My old foreman told me I was laying brick too tight on a job in Pittsburgh back in 2007

He walked over, pulled a joint out with his trowel tip and said 'you're fighting the sun, kid, leave an extra 2mm for expansion' - has anyone else had to unlearn a bad habit from early on in their career?

2 comments

2 Comments

nora_park727d ago

Wait, you actually listened to a foreman in Pittsburgh? I thought that was illegal up there (or at least against union code). My old boss told me to lay brick like I was trying to keep water out of Fort Knox - turns out that's a great way to watch your wall crack in half come July. Had to relearn that one the hard way when a patio I did in 2010 turned into a giant jigsaw puzzle.

logan_thomas876d ago

Yeah, that Fort Knox line hit close to home. My first year I was buttering every joint like I was trying to seal a nuclear reactor. Got called out by an old mason in Buffalo who just pointed at a wall I did and said 'that'll blow out before the next inspection.' He was right. Had to take a grinder to half a retaining wall after a wet spring. You learn real quick that tight brick is just future rubble waiting to happen.