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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?
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rowan26215d ago
Wait hold on, the old timer was actually right about type S being overkill for a garden wall but he was wrong about it being "wrong." Type S is totally fine for that job, it just might be harder to work with and cost more than you need. You actually WANT a weaker mix like type N for soft garden stones because too strong a mortar can crack the blocks instead of flexing with them. I learned this the hard way when a retaining wall I built with type S started spider cracking after one freeze thaw cycle. The right mix matters because you're matching the mortar's strength to the material, not just picking the strongest bag on the shelf.
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