Twenty years of bricklaying and I just learned my mortar mix was off

I've been laying brick around Cleveland since 2005, always using the same mix I learned from my old foreman. Last month a structural engineer on a commercial job told me my joints were too soft and failing the test. Has anyone else had to completely redo their mix ratios after thinking they had it down forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinnmitchell2d ago

Honestly, that's a tough lesson to learn after two decades. I bet your old foreman meant well, but mixes have changed a lot since then. Modern building codes and different brick types really do call for a more precise ratio than just the old school "three parts sand, one part cement" approach. You might even need to adjust for the local sand in Cleveland since it varies so much from pit to pit. Tbh, if you're working on commercial jobs now, those engineers are gonna be super strict. It's worth just buying a pre-blended mortar mix for a while till you get your own tested and dialed in.

skylerm552d ago

Preblended is the way to go til you get test results back, seriously.