Just lost a full day's pay on a bad mortar mix

I was in a rush on a job in Phoenix and grabbed a bag of pre-mix that felt a bit off, but I used it anyway. The whole wall I laid up started to slump and I had to tear it down and start over, costing me about $300. Has anyone else had a bad batch from a supplier and how do you check it before you start?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jake14d ago

Man, that's rough... I've been there. Honestly though, pre-mix should be pretty foolproof if it's sealed right. In that heat, I'm wondering if the bag was left open somewhere down the line and just sucked up a ton of moisture before you got it. I always look for a hard lump in the bottom corner of the bag, that's a dead giveaway it got wet. A fresh bag should feel totally dry and flow almost like sand.

casey84314d ago

Honestly, blaming the bag is a cop out. That pre-mix is supposed to handle some moisture, it's not that fragile. More likely the mix ratio was off when you added water, especially in that dry heat. You probably just mixed it too wet trying to beat the clock. A quick slump test with your trowel would have shown it was no good before you even started laying block.