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I finally caught my mortar mixing mistake after 8 years on the trowel
Always mixed my mortar wetter than most guys because I thought it laid easier. Then I did a retaining wall job for a guy named Jim in Lancaster and he pointed out my joints were sinking after 20 minutes. He made me mix it stiff and I realized I'd been hiding bad technique with wet mud the whole time. Any of you guys ever get called out on a habit you swore was right?
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patricia_hill608d ago
That line about "masking lousy prep" really hits me. @keith164, did Jim tear into you about the prep too or just the mix itself? I mean, for me it was a whole wake-up call about how I was skimping on bedding and leveling just to save a few minutes. Like I'd throw down wet mud and think it was fine because it spread easy, but really I was just hiding that my base wasn't square or the blocks were uneven. Maybe it's just me but that kind of humbling makes you look back at every job you ever did and wonder how much you were faking it.
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keith1648d ago
Yeah man, that hits close to home. I had a guy call me out on using too much water in my mix for a block wall, thought I was being smart and saving time but really I was just masking lousy prep. Nothing like a crew boss to humble you real quick.
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