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Just found out I've been mixing my mortar wrong for 12 years
Tbh I was watching some old brick video from a guy in Chicago last night and he mentioned lime content in your mix. I always just dumped a bag of type S and added water till it felt right. Turns out I was way off on the sand to cement ratio for like a dozen years. The dude broke down how a proper mix should actually have a specific parts ratio, not just eyeballing it. Has anyone else been doing this wrong their whole career or is it just me?
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the_hayden15d ago
Pulled up to a job site last summer where the homeowner had a pile of crumbling bricks from a DIY project he did 5 years back. Told me he just mixed it by feel, same as me. I laughed until I realized I'd been doing the exact same thing for my own projects. Started actually measuring out sand to cement when I redid my back patio last fall and the difference is night and day. The mix is way easier to work with, doesn't slump off the trowel like before. Makes me wonder how many other small jobs I phoned in without even knowing it.
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shane17015d ago
Man, that hit me right in the gut because I've been there too. I spent years just guessing at my mortar mix, telling myself it was fine because the bricks stuck together. Then I rebuilt a garden wall last spring and actually used a bucket to measure things out, and I couldn't believe the difference. The stuff held its shape way better, didn't sag or drip everywhere, and I finished the job faster because I wasn't fighting the mix the whole time. Makes you wonder how many other little things we've been doing wrong just because we never bothered to check.
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