Used to mix mortar by eyeballing the water, then a 7 foot wall collapsed on me

When I started bricklaying back in 2017 I just guessed at how much water to add to the mix. Dump some in, stir it around, looked okay to me. Then I was building a garden wall in Omaha and the whole middle section buckled after 3 days because the mortar was too wet. My buddy Frank made me measure water with a 5 gallon bucket from then on. Has anyone else had a wall fail from bad mortar consistency?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisab3216d ago

A 7 foot wall collapsing seems a little extreme for just wet mortar lol. Like was there rebar in it or any kind of base? Omaha soil is pretty heavy clay from what I remember so drainage might have been more your problem than the water in the mix. Plus 3 days is fast for a wall to come down just from mortar issues unless you stacked it real fast and didn't let anything set. I used to eyeball water all the time back in 2018 on a patio job and the worst that happened was some sagging along the edge. Are you sure it wasn't a foundation or footing problem? Mortar consistency can mess you up but a whole wall collapse sounds like multiple things went wrong not just one bucket issue.

michael80316d agoTop Commenter

That "folded like a cheap suit" line actually changed my mind on this one.

the_cameron16d ago

@lisab32 has a point about the soil but it was definitely the mortar too. I threw up a 7 foot wall in Omaha back in 2017 with no rebar and wet mortar and it folded like a cheap suit three days later.