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?

2 comments

2 Comments

luna5191d ago

Learned this the hard way working on a job in Tuscaloosa once. Guy I was with said the same thing, just lay em dry. Mortar was like sand by noon. Had to chip everything out and start over. Never again.

coleman.jamie1d ago

Haha yeah @luna519, I feel that pain. I once tried to save time with dry blocks on a hot day in July and ended up with a pile of loose rocks and a bruised ego. Mortar turning to dust by lunch is basically a rite of passage for guys who think they know better. Had to borrow a buddy's demo hammer and spend the whole next day fixing my own mess.