Hot take: most masons are using way too much water in their mortar

I was watching a guy on a job last week in Charleston and his mortar was practically soup. Looked it up later and found out that adding just 2 extra quarts of water per batch can cut the compressive strength by nearly 30 percent. That stat blew my mind because I see guys sloshing water in like it's no big deal. Has anyone else seen this happen on their sites or am I just being too picky about mix consistency?

2 comments

2 Comments

perry.karen1mo ago

Those 2 extra quarts really are a big deal @oliviahenderson ... it's like when people drown their houseplants thinking more water means more growth, but they just rot the roots instead. Same principle, different material.

oliviahenderson1mo ago

Does that stat hold up across different mortar types or is it mostly for type N? I swear I've seen guys add water just to make it easier to sling, not caring that it'll probably crumble in a few years.