c/bricklayers

Talked to a mason at the supply yard who said he never uses a level on old foundations, now I'm rethinking my whole approach to historic house repointing.

He said the walls settled a hundred years ago and chasing level just creates weird looking joints, so I'm gonna try matching the original slump on my next job in the South End, has anyone else just let the wall tell you what it wants?

Started out hating fiberglass reinforcing mesh, now I use it on every long wall

I was dead set against it for years, thought it was a gimmick for weekend warriors. Then I had a 40-foot retaining wall crack straight through the middle last spring and a structural engineer showed me the test results. Anyone else change their mind on a material they swore they'd never touch?

A drywaller in Denver gave me a warning about lime mortar that I ignored

I was working a small garden wall job in Denver a few years back, and a drywaller unloading his truck next to me saw my bags of Portland cement. He said 'You use that for repointing old brick, you'll crack the face off in a year.' I brushed him off because I was in a hurry and figured he just worked with drywall, not masonry. Three months after I finished a job in Capitol Hill, the homeowner called me showing me hairline cracks in the bricks. He was right. The Portland was too hard for the soft old brick. I had to chip it all out and redo it with NHL lime. Has anyone else ran into trouble mixing modern cement with historic brick?

Just realized I was buttering my parge coat too wet - thanks to a Tuesday last month

Talked to an old timer who laid brick for 40 years - he told me my joints were too tight and it hit different

I was working a fireplace job in Rochester last Thursday and this retired mason walked by, watched me for a minute, then just said 'you're squeezing those joints like you're paying for the mortar yourself.' At first I was annoyed, you know? But then he showed me how he does a half-inch joint with a little wiggle room for expansion and it actually makes the wall look way better. He said tight joints crack in the freeze-thaw cycle around here, which I never really thought about. Has anyone else had an old school guy give you advice that actually changed how you lay?

Vent: Wrong mortar mix on a basement wall in St. Louis

I showed up to a job last week and the homeowner already had the blocks laid with type N mortar for a foundation wall. That stuff won't hold up against ground moisture and pressure, it's meant for interior work. Anyone else deal with people using the wrong mix and expecting it to last?

Appreciation post: The day my mortar mix nearly caused a wall collapse

I was working on a garden wall in Austin last spring, about 4 feet high and 20 feet long. Mixed my mortar a little too wet that morning because I was in a hurry. By noon, the whole middle section started bulging out maybe 2 inches. Had to tear down 12 courses and start fresh with a stiffer mix. Took me an extra 6 hours and a load of new bricks. Has anyone else had a batch go bad on them mid-project because of water content?

Old foreman on a job in Austin told me my joints were too tight

He said I was leaving no room for the mortar to breathe and it would crack in a summer or two. So I started leaving a quarter inch gap instead of snugging everything up. Has anyone else had an old-timer call them out on something basic like that?

Wet saw vs angle grinder for cutting firebrick, not even close

I spent last Saturday rebuilding a pizza oven in my buddy's backyard in Portland. I started with an angle grinder and a diamond blade because I figured it would be faster. After about 10 cuts I was covered in red dust and the blade kept binding up on me. Switched to my wet saw with a continuous rim blade and it was night and day. The cuts were smooth, no dust, and I finished the whole job in under 3 hours instead of struggling all day. Has anyone else made the switch for refractory materials?

Mortar mix went wrong on a hot day in Austin

I was working a wall out in Austin last August, temp hit 102, and my mortar started drying out before I could even butter the bricks. I thought I mixed it wet enough, but by the time I laid the third course, the joints were crumbling and I had to pull half the row back down. Ended up wasting about 45 minutes re-mixing with ice water from my cooler and adding a little more lime to slow the set. The next day I brought a spray bottle and kept the mud pan covered with a damp towel, which helped a ton. Has anyone else dealt with mortar going bad in extreme heat, or found a trick to keep it workable longer?

Tried tuck pointing with a grinder vs the old chisel and hammer method

Had to repoint about 40 feet of chimney on a 1920s house in Denver last month. I started with a diamond blade grinder on one side and did the other side by hand with a hammer and chisel. The grinder was way faster, but I kept nicking the surrounding bricks and it left dust everywhere. The hand method took me almost double the time but the joints came out cleaner and I didn't damage a single brick. Now I'm wondering if there's a power tool that gives you that control without the risk. Anyone else run into this choice and stick with the old school way?

Visited an old job site in Pittsburgh and noticed my brick wall from 2013 still looks perfect

I was driving through Pittsburgh last week for a family thing and swung by this house I worked on 12 years ago. The owner still lives there and she said the brick wall on her front porch never cracked or shifted once. Made me feel pretty good honestly because I used a really tight bond pattern on that one and was nervous about it at the time. Any of you guys ever go back and check your old work years later

Been laying brick for 8 years and just figured out I was buttering joints backwards

Was on a job last Tuesday in Columbus and my foreman stopped by to check my work. He watched me for like 2 minutes and then asked why I was buttering the head joints before the bed joints. I didnt even know there was a right order. Been doing it the same way since I apprenticed. Now I feel like an idiot but my walls are already way tighter. Anyone else find out they were doing some basic move wrong way later in their career?

Quick tip: Pre-wet your bricks in hot weather

I used to lay dry bricks until a job in Phoenix last July where my mortar kept drying too fast and cracking. Soaking them for 10 minutes before laying made a huge difference in the bond. Anyone else do this or just me?

Rethought my mortar mix after a talk with a mason in Chicago

He told me I was using too much water because I was in a hurry, and after 3 jobs with crumbly joints I see he was right. Anyone else had to slow down to speed up?

I finally stopped using a rubber mallet after a job in Phoenix

Was on a commercial wall out in Phoenix last June, 110 degrees and I'm whacking bricks into place with my old rubber mallet. Guy from a crew next to me walks over and says 'you're gonna crack half those bricks before noon with that thing.' He handed me a deadblow hammer instead. I was pissed at first but he was right, I cracked way less that day. Anyone else switch from rubber to deadblow on hot jobs?

That $500 laser level I bought was a complete waste

Everyone kept telling me I needed a fancy rotary laser for setting out footings. Dropped $500 on a top brand one and honestly my old string levels work just as good for residential work. The laser got knocked out of calibration on the second job and took a week to get fixed. Now its sitting in my truck collecting dust while I stick to the cheap method. Any of you guys run into this or am I just unlucky with tools?

That laying pattern trick I doubted for 2 years actually works

My uncle Jim (he's been laying brick since the 80s) kept telling me to stack my corners with a 3/8 offset instead of the standard half-bond. I thought he was just being old-school stubborn, you know? But last month on a patio job in Greenville, I had some thin pavers that kept cracking with the usual pattern. Gave his method a try just to shut him up honestly. The offset spread the load way better and I only lost 2 bricks to cracks instead of like 12. Now I'm wondering what other old-school tips I've been ignoring. Anyone else have a trick they wrote off for years that turned out to be gold?

I think the whole 'always wet cut' rule is overhyped for small jobs

Heard a guy at the supply yard last week telling a newbie he had to wet cut every single brick or his wall would fall apart. I've been doing this 12 years and I dry cut plenty on small retaining walls and garden edges. My dad taught me that way back in '09 and none of my walls have failed. Sure, wet cutting is cleaner and probably better for big structural stuff, but for a 3 foot high planter box? Just use a good blade and take it slow. Anyone else think people get too caught up in the perfect method for every tiny project?

Lost a whole wall of brick to a bad batch of mortar last month

I was working on a garden wall for a client in Oakdale back in October. So I mixed up a new bag of mortar from a brand I always use, and about three days later I noticed the bricks were loose. I could wiggle them with my hand, which should never happen after that long. Took a closer look and the mortar was crumbly, like it never set right. Turns out that batch had too much lime or something, because the bag was from a pallet that got wet in storage. I had to tear down the whole wall and start over, which cost me an extra two days and a lot of sore shoulders. Has anyone else run into a bad mix like that from a trusted brand?

Is it really faster to butter joint or do the old school point-and-trowel method?

I keep seeing guys on new builds buttering every joint with a gun, claiming it's way quicker. But I timed a buddy last week on a 50 foot wall in Austin, and his butter job took almost as long as my trowel work because he kept fixing squeezed out mortar. Am I wrong for thinking the old way still wins on bigger runs, or is the gun actually better once you get the hang of it?

The old framing hammer vs my new one - night and day difference

I picked up a 20 oz straight claw framing hammer from a guy retiring after 40 years in the trade. First week using it, my wrist felt worse than ever and I was missing nails left and right. Switched to a 22 oz Estwing with a shock reduction grip last month and my aim got way better. What kind of hammer do you old school guys still use on big walls?

Pointed trowel vs square end for brick cleaning

I been using a square end trowel for cleanup for 10 years. Switched to a pointed one last week on a 2000 brick wall job. Cleaned the mortar off faster but left more scratches. Which one do you guys stick with?

Had to pick between a Marshalltown and a W Rose margin trowel last week

I needed a new margin trowel for tight spots around window frames and couldn't decide between the Marshalltown and the W Rose. Went with the Marshalltown because the handle felt better in my hand, but after three days of use I notice it flexes a tiny bit when I'm prying off old mortar. Anybody else run into this flex issue with their margin trowel?

Spotted a huge difference in my mortar mix after switching sand suppliers

Used to get this super fine sand from a place in Waco, but switched to a coarser mix from over near Lorena last month and my joints are holding way better with less cracking. Anyone else notice that kind of change just from where the sand comes from?