Best day I had on a job in Philly last summer

I was working on a small retaining wall for a guy in northeast Philly back in July. The weather was perfect, not too hot, and the mortar set up just right every time I laid a brick. I finished the whole 40 foot wall in one day, which is way faster than I normally go. The homeowner came out and said he couldn't believe how straight it looked without any weird gaps. Made me feel good about my work and reminded me why I like this trade. Anybody else have a day where everything just clicked like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ben10d ago

Honestly gotta disagree with you here. That 40 foot wall in one day sounds rushed, not impressive. When you lay brick that fast you're probably skimping on the prep work and the joints might look good now but come winter when the ground heaves you'll have cracks everywhere. The homeowner saying it looked straight doesn't mean much when they don't know the difference between a solid bond and a quick patch job.

the_elizabeth10d ago

Forty foot wall in one day. That's eight hours maybe. You're laying five feet an hour minimum. That's a brick every two minutes if you're doing standard size. No way you're buttering each joint right and checking your level that fast. I've seen guys race through a wall and it looks fine until spring when the frost pops half the face off. That homeowner isn't inspecting your bond pattern or looking for proper ties. He just sees straight lines. Come December he'll be calling you back.

kellyallen10d ago

Yeah that part about "buttering each joint right" really got me. I used to think speed was the whole game. I'd brag about how fast I could knock out a wall. But I've been watching guys I respect do it slower and the work holds up way better. That "looks fine until spring" part hits hard because I've seen it happen. The frost pops the face off and suddenly you're the bad guy who rushed it. I think you're right that the homeowner just sees straight lines and doesn't know what good work looks like. Now I'd rather take an extra day and have it stay solid through winter. It's not worth the callback.