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?

2 comments

2 Comments

margaret_flores171mo ago

A contractor I worked with down in Tucson told me the same thing about my stucco mix (he was like 80 years old, easy). I had been adding too little water because I thought it set faster that way. He finally pulled me aside and showed me how to do a simple drop test with the trowel, and when I tried his way the finish came out way smoother and didn't crack at all during the dry season. That little trick probably saved me from having to redo at least three jobs that summer. It's funny how the old school guys just know stuff from years of trial and error, you know?

jake_martin161mo ago

Wait, @margaret_flores17, are you telling me this guy was still working stucco into his 80s and doing drop tests with a trowel like it was nothing? That's wild, old school guys really do have all the shortcuts memorized from a lifetime of screwing up.