Kind of kicking myself for not trying the mortar mix bag trick sooner

I was fighting with getting consistent color across a long retaining wall last month on a job near Lexington, and kept having to remix small batches that never matched. Finally tried adding a full bag of dry mortar into the wheelbarrow before any water and mixing it bone dry first until the color looked even. Has anyone else found that a dry pre-mix step saves you from having to redo sections?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.ryan17d ago

Did you just dump the whole bag in and mix it dry or did you bust it up first to avoid clumps?

rosek7317d ago

Did you put it in while the soup was still bubbling hot or after you turned the heat down? That part matters just as much as the breaking up part, honestly. I always bust the bag up with my hands first before adding it to the pot, otherwise you end up with those rock hard clumps that never dissolve right. If you dump the whole bag in dry and mix it fast, you're gonna have a bad time with lumps floating around no matter how much you stir. Better to sprinkle it in slowly while stirring constantly, that way it blends smooth like a dream.