c/bricklayers

Took me 8 tries to get a brick arch right on a job in Nashville last month

Kept messing up the keystone angle and had to cut new bricks each time, has anyone else dealt with arch layouts taking way longer than you budget for?

Picked Type N mortar over Type S for a retaining wall, here's how it went

Had a retaining wall job last week that was only about 3 feet high. I was torn between Type N and Type S mortar. Went with Type N since the wall wasn't load bearing and I wanted something easier to work with. The stuff mixed up smooth and I didn't have to fight it like I do with S. It's been a week now and no cracks or issues. Anybody else stick with N for short walls or do you always go S just to be safe?

Been thinking about that guy who called me out on my mortar mix

Last week I was talking to a retired bricklayer over at the lumber yard and he watched me grab a bag of type S for a little garden wall I'm doing. He just shook his head and said "you're using the wrong stuff for that job, that wall doesn't need that strong a mix." Now I'm second guessing everything I thought I knew about matching mortar to the project. Has anyone else had a random run in with an old timer that made you totally rethink your standard approach?

Debate: Does a fresh brick saw blade cut faster or is it just me? Had a job last Thursday where my old blade was dragging bad.

I swapped to a NEW blade halfway through a wall on a patio in Austin and suddenly I was cutting through pavers like butter. But my foreman swears a broken-in blade is smoother and lasts longer. Which side do you guys lean on for production work?

Found out my mortar mix was off by a weird stat I read online

I was looking up why my last wall had some cracks showing up after two weeks. Turns out I was using too much Portland cement in my mix. A bricklaying forum from 2019 said the ratio should be 1 part cement to 4 parts sand for most residential work. I had been doing almost 1 to 3 because I thought stronger was better. That extra cement makes the mortar too rigid and it can't handle movement. Now I'm redoing that section with the right mix. Has anyone else messed up their ratio and seen cracking later?

Switched from a speed square to a story pole for window openings

Used to measure each window opening with a tape and square, then cut bricks one by one. Took me forever and I'd always be off by a half inch somewhere. Last year I started making a story pole with marks for every course above the sill. Now I lay the whole opening in half the time and my windows sit level without shims. Anyone else use a story pole for openings or do you stick with measuring?

Wasted $150 on a 'self-leveling' mortar mix that was NOT self-leveling at all

I was doing a big floor tile job in my own basement last month and figured I'd save time with that rapid-set self-leveling stuff. Read the bag wrong, mixed it too thick, and ended up with a lumpy mess I had to chip out with a chisel over 2 days. Total waste of money and half a weekend. Anyone else get burned by a product that didn't do what it said?

Had a guy yell at me on site for mixing my mortar too wet

I was on a job in Brighton last Tuesday, just laying a garden wall, and this old timer walks over from next door. He watches me for a minute then shouts "you're making soup, not mortar!" right in front of my mate. I'd been doing it the same way for 2 years and never had a blowout or anything. Has anyone else had some random person critique their mix unasked?

My mortar mixing went from guessing to actually measuring after a job in July

I used to just eyeball the water and sand ratio for every batch, but after a wall failed a rain test in 2022 I started weighing everything. Now I hit 28-day compression every time. Anyone else switch to a strict mix ratio after a fail?

That trick with the buttered joint on a damp day saved my afternoon

I was laying a garden wall over near Salem last Tuesday and the mortar kept drying out way too fast in the humidity. So I buttered each brick head joint about 10 minutes before laying and set a wet burlap over the finished work. Has anyone else found a good way to slow down drying time on a muggy day?

Pro tip: That perfect brick wall job I botched last Tuesday in Portland

I was working on a retaining wall for a backyard patio and the weather was perfect, no wind or rain, but I got cocky with my mortar mix and made it too wet. The bricks started sliding out of alignment and I had to tear down a full 4 foot section after it set up wrong. Anyone else have a day where one small mistake made you redo half the job?

Old timer told me to wet my bricks before laying them in summer heat

I was working a retaining wall job in Phoenix last July and this retired bricklayer named Dave told me to soak my bricks in a bucket before laying them. I tried it on one section and the mortar held way better than the dry bricks I used on the other side. Has anyone else found that wetting bricks helps in hot weather or is it just for certain types of clay?

Tried a 10mm joint on a garden wall and the whole thing leaned like the Tower of Pisa

I was rushing a job in Springfield and didn't let the first course set properly before stacking the next. What's your go-to method for keeping a tall, single-brick wall straight?

Remember when we used to mix lime mortar by hand on the big jobs?

I was working on a historic restoration in Savannah last fall, and the specs called for a traditional lime mix. I figured I'd save some time and used a power mixer on a low setting for the first batch. Big mistake. The mortar set up way too fast, like concrete, and we had to chip it all out after just two hours. The old foreman on site, a guy named Frank, just shook his head and said, 'Son, that stuff needs to breathe.' He showed me how to turn it by hand with a hoe, letting it slake overnight. The next batch was perfect, creamy and workable all morning. It cost us half a day, but it taught me that some old ways are just better. Anyone else run into trouble trying to modernize a classic technique?

Vent: I just hit 500 bricks laid in a single day on a foundation job

I've been doing this for 12 years and my usual pace is a solid 350 to 400. This was a straight run, simple pattern, and everything just clicked. I think using that new laser level from Johnson saved me a ton of time checking lines. It felt like the mix was perfect and my hod carrier was on point all day. I'm not saying it's a normal thing, but it sure felt good to see that number. Has anyone else had a day where everything just flowed and you blew past your own personal best?

Overheard a guy at the supply yard talking about his string line trick

He said he puts a small washer on the line pin before he tightens it up. It keeps the line from slipping down when you're working on a long wall. Anyone else have a little trick like that for keeping things straight?

I keep seeing guys in my area mix mortar way too wet for brick veneer

My crew in Charlotte has been called to fix three jobs this year where the veneer was failing because the mix was like soup. The old heads say a wetter mix is faster to butter, but it bleeds too much water and makes a weak bond. I stick to a 3:1 sand to cement ratio with just enough water to hold a trowel shape. Has anyone else had to fix sloppy veneer work from a wet mix?

Bought a cheap mortar mixer off a guy in Toledo for $200, it broke after two weeks and cost me a whole day's work.

My apprentice in Phoenix said we should always use a 3/8 inch joint for residential brick, no matter what.

He argued it's stronger and looks better than the 1/2 inch I've used for twenty years. I tried it on a garage job yesterday and honestly, the wall felt more solid. Do you guys stick to a specific joint size or change it up?

Serious question, has anyone else seen the brickwork on that new bank building downtown and thought it looked rushed?

I was walking by the new First National on 5th Street yesterday and the soldier course above the main entrance is visibly uneven, with some joints a full quarter inch thicker than others, which makes me think they were pushing for speed over a clean line.

Just realized a lot of new guys don't know how to properly stack brick on a scaffold.

I saw a crew in my city last week with the brick stacked way too high and off the edge of the boards. It's a simple thing, but it matters for safety and keeping your material from falling. How do you all set up your work area to keep things moving fast but safe?

That week we laid 12,000 bricks for a church wall in the rain

It was about five years back, a job for a small church in Springfield. The forecast said sun all week, but it rained for three days straight. We had to tarp everything each night and work soaked through. What made it good was the crew, all old school guys who just kept going, joking about the mud. We still hit our target by Friday, and seeing that clean line of brick against the gray sky felt solid. Ever have a job where the weather fought you the whole time but you still got it done right?

Showerthought: my brick saw blade was binding because of a tiny thing I never checked

I was cutting a bunch of pavers for a patio in Austin last month, and the saw kept bogging down halfway through. I thought the motor was going, but then I noticed the water feed line had a slight kink in it (like, a two-inch bend near the pump). Straightened that out, and the blade cut smooth as butter again. It wasn't getting enough coolant, so the aggregate was basically glazing over and grabbing the blade. I felt pretty dumb for not spotting it sooner. Anyone else ever have a simple fix like that for a saw acting up?

Warning: an old timer in Philly told me my mortar was too wet for the cold

He said 'you're making slush, not mortar' when I was working a job last December. I started mixing a bit drier and the bricks stopped sliding, plus the joints set up way better. Anyone else have a tip that saved your butt in winter work?

A retired mason in Boise told me his secret for a perfect mortar mix is a specific number of shovels of sand, not a bucket.

He said, 'Three shovels of sand to one of cement, mix it dry first, then add water slow until it holds a trowel's edge,' and I've never had a batch fail since.