c/bricklayers

Stop buttering your bricks, it's not helping anyone

I saw three guys on a job in Toledo last Thursday smearing mortar on the face of the brick before laying it, and that extra step just slows you down and leaves a mess that takes twice as long to clean, so why do people keep doing it when a solid bed joint and a good shove does the same thing, has anyone else noticed this on their crews?

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nora_walker57•9d ago

Tried that new silicone mortar mix, bricks slid off the header course

Used a silicone-additive mortar on a small retaining wall in Akron because the supplier swore it stuck better. Three hours after I finished, the top two courses just slid sideways like a bad Jenga game. Turns out the silica content was way too high for the cold weather we had all week. Anyone else have a batch go wrong like that or was it just my bad luck with the 40 degree temps?

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felix_williams71•10d ago

Hit 1,000 repoints on one wall in Portland, never again

Old warehouse job last month, spec called for full repoint on 8,000 sq ft of brick. I kept a tally on my phone, hit 1,000 individual joints by Thursday morning. That number shocked me because I thought I was maybe halfway done. Turns out repointing eats way more mortar and time than any new build I've done. My helper quit after day two, said his wrists were shot. Anyone else ever track their joint count on a big repoint? How do you bid those jobs so you don't lose money?

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king.aaron•12d ago

My mortar mix choice cost me a day of rework on a patio in Phoenix

I had to pick between a quick-setting mix and the standard type S for a backyard patio last July. I went with the quick-set to beat the heat, but it dried too fast and cracked three slabs before I could finish. I tore it out and re-did it with type S, took 9 hours extra. Has anyone else had quick-set go wrong on a big pour?

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the_stella•12d ago

Frost proof faucet plinth idea, didn't work like the video said

Saw a dude on YouTube lay a brick plinth around a frost proof faucet to hide the ugly pipe. Tried it on a job over in Akron last Thursday, and the mortar cracked by Saturday. The freeze thaw cycle here is no joke, guess the video guy was in Texas. Anybody else try this and use some kind of expansion gap or flex additive to make it last?

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the_susan•13d ago

Reclaimed brick vs new brick on a church facade, I chose old and paid for it

Took on a 1910 church repoint in Columbus last fall and decided to match the original soft reds with reclaimed units from a salvage lot, but the 700 bricks I got had so much variation in size I burned an extra 3 days shimming and cutting, would you guys stick with new Commons next time or is the character worth the pain?

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sam_thomas•13d ago

Tried that mortar additive on a garage block job, got a shock

Last Tuesday I was laying block on a 40 foot garage wall outside Tulsa and decided to try that liquid polymer additive instead of lime. The mix felt slicker and stuck to the trowel like nothing I've used before, but after 6 hours it hadn't set up at all. I panicked, checked the bucket, and the ratio on the jug was for a 5 gallon mix, not my 12 bag mixer. I dumped another bag of cement in and remixed, but the next morning the first course was still soft enough to scratch with a nail. Crew foreman said he's seen this happen when you don't let the additive sit for 10 minutes before adding cement. I ended up tearing out 14 blocks and redoing them with straight mortar. Has anyone else messed up an additive ratio like this, or do you just skip the stuff entirely for load bearing walls?

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williamm82•15d ago

Finally got my old mortar mix right after a full wall sagged

Last month I laid a whole garden wall in Spokane and it slumped overnight because I let the mortar get too wet in the mixer. I ended up tearing down 14 feet of block and remixing with a drier batch, plus adding a little lime for stick. Anyone else have a slump issue that made you change your mixing routine for good?

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finley_price24•17d ago

Old timer on site told me my trowel grip was backwards, took me 2 days to see he was right

Worked a repoint job last spring on a brownstone in Brooklyn. This guy, Pete, must have been 70, watching me from the scaffolding for about 20 minutes before he said anything. He just points at my hand and goes, you're fighting the wrist, not the mortar. I laughed it off because I been laying brick for 8 years and my joints are fine. But that afternoon I noticed I was palming the handle way too tight, thumb on top like a hammer. He showed me his grip, thumb riding the side of the blade, wrist loose, letting the weight do the cutting. I switched halfway through the next day and my shoulder stopped barking by noon. Still feel like an idiot that a guy twice my age fixed a habit I never knew I had. Anyone else get corrected on something so basic after years on the tools?

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the_nathan•18d ago

Switched to a corner trowel for inside corners, night and day difference

I finally tried one of those corner trowels last week on a fireplace job in Tacoma. I always figured it was a gimmick, so I stuck with my regular trowel and worked the mud in with a joint finisher after. Took maybe 30 minutes extra per corner, and the finish was always a little wavy no matter what I did. Grabbed a cheap corner trowel from the supply house on a whim, and honestly the first inside corner came out cleaner than any I've done in 15 years. The blade shape just locks into the angle and you pull it once, done. I'm not saying it'll fix bad mudding, but it fixed my biggest headache. Has anyone else made the switch and gone back, or is it just me that wasted all that time?

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jesse_green55•18d ago

The pointer advice from an old timer in Spokane saved my back

Back in 2004, a guy named Hank who'd been laying brick since the 60s told me to stop carrying two blocks at a time. He said grab four, hug them against your chest, and let your legs do the work. I thought he was full of it until I tried it on a big retaining wall job that took 3 weeks. My lower back used to scream by noon, now I can go all day and I've never gone back to the old way. Anyone else get a tip that seemed dumb but was actually gold?

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stellachen•19d ago

The mortar mix I trusted for 8 years finally bit me on a patio job

Last Tuesday in Tulsa, I used the same bagged mix I always do and it started sagging within an hour, the sand must've changed batches. Had to tear out 30 linear feet of fresh pointing and redo it with a stiffer blend. Anyone else had a trusted brand suddenly go soft on them mid-job?

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alex307•19d ago

The 3-5-7 rule from an old mason in Pittsburgh finally clicked for me

I always thought checking for square with a tape measure was good enough, but last week I was on a job in Pittsburgh and this older guy, probably 60, watched me lay out a foundation wall. He came over and said to use the 3-4-5 triangle method, but then he showed me his twisted version, 3-5-7, for bigger spans. I laughed it off at first, but he took my tape and measured diagonal corners on a 12 foot section, then told me to add 2 inches to my calculation and compare. Turns out my corners were off by nearly half an inch, which would have screwed up the whole first course. He explained that the 3-5-7 ratio scales better for long walls than the basic 3-4-5, and I swear I checked three more sections and every one was off. I've been laying block for 11 years and never once thought about scaling the method like that. I went home and tested it on a small retaining wall project in my yard, and it was spot on. Has anyone else run into trade shortcuts that beat the textbook way, or am I just late to this party?

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mila405•19d ago

That mortar mix ratio my grandpa swore by finally clicked

Was chatting with an old timer at the supply yard in Tulsa last week. He said he always does 3 parts sand to 1 part Portland, no lime, for anything load bearing. I always added lime cause that's what the book said. Tried his way on a retaining wall Saturday. Man, that set up stiff and fast. No sagging on the face. My joints came out cleaner too. Still a bit nervous about flex cracking though. Anyone else ditch lime or stick to it for certain jobs?

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jake_torres68•19d ago

Found out my corner trowel angle was off for 3 years, a level finally showed me

I've been laying brick for about 7 years now, mostly small jobs around Austin. Last month I was doing a fireplace surround and kept getting a slight lip on the corners every few rows. I figured it was the mortar mix or just my speed. Then this older mason walked by the site, watched me for a minute, and said 'you're holding that trowel too flat, son.' He handed me a 4-foot level and showed me how the face was tilting just a hair. Turns out I'd been compensating with extra taps for years without noticing. The fix was simple, I just rolled my wrist up maybe 10 degrees and the corners came out clean on the first try. I felt dumb but also relieved because I'd been blaming the brick quality from a local supplier in Round Rock. Has anyone else had a small tool angle habit that took way too long to catch? What tipped you off?

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jake638•20d ago

Trowel grip and wrist angle, 12 years in before I got it

I learned brickwork from my uncle in Philly back in 2011 and he always had me hold the trowel like a hammer. For over a decade I fought wrist fatigue every single job and just figured it was part of the trade. Then last spring a mason from Boston came to help on a church repoint and watched me for about 5 minutes. He grabbed my hand, twisted the trowel handle so my thumb rode the top, and suddenly buttering brick felt effortless. All those years of soreness for nothing. Has anyone else picked up a basic habit late that made you feel like a fool when you finally caught on?

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rosebarnes•20d ago

That $30 brick hammer from the big box store split after 3 weeks

Bought one of those composite handle hammers at the Home Depot off Route 42 in October, thought it was a steal. Third week on a chimney repoint in Clifton, head flew clean off and bounced off a scaffold plank. Spent $85 on a Vaughan at the masonry supply after that, shoulda just did that from the start. Any of you guys had luck with the cheaper brands or am I the only one who learned this the hard way?

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williamm82•21d ago

Vent: mortar mix ratio threw my whole day off in Cleveland

I was laying block on a retaining wall near Edgewater Park and grabbed a bag of mix I hadn't used before. Thought the ratio was close enough, but it set up way too fast and I had to knock out and redo about 15 feet of course. Took me an extra 4 hours to chip it out and clean the joints. Has anyone else had a bad batch where the sand and cement proportions felt off from the label?

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rileyb61•26d ago

Laid my 10,000th brick today without even noticing

I was just working on a garden wall for a lady in Oakville and counting was the last thing on my mind. But when I stopped for a smoke break I realized I had hit a big number without even trying. I mean it's not like I keep a tally every day but idk it just hit me how far I've come since my first job. I remember my first wall back in 2018 looked like a drunk kid built it with all the mortar squeezing out everywhere. Today's wall was clean and straight and the homeowner even said it looked professional. I guess sometimes the small consistent work adds up without you realizing it. Has anyone else had a moment where the numbers surprised you like that?

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jake638•27d ago

Old foreman told me to soak bricks before laying them in summer heat

Back in June I was working a job in Phoenix where it hit 110. My foreman kept saying soak the bricks or the mortar will dry too fast. I thought he was old school and ignored him. By day three I had cracks forming in my first wall because the brick sucked all the moisture out. Had to tear down about 6 feet of work and redo it. I finally soaked them like he said and the rest of the wall held fine. Anyone else run into this with dry climate jobs?

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ward.jamie•1mo ago

Unpopular take: Tuckpointing is overrated for most old brick walls

I was on a job at a 1920s storefront in Cleveland last fall where the owner insisted on tuckpointing, and it just hid the real problem with moisture behind the brick. Spent $3,200 making it look pretty, but six months later the same spots were crumbling again. Anybody else think repointing is a better fix unless it's a historic landmark?

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rowanharris•1mo ago

Changed my mind about mortar mixing after a job in Albany last month

I always mixed my mortar by the book, adding water slowly and keeping it stiff. But we were on this big wall at a church in Albany and the old timer running the job says nah, wet it up more and let it sit for 20 minutes. I thought he was crazy, figured it would just slump and make a mess. But he showed me how the extra water helps it stick to the brick better and you get less cracking later. I tried it on my next section and honestly, the bricks just laid in smoother with way less fuss. Plus the joints cleaned up easier, which saved me a ton of time at the end of the day. Anybody else ever break the rules on mixing and have it work out better?

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christopherwilson•1mo ago

Told a master mason in Ohio his gauge rod was wrong and he proved me out

Met this older guy at a job site in Dayton, told him his gauge rod was set too low for the bond pattern we were running, but he showed me a trick using a dry layout to check before even mixing mortar and it hit me how much I rely on muscle memory over actually measuring. Has anyone else had an old timer shut down your shortcut habits with some simple method you never saw before?

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hollyl45•1mo ago

My trowel snapped in half at 10am on a Tuesday and somehow the rest of the day was perfect

I was laying brick on a retaining wall for a backyard in Oak Park when the handle of my Marshalltown broke clean off, and then somehow every single brick after that just fell into place without a single adjustment, has anyone else had a day where a disaster turned into a dream?

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angela687•1mo ago

Bought a used brick saw for $200 and it paid off in one day

Found a beat up old MK saw on Facebook Marketplace last week for $200. Drove 45 minutes to pick it up from some guy's barn, lol. Used it on a patio job Saturday and cut through 60 pavers without breaking a sweat. Saved me at least two hours compared to using a chisel and hammer. Anyone else ever got lucky with a used tool find?

2 comments