I spent 3 hours Saturday fighting a crooked course with my trusty wooden mallet until a buddy handed me a rubber one and everything just clicked into place. Has anyone else found that switching mallets made that big a difference on their work?
I've been keeping a rough count on jobs for the last 3 years just out of curiosity, and when I wrapped up a retaining wall on Tuesday I realized I crossed 10,000 bricks. That number caught me off guard because it's way more than I expected for part time work, and now I'm wondering how many bricks a full timer stacks up in a career. Has anyone else ever tracked their count or am I the only weirdo doing this?
Ngl I always thought you needed to soak bricks before laying them in summer heat but I read a study from the Masonry Advisory Council that said dry bricks actually bond better if the mortar is mixed right. They tested over 500 walls and the soaked ones had 22% more cracking in the first year. Anyone here ever test that on a job?
I spent 14 years using a straight-handled Marshalltown and switched to a bent one last Tuesday after a guy named Dave at the job site in Austin handed me his extra one, and I laid 300 more bricks by lunch with way less wrist pain, so has anyone else found that a simple bend makes that big of a difference or is it just me?
Back in 2019 I switched after a foreman in Cleveland showed me how much faster he was laying with a hawk. My wrist used to kill me after a long day, now I can go through a whole pallet without stopping. Has anyone else made that switch and found it weird at first?
Had a job in Toledo where a whole wall started walking on me because I skimped on ties, thinking the mortar would hold it. After spending 18 hours tearing it down and redoing it proper, I'll never skip a tie again. Anyone else learn a hard lesson like that on a specific job?
Made me laugh at first. Then I thought about it. He's never laid a Flemish bond or a herringbone pattern. Never had to match old hand-mades for a restoration. Told him to come watch me on a curved wall job next week in Cleveland. He didn't say much after that. You ever have someone dismiss the craft like that?
I was walking past a job site on Penn Avenue yesterday and watched these guys seal up a whole facade with silicone caulk instead of proper mortar repair. I mean, I get that it's quicker and probably half the cost, but that stuff doesn't breathe at all. Has anyone else dealt with having to rip out silicone work later because it trapped moisture behind the bricks?
I used to mix my mortar pretty soupy because it was easier to spread. A guy with 30 years in the trade watched me on a garage foundation job and said I was just creating weak joints that would crumble in a few years. Made me switch to a stiffer mix, almost like peanut butter, and it felt weird for the first week. I have to admit my lines are cleaner and the bond is way stronger now. Has anyone else had to unlearn something an experienced guy called them out on?
Was working on a retaining wall over on Wilson Street last Tuesday. The homeowner kept saying something looked crooked but I brushed it off. After three courses I finally checked my 4-foot level with a square and sure enough it was reading false. Someone must have dropped it on the last job. Now I gotta tear down half the wall and start over. Has anyone else had a level go bad on them like that?
I was at a supplier yesterday and this guy with 30 years experience said he never soaks his bricks even on hot days. He said modern bricks are made tighter and wetting them just makes the mortar slide around. I always thought you had to wet bricks to stop them sucking water out of the mortar too fast. Anyone else heard this approach or had trouble with bricks drying out too quick on a summer job?
This was about 3 months ago, I was doing a small garden wall for a lady in Decatur. She wanted a herringbone pattern, looked so simple in the picture she showed me. Man, I spent 2 hours just getting the first two rows straight. Kept having to pull bricks and respread mortar. Finally got it going after I marked a center line and used a story pole but my wrists were killing me by lunch. Has anyone else had a pattern fight back like that or am I just slow?
I've been laying brick for about 12 years now, and for the first 10 I always buttered the head joint by slapping mud on the end of the brick after I set it. Thought I was being fast. Then this old timer on a job in Nashville watched me for a minute and said 'you're fighting gravity, kid'. He showed me to butter the brick before I set it and give it a quick twist. My head joints went from ugly gaps to clean fills overnight. Now I feel dumb for wasting so much time. Has anyone else had a basic move like that pointed out way later than it should have been?
I'm working a retaining wall job down in Smithville, stacked sandstone. I kept a rough count in my head but never expected to actually hit a round number. At 4:30 Friday I set the last row and my tally hit exactly 10,004 bricks. My foreman laughed and said I should buy a lottery ticket. Has anyone else hit a weird milestone on a job that caught you off guard like that?
I had an old brick wall on a house near Toledo where the joints were crumbling bad. My usual portland mix felt too hard for the soft old bricks, so I went with a lime putty mix for the first time. Mixed it on a hot day and the stuff stayed workable way longer than I expected, which threw off my timing a bit. The final result looked more like the original mortar, but I am not sure how it will hold up over a few winters. Has anyone here stuck with lime mortar for longer projects and seen how it handles freeze thaw cycles?
I was working a job in Austin last August and the mortar was crusting over before I could even lay three bricks. I tried spraying water on the mix but that just made it sloppy. Then an old timer walked by and told me to lay a wet burlap sack over my board between batches. I thought he was kidding but I gave it a shot and it honestly kept the mortar workable for twice as long. The burlap holds moisture without soaking the mix so you don't get that watery mess. I used a cheap sack from Home Depot for like 5 bucks and it lasted the whole week. Has anyone else tried this or do you just mix smaller batches?
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?
I was working on a curved garden wall last spring and kept getting gaps at the perp ends. This guy Frank, been bricklaying 40 years, watched me for a minute and said "you gotta butter your own ends every time, never rely on the other brick." I thought I was saving time by just slapping mortar on the face. Turned out he was dead right because 3 of my first 6 bricks had hollow spots where they met. I had to pull down about 4 feet of work and redo it. Now I spend an extra 10 seconds per brick but the joints come out solid every time. Anyone else have old heads give you advice that seemed slow but actually worked?
I was laying brick on a retaining wall near Lake Erie and the mortar kept stiffening up in 15 minutes flat, took me three tries to figure out the water straight from the hose was near freezing. Has anyone else had mortar set too fast from cold water or was I just being dumb?
I was working on a retaining wall in my backyard last spring and decided to use Type S mortar because it was on sale at the local yard. My neighbor who's been laying brick for 30 years told me to stick with Type N for anything load bearing. I didn't listen and went ahead with the quick-set stuff. Three months later, I noticed cracks forming along the bottom two courses and a slight bow in the middle. Turns out the Type S is way too rigid for soil movement and doesn't let the wall breathe like Type N does. I had to tear the whole thing down last weekend and start over, cost me an extra $200 in materials and a full Saturday. Has anyone else made this mistake with mortar types on garden walls?
I've been laying brick for about 8 years now and I kept having this problem where the corners of my garden walls would crack within a few months. Drove me nuts. Last week I was working on a job down on Maple Street and watched a guy from the crew next door lay his corners. He was buttering the head joints way thicker than me and letting the brick settle into the mortar instead of tapping it down hard. Turns out I was smashing the brick flat which pushed all the mortar out of the corner joint. After 3 tries with his method my corners held up perfect through a rainstorm and a freeze. Anyone else had this happen or am I the only one who was over-tapping?
I always thought those battery-powered vacuum lifters were overpriced gimmicks until my helper threw his back out on a 500-block job and we had to finish in two days. Has anyone else had a tool they swore was useless save their bacon?
I learned bricklaying from my uncle in Pittsburgh back in 2007. He swore by soaking every brick in a water trough for at least 12 hours before using them. Said it stopped them from sucking the moisture out of the mortar too fast. I did that for almost 10 years. Then I worked a job in Arizona where the temps hit 105 and the mortar was drying before I could even butter the next brick. A guy from a crew next door told me to just mist them with a hose right before laying. Tried it and it worked way better. The mortar stayed workable longer and I didn't have to plan a whole day ahead. Now I just keep a spray bottle on my belt and give each brick a quick mist. Has anyone else switched methods based on climate or did you stick with what you were taught?
I was at Home Depot in Nashville picking up some Type S, and I saw this mixing paddle with the spiral design for about $80. I had always just used the basic $20 one from the rental section. After three wheelbarrow loads of mud, my arms were done and the mix still had lumps. I finally caved and bought the good paddle last Friday. First batch came out smooth as peanut butter in about half the time. The money saved on my elbow alone was worth it. Anyone else had a simple tool upgrade that made a big difference on a job?
I counted up my daily tallies and realized I crossed that mark without even noticing. Has anyone else tracked a big number like that and found it sneaks up on you?