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?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.abby13h agoMost Upvoted

Yeah that wet sponge thing. A buddy of mine builds decks in Vermont, been at it 25 years. Told me his first boss made him soak the deck boards before nailing. He thought it was stupid and skipped it once. Next summer every board he'd laid was split or cupped. Had to tear up and replace eight grand worth of cedar.

elizabethwhite8h ago

Oh man, I totally used to roll my eyes at the whole wetting boards thing. Figured it was just some old timer superstition that didn't matter anymore. But hearing that story about the eight grand mistake really hits home, I'm definitely not skipping that step on my next project.