Stop slapping mortar on wet bricks - ruins your bond

Was on a job in Raleigh last month and saw a new guy buttering bricks that were still damp from rain. Mortar just slid right off. Old foreman told me dry bricks suck the moisture out of the mortar, wet bricks make it runny. Both kill your bond strength. Anyone else had a crew ignore this and get callbacks for weak walls?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_chen619d ago

I was on a job in Charlotte back in 2018 where we had a wet spell for three days straight. Foreman told us to mix the mortar a little drier and keep going. We slapped it on damp bricks and that wall is still standing strong four years later. The problem isn't wet bricks, it's novices who can't read the mix and adjust. You adjust the water in your mortar for the conditions, like any real mason should. That old foreman's rule of thumb is just a crutch for guys who don't want to dial in their batches.

taylorlewis19d ago

Keep your mortar a little on the dry side when the bricks are wet. I've done it plenty of times on jobs in the southeast where the humidity is just brutal. The trick is to mix it so it holds its shape but doesn't slump at all, then you tap each brick into place with the trowel handle to bed it in. Makes the mortar stick instead of slide right off.