That job at the old church taught me a lesson about sand mix ratios

I was working on a repointing job at a Methodist church downtown, the one built back in 1929. The mortar we mixed up was feeling too sandy and crumbly on the second day, so I stopped and tested it against a sample from the wall. Turned out my helper put in 3 extra shovelfuls of sand because he thought it looked dry. Had to chip out 12 feet of fresh work and redo it the next day, which cost me a full Saturday. Now I measure every batch with a bucket, not a shovel. Has anyone else had a helper mess up a mix that bad and how do you stop it before it sets?

2 comments

2 Comments

briancampbell1mo ago

Man that's brutal, feel for you losing a whole Saturday like that.

the_fiona1mo ago

Three extra shovelfuls? I would have stood there and watched him chip every inch of it out himself. That's not a mistake, that's a whole new level of not paying attention. You get too many Saturdays like that and you're working for free.