c/bricklayers

Old timer told me to clean my joints with a wet sponge, not a dry brush, and I figured he was just being picky until I had to repoint half a wall 4 months later.

He was a union guy from Philly who'd been laying brick for 40 years and after seeing my work start to crumble I finally listened, so has anyone else had a simple tip from a veteran save them from redoing work?

Job site pet peeve - using the wrong mortar mix

Was on a commercial project over on Elm Street last month. Foreman kept using Type N for a load-bearing wall. Told him three times it needed Type S. He ignored me. Now I check every pallet before they even unload.

Had to pick between a water table and story pole for a tricky retaining wall job last month

Honestly, I've always used story poles for everything. They're quick and I know my measurements are solid. But this retaining wall out in Bakersfield had all these curves and steps, so my usual method just wasn't cutting it. I gave the water table a shot instead, running a level line and marking every course directly on the wall. It took me about an extra 45 minutes to set up compared to a story pole, but man, the accuracy was way better on those curved sections. No guessing on where the next course would land. Has anyone else found a specific job where the water table beats a story pole every time?

Talked to an old brickie at the supply yard who made me rethink my whole mortar mix

I was grabbing some Type N at the yard last Friday and ran into this guy who's been laying brick since the 70s. He saw me loading up with just standard premix and asked if I ever add a little lime to my batches. I told him nah, the bag says it's good to go. He laughed and said the bag doesn't know what the weather's doing next week. He showed me his truck setup, he keeps a bucket of hydrated lime and just throws in a scoop depending on the day. Said it makes the mortar more workable and helps it stick better when it's hot out. I tried it on a small retaining wall job this morning and man, that stuff spread way smoother than usual. Has anyone else messed around with adding lime or other stuff to their mix or am I just late to the party?

Old timer at the supply yard convinced me to switch to type N mortar

Been using type S for years on everything, thought it was the safe bet. One of the older guys at the yard said I was wasting money on interior walls and non-load bearing stuff. Said type N is softer so it lets the brick breathe and crack less. Tried it on a fireplace last week and honestly it was way easier to work with. You guys stick to one type or switch it up based on the job?

Tried wetting my bricks before laying them for 20 years, then a guy in Ohio told me to stop

I always soaked my bricks so they wouldn't suck the moisture out of the mortar, but a mason I met at a job site claimed it actually weakens the bond over time and causes more cracking later. Has anyone else seen a real difference in wall durability from wetting or not wetting?

I finally caught a guy reusing old mortar on a job last week

Walked up on a crew in Austin mixing old dried mortar back into wet stuff. The foreman said it saves money, but I told him it's a disaster waiting to happen. That bond won't hold, and the bricks will crack in a year. I made them dump it out and start fresh. Has anyone else seen guys try to cut corners like this?

Bought cheap mortar mixer bits, lost a whole afternoon

Picked up a no-name mixing paddle off Amazon for $12 last week. It threw chunks of rust into my mud on the second batch, had to stop and clean everything out. Anyone else had junk tools ruin a batch like that?

Used a different mortar mix for a patio in Phoenix and it set way too fast

I was doing a small patio job out in Phoenix last week and grabbed a bag of Quikrete Mortar Mix instead of my usual. The heat was around 105, and the stuff was basically rock hard in the bucket after 20 minutes. I learned the hard way that some fast-set mixes just can't handle that kind of dry heat without a real fight. Anyone have a go-to mix for super hot, dry climates that gives you more working time?

I keep seeing guys skip the pre-soak on hot days and it's costing them the whole wall

Shoutout to the old timer who showed me how to mix mortar by feel in a Chicago alley back in '98

He just grabbed a handful, squeezed it, and said, 'Kid, if it sticks to your trowel like peanut butter and drips like honey, you're golden,' and I've never bought a premix bag since.

Wasted a full day's pay on a cheap brick chisel from Harbor Freight

It snapped clean in half on the third brick of a chimney repair in Mesa... cost me $22 for the tool and about $180 in lost time waiting on a new one. Should have just bought the Estwing from the start. Anyone have a brand they trust for demo work that won't quit on you?

So I've been buttering my bricks wrong for like, a decade apparently

A guy from a crew in Boise saw me using a trowel that was way too wide for the brick type and just said 'you're fighting the tool, man'. Has anyone else had a total 'aha' moment with something basic like that?

A brick delivery in Cleveland went sideways and cost us half a day

Last Thursday our supplier sent the wrong color blend for a big house job on Euclid Avenue. We had to stop work, call them, and wait for the right pallets to show up around 2 PM. Has anyone else had a supplier mix-up throw off a whole project schedule?

I just laid 1,200 bricks in a single day on a foundation job in Cincinnati, which is way more than my usual pace.

I realized it was because I finally set up a proper mortar board and brick pile layout, cutting my walking time in half, so what's your best setup for keeping everything within arm's reach?

I finally saw a guy try to lay a whole wall without a story pole and it was a mess

This was on a job in Cincinnati last month. I was doing the floor in the next room and kept hearing this weird, heavy sighing. I peeked out and saw this guy, a new hire for the other crew, just eyeballing every single course. He had a level, but no story pole, no line, nothing. By the time he got about four feet up, the whole thing was leaning in like a drunk sailor. The lead guy came over and asked him what he was doing. The kid just said, 'I thought I could keep it straight by feel.' I almost laughed out loud. You can't just guess your way through a brick wall. A simple story pole with your joint marks saves you hours of tear-down and heartache. It's one of those basic things they should teach day one. Has anyone else had to step in and stop a rookie from making a huge, avoidable mistake like that?

PSA: Check your scaffolding before you start a solo job in the rain

I was finishing a chimney repair in Springfield last Tuesday, and a leg on my old Kwik-Stage setup sank six inches into a soft patch I missed. The whole thing listed sideways, and my mortar board slid off, dumping a perfect mix into a flowerbed. Anyone else had a close call with unstable ground they want to share?

A retired mason told me 'the mud remembers every shortcut' while we were looking at a crumbling garden wall in his yard.

That phrase really stuck with me, making me think about the foundation work I rushed through on a patio job last month, so what's the one 'shortcut' you've seen come back to haunt a project later?

Spent $400 on a laser level for a big foundation job and it paid for itself in a single day.

The time we saved getting those first courses dead straight meant we could finish the pour before the afternoon heat hit, so what's your go-to tool that feels like a splurge but actually saves your bacon?

Question about using a 3/8 inch vs 1/2 inch mortar joint for a garden wall

Honestly, I was building a 4-foot curved wall in a client's backyard in Akron and had to pick between the two joint sizes. I went with the 3/8 inch because the homeowner wanted a tighter, more refined look with the old Chicago brick they supplied. Ngl, it took a bit more focus to keep it consistent, but the final look was totally worth the extra time. Has anyone else had to make that call on a residential job and what did you lean towards?

My uncle swore you could set a perfect line with just a piece of chalk and a string, no laser level needed, and I finally tried it on a garden wall last week.

Took me three tries and a lot of squinting, but the old man was right, it worked perfectly, so who else still uses the string-and-chalk snap method for small jobs?

My brother-in-law, a carpenter, asked me why we still use full mortar beds on interior walls

We were having a beer after a long day, and he said, 'Vera, you guys lay brick like it's 1950. For a non-load bearing wall, why not just butter the edges and save a ton of mix?' It hit different because he wasn't a bricklayer, so he had no old habits to defend. I've been thinking about it all week, especially after using 12 bags on a simple partition last Tuesday. For interior work that just needs to be straight and plumb, is there a real reason not to switch up the method? Has anyone tried a thinner bed or different technique for stuff that isn't holding up a roof?

Just had a wall start to lean on me in a tight Philly alley job

We were laying a garden wall and the base wasn't wide enough for the height. I saw the top course start to drift after lunch. Had to pull it down and redo the footing with a wider trench. Anyone else had a close call like that with a simple garden wall?

I was laying brick for 8 years before a guy in Omaha showed me my trowel was wrong

I always used a standard 10 inch trowel because that's what my first boss gave me. Last month, I was helping a buddy on a chimney repair and he handed me his 12 inch London pattern. The way the mortar just rolled off the blade and onto the brick was a total game changer. My lines are cleaner now and I'm not fighting the mud all day. Anyone else have a tool they switched to way later than they should have?

PSA: I tried using a garden sprayer to wet bricks on a hot day in Atlanta and it saved my entire afternoon.

The mortar was setting way too fast in the 95-degree heat, so I filled a clean 2-gallon sprayer with water and gave each brick a quick mist right before laying it, which kept the bed joint workable and stopped the brick from sucking all the moisture out instantly. Has anyone else found a simple tool repurposed like this that saved a job?