Ngl I was watching this guy set up his laser for a retaining wall and he had it on the wrong mode for like 4 hours before someone pointed it out. He kept blaming the ground. Has anyone else seen a simple tool setup go totally sideways on a site?
I was laying a small patio in Denver and had to decide between a 3/8 inch mortar joint or a 1/2 inch one. Went with the 3/8 because the customer wanted a tighter look and the bricks were pretty uniform. It came out clean but I had to be careful with my consistency since there's less room for error. Has anyone else had issues with smaller joints cracking in freeze-thaw climates like Colorado?
I was working on a garden wall in my backyard in Denver last Tuesday, and I got the mortar way too soupy. About three courses in, I noticed the whole thing was starting to bulge out near the bottom. I had to stop, pull the top two rows off, and mix a fresh batch that was more like peanut butter consistency. It took me an extra two hours but the wall sat straight after that. Has anyone else had a near collapse from mixing it wrong?
I've been using the same pointing trowel for like 8 years, one I got from a garage sale for $3. It worked fine, I thought. But last week I was helping my buddy finish a retaining wall in Portland and he handed me his WHS diamond trowel. First strike I felt the difference, the balance was way better and the handle didn't dig into my palm. After about 10 minutes of pointing, I realized my old one was forcing me to adjust my grip every 3 or 4 bricks. My wrist was less tired by lunch too. I finally ordered a new one online that night. Anyone else had a cheap tool that secretly made their work harder for way too long?
That number just snuck up on me while I was tallying up a church wall I finished last Thursday, and now I can't stop thinking about how many pallets that actually is - anyone else keep a running count or am I just weird about this stuff?
I overheard a guy on a commercial job yesterday telling his crew to just eyeball the portland to sand ratio instead of measuring. That's a fast track to weak joints and liability down the road. Has anyone else run into supervisors cutting corners like this?
I was flashing around a crown on a 3 story house and the mortar started setting way faster than usual because it was 98 degrees. The entire section I laid had hairline cracks by the time I finished the next row. Any of you guys found a good trick for keeping mortar workable in extreme heat?
I was building a 4 foot tall retaining wall for a backyard in Huntsville. Everything looked fine until I got about halfway through the third course. I noticed a few bricks were starting to lean outward. At first I thought it was my level being off, so I double checked. Nope, the whole wall was starting to bow. Turns out I forgot to put in the drainage gravel behind the first two courses. That water pressure was already building up and pushing the wall out. I had to tear down about 40 bricks and redo that section with proper drainage behind it. Added an extra two hours to the job and I felt pretty stupid about it. Has anyone else dealt with a wall starting to give way because of drainage issues before the mortar even sets?
Always figured line pins were just extra nonsense for new guys, but last month on a retaining wall job outside Austin I had a 30-foot run get wavy on me. Spent 20 bucks on a decent pin and it locked everything straight first try. Anybody else resist a basic trick for years then eat their words?
Last month I was out of proper trowel cleaner halfway through a job in Des Moines. Figured I'd save a trip to the supply house and used some used motor oil I had in my truck to wipe down my trowel between batches. Big mistake. That oil mixed with the mortar and created this sticky, greasy mess that took forever to scrub off. Plus my bricks kept slipping because the residue was slick. Had to stop work early and spend an extra 45 minutes at the end of the day scrubbing everything with degreaser. What do you guys use when you run out of cleaner on site?
I was laying brick on a fence repair in Phoenix last week and noticed my wrist kept cramping. Turns out I had the fat part of the handle facing the wrong way the whole time, no wonder my lines were always off. Has anyone else made a dumb gear mistake that took forever to catch?
Lost a whole batch of mortar and about 45 minutes of setup time when that $8 paddle shattered mid-mix on a job down in Springfield last Tuesday, has anyone else had better luck with the steel-core ones?
I was working a job in Cincinnati last spring, mixing lime mortar in the rain, and the whole batch came out too loose. It sagged behind the brick and I had to tear out 8 feet of wall by lunch. Do you guys mix in dry weather no matter what or do you just adjust your water ratio on the fly?
I was on a job last Thursday at a house in Fresno and met this old timer who does nothing but commercial brickwork. He pointed at my running bond and said I was wasting time staggering every single row like that for a residential wall. Said in commercial they just stack bond and use wire ties for support, which blew my mind. I mean, my work is solid but this guy did like 300 bricks in the time I did 100. Has anyone else switched up their pattern after talking to a commercial bricklayer?
I bought this expensive mortar mixer paddle from a big box store thinking it would last forever. It broke right at the weld after mixing maybe 15 batches of type S mortar. The store wouldn't take it back since it was used. I welded it myself but it threw the balance off and shook my drill apart. Stick with the cheap steel paddles, they actually hold up better in my experience. Anyone else have a tool fail on them way too fast?
I'm working a job down in Austin right now and it's been over 100 every day this week. My mortar was setting up way too fast in the wheelbarrow. Last Tuesday I started putting a wet burlap sack over the pile between loads and it kept it workable for almost 45 minutes longer. Nothing fancy just an old sack and a bucket of water. Has anyone else tried this or got a better way to handle hot weather?
Used to snap chalk lines for every single course on chimney jobs. Took forever and lines faded in the sun. Last month on a job in Austin I finally grabbed a line lock and twigs setup. Has anyone else switched from chalk lines to a line lock for tall walls?
I figured it was just boomer talk, but after the third course started sagging like a wet noodle I soaked the whole wall down and it set up solid as a rock, has anyone else had a supposedly outdated trick save their whole day?
I show up to this retaining wall job and the helper had already mixed the mortar. Problem was he used way too much water, stuff was practically soup. I tried laying the first course anyway and the bricks just kept sliding off the line. Had to stop, throw out the whole batch, and redo it with the right mix ratio. Took me an extra hour but the wall actually stayed put. Has anyone else had a helper wreck a batch like that and what did you do about it?
I've been laying brick for 12 years, started from nothing with just a basic margin trowel. Last month my trusty old corner trowel broke right in the middle of a retaining wall job in Akron, $150 job on the line. I grabbed my backup cheap one from the truck (the kind everyone hates on) and finished the whole thing without any issues. Am I the only one who thinks spending $40 on a fancy ergonomic corner trowel is a waste when the $8 model does the same thing?
I always thought you butter the whole brick face to get a solid squeeze out. Then this old foreman on a job in Denver watched me for like 2 minutes and asked why I was wasting mud. He showed me just buttering the head joint and a thin line on the bed. Cut my time by maybe 30 percent and I felt like an idiot. Anyone else have a basic habit that took someone else pointing out to fix?
I keep seeing guys on sites dumping all their water in at once before adding the mix. That just makes a soupy mess you can't fix. I pour in about 2/3 of the water first, then add the mix, then the rest of the water bit by bit. Got that from an old timer in Portland who had been laying brick since the 70s. Anyone else notice this or am I just being picky?
I used a grout bag for years because that's what the old guys taught me. Last month I finally tried a pointing gun on a job in Portland. Did the same 50 foot wall in 3 hours instead of 6. No wrist pain either. Has anyone else made the switch and felt stupid for waiting?
I was laying block on a retaining wall last Tuesday when the mortar started setting up in the wheelbarrow in under 10 minutes. Turned out the sand pile had a ton of clay mixed in from the supplier. Had to tear out 12 feet of wall before it cured and remix with fresh sand.
I had a 40 foot wall to lay out last week and my line got twisted on the first pull. Everyone says just work with it or replace the string but I got annoyed and snapped it twice, once from each end to make a cross mark. The second snap lined up perfectly with the first and I saved myself 10 minutes of fiddling. Has anyone else done this or am I just getting lucky?