c/bricklayers

Appreciation post: The before and after of switching from wet to dry diamond blades for brick cutting

I've been laying brick for about 12 years now, mostly residential work here in Nashville. For the first 8 or so years I always used wet saws for cutting brick, figuring the water kept dust down. About 4 years ago I picked up a dry diamond blade for my angle grinder on a job where I couldn't run water easily. The difference was pretty shocking. With the wet blade I always had slurry everywhere and the cuts were good but slow. With the dry blade I cut twice as fast with a much cleaner edge, almost no chipping. The trade off is all that silica dust gets airborne, so I wear a respirator now. Some older guys at the supply house swear wet is the only way to go to prevent thermal shock on the brick. But after using dry blades for years now, I'd never go back for general cutting. Has anyone else made this switch and noticed a big performance difference in their cuts?

A dog stole my level on a job in Austin and now I triple check my tools before I start

I was working on a retaining wall out in Austin last month and this golden retriever from the neighbor's yard just ran off with my 48-inch level. I spent 20 minutes chasing him while my mortar was drying out. The owner just laughed and said 'he does that.' Now I lay all my tools out of fence reach before I even mix a batch. Has anyone else had an animal mess with their setup on site?

Had to pick between a mixer and a pointing gun on a job last Tuesday

I was working on a garden wall in St. Louis and couldn't decide if I should mix my mortar by the bucket or finally break down and buy a pointing gun. I went with the bucket and trowel because my boss always says guns are for rookies. Took me twice as long as I wanted and my wrist is still sore. Has anyone else tried one of those guns and found it actually works?

Hit 50,000 bricks laid this week and it hit me hard

I was counting up for a job I finished Tuesday in Phoenix and realized I passed 50,000 bricks laid since I started. That number surprised me because I never kept track until now. I started as a helper in 2019 stacking mud and never thought I'd get this far. It matters because it shows the little things add up over time. Anyone else ever check their total and get caught off guard?

The rubber mallet trick I thought was BS actually saved my back last week

I always laughed at old timers who said to tap every brick into place with a rubber mallet instead of pushing by hand, but after laying 400 bricks on a retaining wall in Austin I gave it a try. My wrists stopped aching by noon and the joints came out way tighter. Did anyone else resist a basic tool change for years before realizing it worked?

Hit my 100th chimney cap this Tuesday and it felt like just another job

Started counting when I got stuck on a tricky one last spring, but 100 came up faster than I expected and now I'm wondering if anyone else tracks little milestones like that or am I just weird about keeping counts.

Hot take: dropping $220 on a Marshalltown margin trowel was totally worth it for the handle shape alone

Everyone says the cheap ones do the same job, but after three months of using that curved grip on tight corner work I haven't had a single blister, so has anyone else found a "luxury" tool that actually earned its keep?

Two years of using a mixer I finally went back to hand mixing this week

I always figured a mechanical mixer saved time and gave a more consistent batch. Then last Tuesday I was working on a small garden wall in the back of a property near Ann Arbor and the generator died on me. Had to mix three batches by hand with a shovel. Honestly the mortar felt better, it wasn't overworked and stayed on the trowel without sliding off. The color was more even too, less of that greyish look you get when the mixer beats all the air out. I'm not saying I'll never use the mixer again, but for smaller jobs under 50 bricks I'm definitely going hand mixing. Has anyone else noticed a difference in mortar consistency between machine and hand mixed?

Tried skipping the mortar mix step for a quick patch job. What a mistake.

Last Tuesday I had a small gap in a retaining wall, figured I'd just use some ready-mix concrete to fill it in quick. Looked fine for about 2 hours then cracked right down the middle. Had to chip it all out and do it proper with Type N mortar. That cost me an extra hour and a half on the job. Anyone here ever try cutting corners with concrete instead of mortar and regret it?

Had a day last week where everything just clicked on a big chimney job

I was working on a 30 foot chimney out in Amherst and fought the first course for like an hour. The mortar kept drying too fast in the sun and I kept having to wash bricks off. Then around 2pm I switched to a wetter mix with a bit more lime and everything just smoothed out. I laid the next 20 feet in like 3 hours without one bad joint or chip. The homeowner even came out and said he couldn't believe how straight the lines looked. It was one of those rare days where the trowel felt like an extension of my arm. Has anyone else had a job where the conditions turned around on you like that?

That cheap mortar mix from Home Depot cost me 3 days of rework

Grabbed a few bags of their store brand mortar mix last month without checking the date code. Turns out it was old stock and wouldn't set right after 8 hours. Had to chip out about 80 bricks on a retaining wall job in Akron and start over. Anyone else run into bad batch problems with bulk bin materials?

PSA: My trowel hand got 30% faster after I switched to a shorter handle

Old timer told me to butter my bricks before laying them, I ignored him for 3 years

Finally tried it on a retaining wall job in Toledo last month and my alignment issues vanished completely. Has anyone else had a master bricklayer give you a weird tip that actually worked way better than the modern way?

Spent 6 months stacking bricks dry before someone told me to wet them first

I always thought wetting bricks was just an old wives tale. Last Tuesday I had a job in Portland where the mortar kept drying too fast and cracking. Foreman walked over and said soak em for 20 seconds. Did a test row and the bond was night and day different. No more crumbling joints. Anyone else fight with dry bricks before figuring this out?

TIL the hard way that a sloppy mortar mix costs you more time than it saves

I used to think wetting down my mix was fine, but after a job in Raleigh where half my bricks kept sliding, I switched to a drier, stiffer mix and everything locked in place way faster. Anyone else notice a big difference adjusting their water ratio on hot days?

Vent: Old timer told me my mortar mix was too wet and he was right

Honestly, I used to mix my mortar pretty loose because I thought it made laying bricks faster. Three months ago an old guy named Charlie walked up to my job site in Cincinnati and just watched me for a minute. He said 'son your mud is too wet, you're gonna get sagging joints and weaker bonds.' I brushed him off at first but then I checked some of my walls from two months back and yeah, the joints were sinking in a few spots. Switched to a drier mix, like a stiff peanut butter consistency, and my next wall came out way cleaner. Now I spend 10 extra seconds per batch mixing it right and my lines stay sharp. Any of you guys ever get told your mix was off by someone who knew better?

Overheard a foreman say that lime mortar is a waste of money on modern homes

I was on a job in Portland last month and this old foreman was telling the crew that lime mortar isn't worth the time because modern bricks are too hard and don't breathe like old ones. But I've been reading that lime helps with cracking on restoration work and some new builds too. Has anyone else tried lime on a regular house and seen a difference in how the wall holds up after a few seasons?

Finally chose between a Trowel and a Hawk for my small wall job...

I had this little retaining wall to do in my backyard last weekend, maybe 40 blocks. Couldn't decide whether to use my big trowel or stick with the hawk and small trowel like I usually do. Went with the hawk because I was working in a tight spot near the fence. Turned out way better than I thought, kept the mortar neat and didn't slop any on the neighbors side. Anybody else prefer one over the other for smaller projects like that?

Mortar mix went bad halfway through a retaining wall job in Austin last spring

I was about 40 rows into a 60-row retaining wall when the mortar started setting up in the wheelbarrow in like 5 minutes flat, turned out the bag of Portland I grabbed from the back of the truck had gotten damp from a rainstorm the night before, and I had to chip out half the wall and start over - has anyone else had a batch go wonky on them like that?

Wasted $400 on a "premium" mortar mix that was nothing but trouble

I bought 50 bags of a fancy pre-blended mortar from a supplier up in Portland that claimed it would cut curing time in half. After mixing the first batch I knew something was off - it was way too sandy and wouldn't hold a butter coat worth a damn. I laid about 200 bricks on a retaining wall before I gave up and chipped them all off the next day. Has anyone else fallen for a specialty mix that just made your job harder instead of easier?

That time a homeowner told me my brick joints were 'too perfect'...

I was working on a chimney in Alexandria, VA about two months ago, and the guy walks out and says my joints looked like a machine did them. He wanted them more rustic and uneven, with some mortar smears left on the face. At first I thought he was nuts, but after chewing on it, I realized he had a point for the old farmhouse look he was going for. So I switched from my usual diamond finishing tool to a rough burlap bag and started wiping the mortar differently, leaving some irregular edges. Took me a while to get comfortable with it, but the final result actually looked way better for that style of house. Now I ask every customer if they want a clean modern joint or a more lived-in look before I start. Has anyone else had to change their whole approach because a client got specific about the aesthetic instead of just the structure?

Rant: Mortar dried too fast on a job in Phoenix last July

I was laying brick on a retaining wall and the sun just BAKED my mortar before I could even tap the brick into place. Had to soak everything down with a hose and mix in some retarder to buy another 10 minutes.

20 years of bricklaying and I just realized I've been buttering my bricks wrong

Picked a high-lime mortar for my last job and I'm not sure about it

Had to choose between Type N and a high-lime mix for a 1920s brick house in Detroit. The old timers told me to stick with the lime because it breathes better. I went with hydrated lime mixed with Portland, 6 parts sand to 1 part binder. Three months later I'm seeing some hairline cracks near the window headers. Wondering if I should have just gone with standard Type N for strength. The mortar is softer for sure but I'm worried about freeze-thaw cycles next winter. Anyone else deal with this on historic repointing work?

That old mason at the supply yard told me to wet my bricks before laying them on a hot day

He said it stops the mortar from drying too fast and cracking. Has anyone else actually tried this or was he just messing with me?