Tried a new mortar mix ratio my buddy swore by and ended up with a wall that looks like Swiss cheese

So last week I was working on a retaining wall out in the suburbs and my old buddy Mike stops by and says his crew uses a 3:1 sand to cement ratio for everything. I usually go 4:1 but figured I'd give it a shot since he's been doing this 15 years. Well that stuff set up way too fast on me, I was fighting to get the bricks aligned before it started grabbing. Ended up with these hollow spots behind half the bricks because the mortar was too stiff to mush in right. Had to tear out about 8 feet of it yesterday and start over. I guess what works for one guy doesn't always translate to another job. Anyone else ever follow advice that just completely backfired like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

ross.william16d ago

Totally feel your pain man. I took advice from a buddy once and switched to a quick set concrete mix for a set of steps cause he swore it was the only way to go in cold weather. Ended up with a half finished pour and concrete setting up in my mixer before I could even get it into the forms. Had to rent a jackhammer to break it all out and start fresh the next day. It's frustrating when you trust someone's experience and it just completely blows up in your face like that.

cole_mitchell817d ago

Man that sucks, but is it really that big of a deal? I mean, mortar sets faster or slower depending on the weather and how you mix it, not just the ratio. Sounds like maybe it was more of a timing thing than Mike's advice being flat out wrong.