📢Hub Chatter

c/bricklayers

0

rayc38•1d ago

Swapped my line pins for magnet corners on a big run in Cleveland

Used to pop a pin at every corner and string a line, but after a 3-day commercial job last month where the wind kept yanking my strings, I switched to magnetic corner blocks and now I set my line in about 40 seconds flat, anyone else made that switch or still trust the old pins?

8

miller.jason•4d ago

Hit 500 feet of brick wall this month and honestly shocked myself

I run a small crew doing residential work and we just wrapped up a full front facade for a house in Oak Park. Finished at 506 linear feet of brick last week which is way above our usual 300 or so per month. What numbers are you guys hitting when you really push it?

29

the_jana•20d ago

Heard a young kid call a trowel a 'butter knife' the other day at the supply house

Made me think about how much has changed since I started in the 90s. We used to mix mud by hand on a board, now it's all pre-mixed buckets and laser levels. Anyone else feel like the old school way still gives you a better feel for the wall?

17

james92•21d ago

That Tuesday last spring when the rain poured for 6 hours straight and I kept laying brick anyway

Everyone says you never lay wet brick, but on a $12,000 retaining wall job in Nashville where the client was breathing down my neck daily, I found that a dry rag and a tight tarp over the mortar pan let me keep going while neighboring crews packed up, and the wall set clean without a single crack has anyone else had a boss or client push them into working through weather that was supposedly a bad idea?

4

leohart•1mo ago

Bought a used mortar mixer for 400 bucks, best decision I made this year

Spent all morning hand mixing for a small retaining wall job and said forget it, grabbed a beat up old mixer from a guy retiring. Has anyone else found that paying a little extra for the right tool saves way more in back pain than you think?

28

the_julia•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: People using quick-set mortar for retaining walls

I keep seeing guys mix quick-set for block walls that need to hold back dirt. Did a job last week where the wall cracked right along the mortar joints after one rain. Am I wrong for insisting on type S every time?

28

paul233•1mo ago

First time laying a herringbone pattern on a patio and I messed it up bad

I had a small patio job last week in a backyard over in Springfield. Tried to do a herringbone pattern with some 4x8 brick pavers and got about halfway through before realizing my lines were off by almost 2 inches. Had to pull up 30 bricks and start that section over. Anyone else struggle with keeping the angles right on herringbone or is it just me?

13

the_felix•1mo ago

That old bricklayer in Phoenix taught me something I wish I knew sooner

I was working a big retaining wall job near Phoenix last spring, and this old timer named Ray walked up to watch me. He just stood there for like 10 minutes without saying a word. Then he pointed at my mortar mix and said, 'You're working it too dry. That wall will crack by next season.' I told him I'd been doing it this way for years, and he just shook his head and walked off. Six months later I drove by that same wall after a rain, and sure enough there were hairline cracks all through it. Has anyone else had an old hand give them a tip that saved them a ton of rework later?

27

victorcoleman•1mo ago

That Tuesday everything went right on a retaining wall job

Laid 280 bricks in 6 hours without a single chip or misalignment, even the mortar mixed perfect in 95 degree heat, has anyone else had a day where the stars just aligned for them?

7

ellis.victor•1mo ago

That job on a slope outside Nashville changed my whole approach

We were laying a retaining wall on a steep grade off Old Hickory Blvd and the ground was shifting under us all day. I learned to rough-grade the whole area a day ahead and walk it with a level before even mixing mortar. Anybody else run into ground movement on sloped sites?

5

dylanward•1mo ago

Mortar mix trick from a 30 year guy in Pittsburgh

Was on a job laying block for a retaining wall last month and this old timer walks up watching me mix. He asked why I was adding so much water and showed me you only need like a quart more than dry to get the cream going. I always thought wetter was better for adhesion but he proved me wrong right there. Took a few tries to get the hang of it but my joints are way tighter now and cleanup is half the work. Anyone else get schooled by a random guy on site like that?

19

susan_ward•1mo ago

Switched from wet saw to a snap cutter for my last patio job and never going back

I was using a cheap wet saw for years with all that slurry mess, but after trying a Rubi snap cutter on a 400 sq ft patio last month, the cuts were cleaner and I saved about 2 hours per day, has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference?

12

jake_walker•1mo ago

Laid my 10,000th brick today and didn't even plan it

I was just finishing up a garden wall for a client in Oak Park and my buddy asked how many I'd laid total this year. Counted back through my job photos and hit exactly 10,000 on that last course of common bricks. Has anyone else ever hit a random milestone like that without trying?

25

casey_barnes•1mo ago

Compared my mortar mix ratios side by side and found the sweet spot

I ran two test walls last week using a 4:1 sand to cement mix on one and a 3:1 on the other to see which held up better after a rain. The 3:1 came out way stronger with almost no crumbling at the joints, but it was a pain to work with because it set too fast. Has anyone else tried different ratios on a job site and settled on one that balances strength and workability?

8

taylor.phoenix•1mo ago

Had to choose between a drum mixer and a paddle mixer for my mortar

Had to choose between a drum mixer and a paddle mixer for my mortar last month on a retaining wall job out in Rockford. The wall was about 80 bricks per course so I knew my little drill paddle setup would take forever. The drum mixer rental was $45 a day so I figured I'd give it a shot and save my arm. But honestly it was a pain. The drum took forever to clean between batches, like scraping hardened mortar off the inside for 20 minutes each time. I ended up wasting so much time compared to just doing multiple small batches with my paddle. Not sure if I got a bad model or if they all suck like that. What do you guys use for bigger jobs? Paddle or drum?

12

hugo_cooper•1mo ago

Old timer told me to soak bricks before laying in summer heat

Guy I worked with 10 years ago, Mike from a job in Phoenix, said I was wasting time soaking bricks before laying them. First summer on my own I skipped it to save an hour. By lunch the bricks were sucking moisture out of the mortar so fast it crumbled before I could tap them level. Lost half a day and 3 bags of Type N. Has anyone else had this backfire on them?

11

wren652•1mo ago

Changed my mind on mortar mix after a site visit in Memphis

I always used Type N for everything, figured it was good enough and cheaper. Then I went with my uncle to a job he was doing at the old Peabody hotel downtown. He showed me how the original mortar from 1925 was still holding up, but the stuff they used in the 80s was crumbling. He pulled out a sample and said 'this is Type O, too soft for this brick.' That got me looking closer at what I was buying. Now I match the mix to the brick hardness, even if it costs a bit more per bag. Has anyone else run into trouble using the wrong type on an old building?

1

holly_williams•1mo ago

Can we talk about using a dry mix for pointing on a damp wall

I tried a dry mortar mix for repointing a garden wall last weekend after a rainy morning and ended up with crumbling joints that fell out within 3 days, has anyone else had this backfire on them?

7

river190•1mo ago

That corner job at the old St. Mary's church near downtown went sideways fast

I was laying brick on the east side of the church last Tuesday when the whole corner started leaning after only three courses. The mortar was curing too slow because the temp dropped 15 degrees and I didn't check the forecast. Anyone else had a cold weather batch screw up a wall that quick?

4

ivanl76•1mo ago

Spent a whole afternoon fixing a wall I messed up 20 years ago

I was in Dayton patching an old retaining wall and realized my mortar mix from back in '04 was way too sandy, it just crumbled when I touched it. Had to chip out about 30 feet and redo it with the right ratio, which taught me to never rush the mix again.

20

william_miller•1mo ago

Had to tear down a whole wall I built 10 years ago due to bad foundation settling

I put up a garden wall in 2014 and last month the whole thing shifted 2 inches because I didn't dig deep enough footings. Rebuilt it with 18 inch deep gravel base this time, has anyone else had to redo old work like that?

22

the_gavin•1mo ago

Switched from wet cut to dry cut for brick and it's night and day

For 10 years I always used a wet saw for every single cut. Hose running, mud everywhere, cleanup took forever. Last month I got a good dry cut blade for my 7 inch grinder. Cuts are faster, no mess, and I can set up right where I'm working instead of dragging hose around. Anyone else make the switch and find it changed their pace on jobs?

29

john430•1mo ago

Watched a mason at an old church solve my corner problem in 10 seconds

I was helping restore a 1920s church downtown last month and got stuck on a tricky corner. Could not get my plumb bob to hang right on the uneven stone. An older guy, probably 70s, walked over from another part of the site and just looked at it. He pulled out a simple torpedo level and showed me how to work from the existing corner block instead of the line. Said I was overthinking it and trying to make the wall perfect when the old foundation was already 3/8 inch off. After he left, I tried his method and had the whole corner squared up in about 45 minutes. Has anyone else found that older masons have these little shortcuts that just aren't in any textbook?

22

river190•1mo ago

Skeptical about pre-mixed mortar, now I'm a convert.

I always mixed my own mortar on site, thought the bagged stuff was for rookies. Then a big commercial job came up, 500 blocks for a retaining wall in Austin, and the boss insisted on using pre-mixed Type S. I figured it'd be weak or dry out too fast, but that stuff stayed workable for like 25 minutes longer than my usual mix. Has anyone else had a bad experience with pre-mixed, or am I just late to the party?

3

victorcoleman•1mo ago

Watched a garage wall go from leaning to flat in 3 hours

Helped a buddy out in Hudson last summer. His 40 year old block wall was bowing out almost 3 inches from water pressure behind it. We drilled weep holes at the base and pumped in grout anchors from the top. By the time we finished lunch it was dead straight. Has anyone else fixed a bowing wall without having to tear it all down?