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My foreman in Cincinnati told me to soak my trowel in water before laying blocks, and after 3 jobs I owe him a beer
I was on a block job in Cincinnati last month and the mortar kept drying out on the board before I could even get halfway down the wall. My foreman Dave watched me fight it for an hour and said soak your trowel in a bucket of water for a minute before you start, it stops the mortar from grabbing the steel and keeps it workable. I figured it was one of those old guy tricks that doesn't do anything, but I tried it on the next 3 jobs and the difference is real. I'm getting probably 15 extra blocks laid per hour now because I'm not stopping to scrape and re-temper every few minutes. Dave never said a word after that, just gave me a look like he already knew. Anyone else got old timer tricks like this that sound dumb but actually work?
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daniel1404d ago
Wetting the trowel helps but the real reason your mortar was drying out is probably the board itself, not the steel. A dry plywood or masonite board sucks the water right out of the mud, so soaking the board first does way more than the trowel trick ever will. Dave's tip works because a wet trowel slides instead of grabbing, but try hosing down your board before you dump the mortar and you'll get even more blocks per hour.
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