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?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace4191mo ago

Nah, I gotta push back on this. Wet mix is better for adhesion and you can't convince me otherwise. I've poured plenty of block in Texas where the heat dries everything out before you even get your level on it. That quart more he's talking about might work in Pittsburgh humidity but down here your joints would crumble by lunch. Plus dry mix means you're fighting to get full coverage on the bottom of every block. Seen too many walls lean after a season because the mortar set too fast and didn't bond right.

wren_rodriguez1mo ago

Got me thinking about how this applies to way more than just mortar. There's this thing where people think more of something is always better, like water for mix or pressure in a relationship or even time spent on a task. But the sweet spot is usually right where it feels like you're barely doing enough, you know? Like when you're seasoning food and stop before it tastes salty, that's when it's perfect. The guy probably learned that the hard way too, watching walls fail from being too wet or too dry. It's just another one of those life lessons where less really can be more, even if your gut tells you different at first.