vals38•2mo ago

Everyone says to use a 10mm joint for everything, but I went with 12mm on a big wall in Boise

I was building a 40 foot long retaining wall for a client last fall, and the spec called for a 10mm mortar joint. I know that's the standard, but looking at the size of the blocks and the soil pressure, I just felt a 12mm joint would give us a better bond and more tolerance for movement. My foreman thought I was crazy, said it would look sloppy and use too much mix. We argued about it for a solid hour. I stuck to my guns, and we did it my way. After a full winter with heavy snow melt, that wall hasn't shifted a single crack. The extra mortar gave it the flex it needed. Has anyone else ever gone against the standard joint width and been glad they did?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_cole2mo ago

So did you ever get your foreman to admit you were right about the bigger joint?

rose_young23d agoTop Commenter

Bigger joints, extra fasteners, overbuilding in general - it's like people forget that saving a buck now usually means paying double later when things start falling apart.

abbyr962mo ago

My buddy ignored the 10mm rule on a patio and it saved his butt when the ground froze.