Can we talk about the time I had to redo a whole chimney stack in Boise because the mortar mix was off?

My helper added too much lime to the batch on a Friday afternoon, and by Monday morning the entire structure on a new build was weeping white streaks and had zero grab, so I had to chip out every single joint and start over from the roof line up, which took three full days and cost the company nearly two grand in labor and materials.

2 comments

2 Comments

nora_park722d ago

That "weeping white streaks" part is the worst. It's called efflorescence and it means the mix is holding way too much water. I've seen it turn a whole wall crusty like that overnight, especially with too much lime.

terry_walker2d ago

But does it actually hurt the wall or is it just ugly? I've seen it wash off pretty easy with water.