too. He was buttering like he was spreading butter on toast, real flat and smooth. I tried it on some pavers and yeah my lines came out way straighter with way less mortar bleed. Changed my whole approach.

the_faith16d ago

Spreadin' butter on toast" that's a perfect way to put it. I started doing the same thing on some flagstone paths around my yard and it made a huge difference in how clean the joints turned out. Once you get that flat angle down, it feels weird going back to the old way, doesn't it?