lily97•11d agoMost Upvoted

Spent 4 hours on a flue tile that should have taken 30 minutes

I had a job in an old house in Portland where the clay flue tiles were shifting and cracked. Normally I just set a new one and move on, but this one took 4 hours because the mortar was some weird mix from the 1920s that just crumbled every time I tried to pack it in. Anyone else run into ancient mortar that makes you question your whole day?

2 comments

2 Comments

ericp6710d ago

1920s mortar holds up fine if you prep the surface right and use the correct bonding agent. I bet that flue tile issue was more about the original install shifting than the mortar itself. Those old clay tiles need a specific technique where you wet them down first and pack in layers, not just slop it on like modern work.

lisa97610d ago

Oh yeah, absolutely... you just gotta baby those old tiles like they're fine china and they'll behave. I can just picture some guy in 1925 mixing up his mortar with a little extra elbow grease and spit, thinking "this'll hold for a century" and here we are still arguing about it. Meanwhile my buddy tried the "wet and pack" method on his 30s fireplace and ended up with a chimney that looks like a drunk spider built it, so maybe it's more art than science... or maybe he just needed to drink less coffee before starting. Either way, I'm all for respecting the old ways until the whole thing crumbles and you're out here with a bag of modern epoxy and a prayer.