Unpopular opinion: I quit wetting my brick before laying and my joints got tighter

Ray West · 2026-10-19T20:50:04.037267+00:00

For my first eight years on the trowel I dunked every brick in a water barrel before it hit the mortar, because that is what the old guys in Baltimore taught me. About six months ago I ran out of time on a garage job in Dundalk and laid the last 200 units dry out of pure panic. The mortar pulled moisture out of the brick and set up fast, but when I came back the next morning those walls were stiffer than the ones I soaked. Now I only wet brick when it is over 85 degrees or the block is pulling water hard, and my tooling joints have been cleaner since. Any of you laid dry on purpose, or am I setting myself up for a callback down the road?

💡Thought Shares

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Unpopular opinion: I quit wetting my brick before laying and my joints got tighter | Bricklayers - Thought Shares