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?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_roberts8018d agoMost Upvoted

Wasted $400" - man, I feel that in my bones. I once paid extra for some "professional grade" thinset that was supposed to bond to anything. Ended up using half a bag for a backsplash and the tiles started falling off after a week. Had to chip them all off and redo the whole thing with regular old Versabond. That specialty mix is still sitting in my garage as a $50 paperweight. Honestly, sometimes the fancy stuff is just marketing hype for a different color bag.

allen.amy18d ago

Exactly what happened to me with some "premium" grout that was supposed to never crack. Cracked so bad after two months I had to grind it all out and redo it. Now I only buy the basic stuff at the big box stores and it works fine every time. The secret is just mixing it right and not rushing the process. You gotta let it slake for the full time and remix it before using it. People skip that step with the cheap stuff and blame the product when their tiles fall off. Plus that premium stuff costs double or triple for no good reason. Stick with what works and save your money for something that actually matters like good tools or a nice pizza for lunch.