c/bricklayers

Level vs line, which do you trust for a long run?

I did a 40 foot garden wall in Portland last month and split the job between level and string line. The level had me chasing tiny bubbles all day, but the string line kept everything dead straight with way less fuss. My partner swore by the level for plumb checks, yet for the horizontal runs the string won every time. Anyone else find that a stretched line beats a level on long stretches, or am I just bad at reading the bubble?

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jana_shah96•1d ago

That frost depth stat nearly bit me on a job in Minnesota

I was reading the local building code last week and found out frost goes down 80 inches in some spots up here. We had a footing pour scheduled and thank god I checked because our plans only called for 60. The inspector wouldve flagged it and we wouldve been tearing out cured concrete. Anyone else run into frost depth surprises that the engineer missed?

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gray_roberts•1d ago

Spent 4 hours fighting a laser level that was 2 degrees off

Down in Phoenix last Tuesday, I set up my rotary laser for a garden wall corner and checked it twice before laying the first course. Every brick looked level to my eye, but the string line kept showing a slight drop and I kept shimming and rechecking, burning a full morning on what should've been a quick layout. Finally I grabbed my old torpedo level and ran it across the laser unit itself, turns out the bracket had slipped on the tripod and it was sitting tilted. Fixed in 30 seconds, but I'd already torn down and reset the whole corner twice, anyone else had a tool secretly failing them like that and making you doubt your own work?

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jones.angela•2d ago

Pro tip: check your mortar mix before the sun hits it in July

Watched a crew in Phoenix waste a whole pallet of brick last summer cause their mix was drying too fast in the heat, so now I always wet the boards and shade the pile before noon, anyone else deal with that?

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parker_jones50•3d ago

My laser level got cooked by mortar dust, back to string lines

Tbh I ran a cheap laser level on a scaffold job near a windy mix station in Tulsa and the fine dust worked its way into the sensor within 2 days. Now I'm not saying lasers are bad, but for any outdoor wall over 30 feet I've gone back to a taut string and a line block. The string never blinks out or drifts when a truck rolls by. Has anyone else had a laser die that fast, or did I just get a dud unit?

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alex_taylor10•3d ago

Old foreman swore by wetting bricks, I thought he was full of it

Back in 2018 on a job in Cleveland, my foreman made us soak every brick before laying, said dry ones suck the moisture out of the mortar and cause cracks later. I figured he was just slow and we lost half a day on a 3,000 brick wall. Six months later I got called back to fix a hairline crack on a different crew's wall that skipped the soaking step, so was he actually onto something or just old school for no reason?

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the_john•6d ago

Warning: cheap bulk mortar mix cost me a full day on a retaining wall in Toledo

I grabbed 3 pallets of that no-name mix on sale for $4.50 a bag and it set way too fast in the sun, wasted 80 bucks worth before I switched. Anyone else run into bad batches from the discount suppliers, or do I just need to stick with the name brand going forward?

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harperschmidt•6d ago

Blew through 700 bricks on a garden wall in Austin because my line pins shifted

Set up my string line on a Saturday morning and by Sunday evening noticed the whole middle section was bowing out about a half inch, must have been the wind catching the line overnight. Had to knock down and redo about 40 linear feet, anyone else tie their line off different when it gets gusty like that?

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gonzalez.grant•16d ago

One perfect spring day in Dayton had me laying 800 brick like it was nothing

The mortar was mixed just right, the sun was warm but not punishing, and my helper actually showed up on time, so we finished a whole chimney face before noon and I couldn't help smiling the entire drive home, has anyone else hit that weird sweet spot where the whole job just flows?

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hugo_hayes•16d ago

Old foreman's rule about wet joints still holds up in Kansas City

Last week I was setting brick in a downpour near the Plaza and remembered what my old foreman told me 12 years ago on a job in Topeka, that water in the joint is fine if you strike it twice and not once, and I pulled a perfect wall on Tuesday, so has anyone else kept an old timer's habit even when the new guys shrug at it?

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iris_jones89•16d ago

A fresh apprentice told me my mortar mix was overkill, and I actually listened

He said my 4:1 mix for a garden wall in Portland was wasting time and bags, and after watching him lay 80 bricks in an afternoon with a 5:1, I spent last weekend redoing my storage shed base with his ratio, so has anyone else loosened up after a kid showed them up?

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derekc30•18d ago

Damp course got bypassed by a simple planter box

I did a repair job last month where someone built a raised garden bed right up against the brick wall, and the soil sat above the damp proof course for maybe 4 years. Water wicked straight through and wrecked the plaster inside. I pulled the planter back and dug a gravel trench, but has anyone else seen this cause bigger structural issues down the road?

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samthompson•19d ago

The $340 brick saw blade that everyone hates, I love it anyway

I dropped $340 on a continuous rim diamond blade for my 14 inch saw after months of listening to guys at the supply yard swear they were a waste of money... It's been 8 weeks and I've cut 4,000 bricks with zero chips and zero glazing, way better than the segmented blades I used for 15 years. Has anyone else actually run one long enough to see if they hold up, or is everyone just repeating what their foreman told them?

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the_robin•19d ago

Shoutout to the cheap laser level I almost returned

Bought one of those $35 self-leveling lasers off Amazon back in March for a garden wall job near Tacoma. I figured it would be garbage and I'd end up using my string line anyway. First morning I set it up on a muddy slope and it held its line through 30 feet of block laying, no drift at all. What convinced me was checking it against my old water level on the return corners, dead on every time. I still use the water level for tall piers because the laser gets iffy in direct sun, but for anything under 4 feet I'm sold now. Anyone else had a cheap tool that surprised you or did I just get lucky with this one?

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dianagreen•20d ago

My $220 core drill bit died after 60 holes, should I drop big money on the next one?

Bought a cheap core drill bit from a supply store in Phoenix last month thinking it would handle a small retaining wall job. Got maybe 60 holes before the teeth just gave up, and the rental house owner was not happy about the delay. I know the pro bits run like $450 plus, but is the extra cost really worth it for a guy who only does a few slabs a year? Has anyone else burned cash on budget gear and regretted it or found a solid middle ground?

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kelly.dylan•21d ago

Got burned by a cheap mortar mixer, cost me $180 in wasted bags

Picked up a $45 paddle mixer from a big box store last month because my old one finally died. Thought it would be fine for small jobs, but it could barely handle a 60lb mix without bogging down hard. Ended up with half-mixed mortar caking up in the drum twice, so I had to toss three full bags that were already opened. Went out and bought a used tow-behind mixer for $120 from a guy on Craigslist, and that thing chews through batches like nothing. Anyone else waste cash on those tiny paddles before realizing they're only good for stucco touch-ups? Still kicking myself over those two lost mornings on a garage foundation in Akron.

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elizabetha92•22d ago

The old church repoint gave me a real before and after

Worked on a 1920s brick church in Dayton last fall and the front wall was a mess. We tore out all the crumbling mortar and repointed with lime mix, took about 5 days for 300 square feet. The difference is wild, the bricks pop now and the water runs off instead of soaking in. Has anyone else seen that kind of change on historic buildings, or is it usually a smaller visual shift?

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hugo_craig•23d ago

That $8 harbor freight trowel trick saved a whole wall for me

Last Thursday I was fighting mortar that kept sticking to my trowel no matter what, making a mess of every joint. A guy on another crew in Wichita told me to hit the face with a wire brush after every batch, just 10 seconds. I figured it was a waste of time but tried it on a 40 foot stretch of block wall. The difference was night and day, smooth pulls the whole run. Any of you got a weird trowel habit that actually pays off?

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dianagreen•25d ago

The 3/4 inch rule from my old foreman finally clicked

Three years ago in Spokane, my foreman kept yelling about keeping a 3/4 inch joint on every course, even on blind walls. I figured he was just being picky until last Tuesday when I had to tie a new addition into a 1960s foundation and the existing brick was a full 1/8 inch taller per course. I spent two hours redoing the first five rows because I ignored his number. Anyone else find that old rules only make sense when you're patching someone else's sloppy work?

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the_john•27d ago

Rant: mortar mix ratio I trusted for 15 years let me down on a job in Akron

Been laying block since 2008 and always used 3 parts sand to 1 part cement, never had a problem. Last week on a retaining wall in Akron the joints kept cracking after two days, and the supplier talked me into trying 3.5 to 1 with lime added. Total game changer for me, the wall set up way more even and the cracks stopped. Has anyone else had to ditch their old ratio after a specific job went sideways?

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leo_jackson15•28d ago

Rant: laser levels keep lying to me on long walls

Been using a rotary laser for reveals and corners for about 6 months now. Last week I had a 40 foot run of brick in Topeka and the thing was off by over a quarter inch at the far end. I checked the bubble, checked the tripod, even swapped to a different battery. Turned out the wall I clamped it to was ever so slightly out of plumb and it threw the whole line. My old string line would've caught that immediately. Am I the only one who still runs a string for anything over 25 feet? Or do you guys trust the green beam and just check it twice?

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wendy_bell83•28d ago

Pro tip: I gave up on the 10 inch trowel after 25 years

For most of my career I swore by the big trowel for face brick, thought it saved time on a church job in Boise back in 2019. Then a young hod carrier showed me how he laid buttered joints with a 6 inch and I watched my line actually straighter by the end of the day. Anyone else switch to a smaller trowel for certain brick and find the finish worth the extra passes?

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michaeljones•1mo ago

Bonding with a 45 degree mitre got me after 8 years on the trowel

Always used a standard trowel to butter my mitres and would fight the corners till the mortar fell off. Old foreman in Columbus watched me for a minute and tossed me his margin trowel, said to use that for the angles. Once I tried it on a fireplace surround, the mitres held clean without all the extra tapping. Anyone else got a tool they thought was for pointing only but saved their butt on something else?

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thomas.cameron•1mo ago

Lime mortar mix acted totally different in the rain last Tuesday

Threw together a batch the same way I always do, 3:1 with hydrated lime, and it turned to soup on the scaffold before I could even lay a row. Lesson learned, check the forecast first, has anyone else had their mix go weird on a damp morning?

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coran63•1mo ago

Watched a guy lay 500 brick on a church wall in Nashville without a laser level

Stopped by a job site last Tuesday to grab some mortar mix for a small patio job. This older fella was doing a veneer wall on the side of a church, maybe 40 feet long. He had a string line, a trowel, and a level he checked maybe twice the whole time I watched. I asked him about using a laser or a transit and he just said, "Son, the sun and my thumb tell me more than that red dot ever will." He was dead on too, I checked the coursing after he left. Made me think about all the times I set up a laser for a 10 foot planter box. Has anyone else found that some jobs get the full layout treatment when they really just need a string and a sharp eye?

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