Was dead set against using a mortar mixer, now I own one

For 12 years I mixed all my mud by hand in a wheelbarrow. Thought power mixers were for guys who couldn't handle a shovel and a hoe. Told myself it kept me in shape and saved money. Then I took a job on a retaining wall in Austin last August, 90 degree heat, and had to mix 40 bags of type S in one day. By bag 25 my arms were shot and my mortar was getting inconsistent. Borrowed a buddy's mixer for the next pour and finished the same job in 4 hours with way better consistency. Bought my own the next week. Still feels like cheating but my joints thank me. Anyone else cave on something they swore they'd never use?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_roberts20d ago

Swapped my hand trowel for a hawk and felt like a traitor for a week.

kai65720d ago

Gotta take issue with one thing man, it's called a mortar mixer not a "mortar mixer" like it's some fancy term. It's just a mixer for mortar. But anyway, your point about consistency is the real deal. Hand mixing gets you close but a machine gets it exactly right every time, especially with type S where the ratio matters. My buddy swore by hand mixing for years too until his shoulder gave out halfway through a big block wall job. Now he's got a mixer and won't shut up about how much faster it is. The heat factor is the real killer though, I don't know how you made it through that Austin summer without one. Forty bags in a wheelbarrow is brutal, I'd say you earned that mixer ten times over.