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That brickie from the job site said I'm mixing mortar too wet
Old dude named Jerry on the new construction site downtown watched me lay a row and said my mortar was soup. Told me it loses 20% strength if it's too wet. Never even thought about it like that before. Anyone else get called out on a habit they didn't know was bad?
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jennifer83323d ago
Read something from a civil engineering blog that said wet mortar also shrinks more as it cures, causing cracks down the line. The old guy might've been onto something.
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sage_green23d ago
The blog's right but I've seen dry mortar crack just as bad honestly.
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miles_hall23d ago
That bit about losing 20% strength is more of a rough rule of thumb than an exact number (depends on the mix and how wet we're talking), but he's right that too much water messes with the bond. Dry mortar's a different problem though, the ideal is somewhere in the middle where it sticks but doesn't slump.
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