Old timer showed me a trick for keeping mortar from drying out on hot days after 20 years of fighting it

Been laying brick in Phoenix for 15 years. Every summer I'd mix small batches and still end up wasting 20% because it set up too fast. Last month a retired mason named Pete watched me for about 10 minutes, walked over, and told me to toss a wet burlap sack over the pile and spray it down every 15 minutes. Not just cover it, soak it. Tried it on a 105 degree day and my mortar stayed workable for almost 2 hours. Mixed up 5 buckets worth at once and barely threw any away. Huge time saver. Anyone else got tricks for beating the heat that the old guys never wrote down?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_sullivan2927d ago

The burlap trick is just good common sense dressed up as experience. It's funny how the old guys never wrote this stuff down, they just watched and told you when you were doing it wrong. I've noticed that with everything from cooking to car maintenance, the BEST solutions are usually the simplest ones that sound too basic to work. Pete probably learned that from watching some other guy 40 years ago and now it's just part of how he works. Makes me wonder what other little secrets we're losing as these guys retire.

matthewh2828d ago

Soak some old drop cloths or carpet scraps and lay them right on the fresh mortar joints themselves. I do that on really hot days after the bricks are laid and it keeps the whole wall from drying out too fast. The burlap over the pile works great but the joints will still crack if the sun hits them hard. I keep a spray bottle with water and mist the face of the wall every hour too. Makes a big difference in the finish.