Almost lost a whole wall in Portland when my mortar mix was too wet

Was working on a retaining wall for a client off Burnside last Tuesday. I was rushing between loads and didn't check the slump, next thing I know the whole top course started sliding on me. Had to tear out 12 feet and redo it, wasted about 40 bucks in materials. Anyone else had a bad batch of mix screw up their day?

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sethb455mo ago

Call me crazy but $40 in materials sounds like a cheap lesson honestly. Portland weather is so finicky with moisture anyway, I've had mortar act up just because the humidity was high that day. If a whole wall was sliding on you that fast, maybe the base or drainage wasn't right to begin with. Tearing out 12 feet sounds like a pain but it beats having the whole thing fall over next winter. I've seen guys try to save a bad batch with extra dry mix and it always ends up looking like patchwork. Just chalk it up to the cost of doing business and move on.

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riley8605mo ago

Wait, so what's the right base setup for Portland's wet ground then?

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