c/bricklayers

Saw some new brick patterns on a job site in Salem and it threw me off

I was walking through a new development in Salem last week and noticed a crew laying brick in a diagonal herringbone on a wall. It looked sharp but I could tell it was taking them twice as long as a standard running bond. Has anyone else tried fancy patterns on residential jobs and found they're worth the extra time?

2 comments

jake191•8h ago

That time a pigeon stole my mortar mix in Brooklyn

Last Tuesday I'm laying brick on a brownstone in Park Slope and a pigeon lands right on my fresh batch of mortar. I shoo it away but it comes back three times, like it was daring me. My foreman saw the whole thing and started cackling, said the bird had better timing than most apprentices. Has anyone else had wildlife mess with their job site?

2 comments

ryang65•3d ago

Pro tip: I was soaking my bricks wrong for 15 years

I was at a job site with an old timer named Jerry and he asked why my bricks looked wetter on one end. He said I was over-soaking them by leaving them in a tub overnight. Turns out a quick 10 minute dunk is all you need. Any longer and the water sits in the core too long and messes with your mortar bond. I had been wondering why some walls had tiny cracks after a season or two. Anyone else learn a basic thing way later than they should have?

2 comments

elliotr39•4d ago

My foreman swore by wetting the bricks, so I tried it on a retaining wall last summer

Honestly, I was skeptical at first because everyone I worked with always laid dry. But this old guy, Tom, who's been laying since the 70s, kept saying it helps the mortar bond better in hot weather. So on a 90 degree day in Phoenix, I soaked a batch for a small garden wall. The mortar stayed workable way longer and I didn't get any cracking like I usually do on those days. Anyone else swear by this or was it just the weather that saved me?

2 comments

oliver_mitchell•4d ago

Swapped my old mortar mix for type S last month and glad I did

I used to use whatever bag was cheapest at the supply house for years, mostly type N. Then I took on a retaining wall job in Pittsburgh where the freeze-thaw cycle wrecked a section after two winters. Talked to a mason there who said type S with the higher Portland content holds up way better. Anyone else switch types and notice a big difference in durability?

3 comments

amy_foster56•5d ago

Decided to go with a Marshalltown trowel over a W Rose last month

I was at the supply house in Columbus and had to pick between a Marshalltown and a W Rose finishing trowel. Heard good things about both but the Marshalltown felt better in my hand right there. The balance was closer to the handle and it didn't flex as much when I pressed down. Been using it for about 3 weeks now on a patio job and I'm happy with how it lays the mortar flat. Only complaint is the handle got a little slick after some rain. Anyone else switch brands and find one worked better for a certain type of brick?

2 comments

evan_stone•6d ago

Unpopular take: mixing mortar by hand is better than using a mixer

I've been laying brick for 12 years now and I swear by hand mixing. Last week on a job in Denver, my buddy Jeff brought out his fancy mixer and the mortar ended up way too airy. Three years ago I tried a mixer for a big wall and had to redo 20 ft of it because the consistency was off. Has anyone else found that hand mixing gives you way more control over the slump?

2 comments

river_scott•7d ago

Hit 100 square meters of facing brick in one shift last Tuesday

Didn't even realize until I cleaned up and counted the pallets. Three guys, 12 hours, just clicked. Anybody else ever surprise themselves with a number like that?

3 comments

miam11•7d ago

Brick lifted clean off the wall during a cold snap last January

I was working a retaining wall job in Hamilton and the temperature dropped to -12 overnight. Next morning I went to lay the next course and a whole section just came loose in my hand. Turns out the mortar had frozen before it set. Had to chip out 6 courses and start over with accelerant in the mix. Took an extra day and a half. Anyone else deal with frost heave on fresh work?

2 comments

gray_schmidt8•7d ago

Got told my brick pattern was 'lazy' by a homeowner

I was finishing up a walkway in Denver last spring for a new build and this guy comes out as I'm laying the last few bricks. He points at the running bond pattern I was doing and says 'that's the lazy man's pattern, you should be doing a herringbone.' I just looked at him and asked if he wanted to pay for the extra material and labor. He shut up quick but it stuck with me how people think they know our job better than we do. Has anyone else had a homeowner try to tell you how to do your work on the fly?

2 comments

ryan719•8d ago

Tried that old lime mortar mix my grandpa swore by on a 1920s chimney repair

I was fixing up a chimney on a house down near Frederick last month and figured I'd give it a shot. The mix was way softer than what I'm used to and it crumbled a bit when I was pointing it up. Learned that you gotta wet the old joints way more than I thought or the new stuff just won't bond right. Any other old timers out there still mess with lime mortar or is it just me?

2 comments

jaken23•8d ago

Had a retired mason tell me I'm laying brick too fast

I was working a job in Oakville last Tuesday on a new retaining wall, and this older guy walks over from the house next door. He watched me for like 10 minutes and said 'you're rushing your joints, they'll crack in two winters.' I always thought speed was the key to making money, but he showed me his work from the 80s and it was still perfect. Has anyone else had a seasoned guy slow them down and it actually helped your end result?

2 comments

ramirez.sage•9d ago

Watched a guy try to lay brick in 95 degree heat last week without wetting his line

I'm out on a job in Phoenix and this new crew shows up next door. The guy running the line was bone dry, mud was stiff after 10 minutes. By noon his third course was already pulling away because the line baked in. He had to tear out 30 feet of work. How do you even get through an apprenticeship without learning to keep your line damp?

2 comments

the_dakota•10d ago

Getting really tired of seeing stacked bond on load-bearing walls around here

I walked a new development site over on Maple Drive yesterday and three different houses had all their brick laid in stacked bond on what were clearly load-bearing exterior walls. This is the fourth time in six months I've spotted this on new builds around here. Am I the only one still teaching apprentices that running bond is non-negotiable for structural walls?

2 comments

leo_carr13•10d ago

Hit 10,000 bricks laid in a single job and it kind of blew my mind

I was working a big commercial project out in Aurora, a strip mall foundation. Started tracking my daily count just out of curiosity, nothing serious. After about 3 weeks I added it up and I was over 10,000 bricks for that one job alone. Never even thought about hitting a number like that. Some guys say you shouldn't count, just work. Others say tracking keeps you honest and shows your speed. Which side are you on? Do you keep a tally or just focus on the wall?

2 comments

lopez.brooke•11d ago

Saw a huge shift in my brick color after I switched to a new water source on site

After 15 years using the same municipal water for mixing, I tried rainwater from a cistern on a job in Austin and the final wall came out noticeably darker and more uniform - has anyone else seen their mortar or brick change like that based on water quality?

2 comments

ericp67•11d ago

Used to mix my mud by eye but now I measure out every batch after a wall fell over

Last summer I was slapping up a garden wall in Austin and figured I had the mix right like always. Five days later the whole thing buckled because the mortar was too sandy. Now I use a 1:3 ratio with a bucket and a scale every single time, no shortcuts. Has anyone else had a job fail because of a bad mix?

2 comments

ryang65•11d ago

The day my trowel handle snapped mid-wall and I almost lost it

Last Tuesday was going smooth on a retaining wall job in Austin until my W.R. Rose trowel handle just snapped clean off about halfway through a course. I had 300 blocks left to lay and no backup trowel in the truck since I usually just carry one. Had to drive 45 minutes to the nearest supply house and lost half the day's wages on that wall. The worst part was the mortar started setting up in my mudboard while I was gone. Anybody else ever have a tool fail on them at the absolute worst time?

3 comments

piper_dixon45•11d ago

Got told my mortar mix was too wet by an old timer on a job site

He said if you can see water pooling on top after a strike, you're basically making pancakes not bricks. I cut back 3 cups of water per batch and my walls finally stopped slumping on me. Anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from watching YouTube videos?

2 comments

tessa394•12d ago

Dropped $40 on a tuckpointer from Amazon and it chipped after 20 bricks

Bought a cheap tuckpointer to save time on a retaining wall repair and the tip snapped off by the second row, has anyone found a brand that actually holds up for full day use?

3 comments

white.alex•12d ago

Watch out for bad mortar mixes on cold mornings

Last Tuesday we started a job in Cleveland at 6 AM and the mortar was setting up way too fast. Three rows in I noticed it was crumbling when I tapped it with my trowel. The supplier had mixed the sand wrong and used too much lime for the temperature. We had to tear out 4 courses of brick before lunch and it cost us 3 hours of labor. Anyone else dealt with a batch that went bad because the mix was off for the weather?

2 comments

barbara278•14d ago

$160 mortar mixer attachment was a total waste of my money

Bought a drill-mounted mortar mixer paddle from Home Depot for $160 thinking it'd save my arms on a big retaining wall job. First batch of type S mortar it just couldn't handle the load, motor on my 1/2 inch drill started smoking after like 3 minutes. Had to finish the whole 40-foot wall mixing by hand in a wheelbarrow like the old days. Anyone else get burned by these paddle mixers or did I just pick the wrong one?

2 comments

brooke71•14d ago

Overheard a new guy say he'd rather stack block than brick and it got me thinking

Was working on a foundation job in Tulsa last week and this kid fresh out of the union hall was complaining about brick texture. Said he'd rather do CMU all day cause it's 'more uniform.' I get it, block goes faster and you don't have to worry about color blending as much. But brick gives you way more room to show off your skills, you know? Anyone else prefer one over the other for different reasons?

2 comments

jake191•14d ago

Tried tuckpointing a whole wall without grinding out the joints first in Philly last week

Joint was too shallow and the mortar fell out in chunks after 2 days. Had to chip it all out and start over, cost me an extra 5 hours. Anybody else learn this lesson the hard way?

3 comments

the_dakota•15d ago

Switched from lime mortar to Portland after a failed repair job and wish I did it sooner

I had this old chimney cap that kept crumbling no matter how many times I patched it with lime mortar. Last fall I finally bit the bullet and used a Type N Portland mix instead. That cap's been solid through two winters and a wet spring. My granddad always swore by lime for historic stuff but for modern brick this just works better. Anyone else make the same swap and get better results?

3 comments