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I wasted $85 on mortar that was already expired
Picked up a pallet from a guy on Facebook Marketplace in Akron last month. Seemed like a good deal. Got home and started mixing and it just wasn't setting right. Took me three rows of block before I checked the date stamp. Stuff was 11 months past. Had to tear it all out. Anybody else get burned buying materials secondhand?
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the_riley1d ago
Just grabbed a bag of mortar that was 9 months expired from a local guy for $20. Checked it felt dry and crumbly so I added a half shovel of portland cement per batch and mixed it a little drier than normal. Helped a ton, the stuff set up perfect for a small retaining wall I was doing. @rowanr88 has a point though, the seller should have been upfront about it. I'm always pretty cautious now and test a small batch first before committing to a whole wall.
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fionamurphy1d ago
Oh man, I gotta disagree hard here. You cant really blame the seller for your own mistake, that's on you for not checking the date before you loaded it up. Facebook Marketplace deals are always buyer beware, thats the whole point of getting stuff cheap. Plus 11 months past date on mortar isnt always a death sentence if you store it dry and mix it right, Ive used older stuff and it set fine for small jobs. You probably didnt store it correctly or mixed it too wet, thats why it failed, not the expiration. And tearing out three rows of block just for that? Thats overkill, you couldve saved it by adding a little extra cement or giving it more time to cure. Next time inspect before you pay and know your materials, problem solved.
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rowanr881d ago
Respectfully, I see this a little different. Checking date stamps is important sure, but a seller who unloads expired materials without saying anything is doing folks dirty. I've been burned on Marketplace too and it stings because you expect someone to at least be honest about what they're selling. A pallet of mortar is heavy and a pain to move, they knew what they had. And while you can sometimes make old mortar work, three rows of block failing tells me that batch was toast no matter how you mixed it. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and start fresh, that's the hard lesson.
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