That trick about buttering the head joint twice saved me on a tricky garden wall yesterday

I was working on a curved retaining wall behind a house in Asheville and the mortar kept sagging on the frog side. Then I remembered an old foreman I worked with back in 2009 who said to butter the head joint, wait 10 seconds, then butter it again before setting the brick. I tried it on the next 20 bricks and every single one held tight without slumping. Has anyone else found a specific technique that makes a big difference on curved work?

2 comments

2 Comments

zara44725d ago

Wait, are you sure about tapping the brick with the trowel handle after the second butter? I've always found that if you tap too early or too hard you actually knock that fresh mortar right out of the head joint. On those soldier courses especially the mortar is still loose and a tap just makes it sag worse. Try tapping the bed joint instead after the brick is fully set - that way you don't mess up the head joint at all. I learned that the hard way on a curved garden wall in Charlotte where I tapped one too hard and had to pull the whole brick back out.

gonzalez.grant25d ago

Buttering twice is KEY on curves man. I learned that trick from an old-timer in Boston who would also tap the brick with his trowel handle after the second butter to vibrate the mortar into every void. Works especially well on soldier courses where you have those full head joints that want to fall out. The key is waiting that full 10-15 seconds between butters so the first layer has a chance to grab the brick.