Tried that new mortar additive from the hardware store near St. Louis last week

I was working on a retaining wall out in Chesterfield and grabbed a bucket of that new polymer additive they're pushing. Mixed it into my Type S mortar at the ratio they said on the label. About 4 hours in, the stuff was still way too soft and kept slumping on my trowel. Had to redo three courses before I gave up and went back to my regular mix. Has anyone else had trouble with those additives messing up your working time?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige3311mo ago

Chesterfield local here. I grabbed a bucket from the same batch. Absolute nightmare. That polymer stuff turned my mortar into pudding. Had to scrape it off my hawk twice. Went back to plain Type S and never looked back.

oliverhernandez1mo ago

Learned that one the hard way myself. Mixed up a batch of polymer stuff thinking it'd save me time. Ended up with something that looked like beige pancake batter. Spent the whole morning scraping it off my tools and wondering if I should just give up masonry and take up knitting. Definitely went back to plain Type S after that and never looked back.

dakotab931mo ago

Hey @paige331, how long did it take you to scrape that junk off your hawk? I mean, did you just ditch the whole bucket or try to salvage it with something?