Heard a young guy say 'why bother with buttering ends' and it got me thinking

Was on a commercial job site last Tuesday and some kid fresh out of the union hall said he never bothers buttering the head joints on common bond. Just slaps them in dry and moves on. I remembered my first foreman back in '04 who would walk the line and check every single end joint with a trowel. Made me wonder if we've gotten too fast for our own good. How many of you still take the time to fully butter every vertical joint?

3 comments

3 Comments

martin.riley1mo agoMost Upvoted

That kid's gonna learn the hard way when he gets a call back for water damage. Buttering joints takes thirty seconds and saves you a whole day of grinding out loose brick later.

ray_williams1mo ago

Already pulled waterlogged bricks out of a wall that had no buttering once. Not fun.

willowg881mo ago

Yeah, that "no buttering" mistake turns brick into sponges real quick.