Warning: Don't waste $400 on the 'premium' mortar mix from that online supplier

I ordered a pallet of that specialty Type N mortar from BetterBrick Supply back in March. Said it was formulated for historic homes and would set perfectly every time. First batch I mixed up was way too sandy and crumbly, nothing like the bags I get from my local yard. I tried adjusting my water ratio three times, still got garbage. Went through half the pallet before I gave up and had to buy regular stuff from Abbot Lumber to finish the job. Customer made me tear out a whole section of a retaining wall because the joints looked off. So $400 down the drain plus two extra days of labor. Anyone else get burned by fancy internet mortar that didn't hold up?

1 comments

1 Comment

emery8791mo ago

Did you check the date code on those bags before you started mixing? I've been using BetterBrick's premium blend for almost two years now on old rowhouses and never had a crumbly issue like that. Could be you got a bad pallet from a batch that sat too long in a damp warehouse, happens with any specialty lime mortar. Your water ratio trick might actually be the problem, that stuff needs a tight window between too dry and too wet, way tighter than standard Type N. I always do a small test panel on a scrap board before I even bring it to a job site, saves headaches like yours. Not saying you're wrong about your experience, but I've seen guys blame the mix when it was really a bad storage situation or they didn't slake it right.