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Old timer told me to soak my bricks before laying them. I laughed it off.
Last summer on a job in Phoenix, this 70 year old mason watched me struggle with dry suction on a 100 degree day and just handed me the hose. Has anyone else noticed that the old school tricks actually save time in the heat?
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pat_moore3d agoMost Upvoted
I used to be exactly the same way, laugh it off when old timers would tell me stuff like soaking bricks or wetting down the mortar bed. But a few months back I was laying block in July and this guy who's been doing it for 40 years just grabbed my hose and started spraying everything down. I thought he was crazy but man the mortar stayed workable way longer and I didn't have to keep mixing up new batches every 20 minutes. The suction thing is real, dry bricks just suck all the moisture out before you even get it smoothed out. So yeah I'm a convert now, I'll soak bricks all day long if it means not fighting the heat and the clock at the same time.
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king.val3d ago
Wetting bricks sounds like an extra step that just adds water weight and makes a mess. Those old timers had their ways but we've got better materials now. I still lay dry bricks and just work faster, never had a suction problem that a good rapid set mortar couldn't handle. Plus in Phoenix that water just evaporates off the bricks in ten minutes anyway so what's the point. You end up soaking them twice and wasting water.
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logan6583d ago
Went through the exact same thing. I used to be one of those guys who thought soaking bricks was some old wives tale. Then I was laying a big retaining wall on a hot day in August, mortar was setting up before I could even get the brick tapped in place. Had to rip out three courses because they were all dry and crumbly. Finally gave in and soaked them, the difference was night and day. Mortar stayed soft way longer, I could actually adjust the bricks, and I didn't have to remix every ten minutes. Now I'm the guy telling everyone to just wet the damn bricks. What made you finally give up and try it?
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