Figured out why my corners kept cracking after 60 tries

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?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_anderson22d ago

Started using a little less water in my mortar mix and that helped me out a ton. I was making it too soupy before and the bricks would just sink and squeeze everything out. Now I keep it stiff enough to hold a thumbprint but not crumble. Also started buttering both ends of the brick instead of just one side and that extra bit of mortar really locks those corners in place.

jordan90322d ago

Buttering both ends is a good habit but it's actually the head joints that matter most for corners.