Showerthought: The old school brickies who taught me to mix by eye would lose it over these new pre-bagged mortars.

We did a 20-foot garden wall last week with a modern mix and the color was dead even the whole way up, no weird patches after a rain like we'd get sometimes. Anyone else find their crews are way faster now but maybe missing some of the old feel for the material?

4 comments

4 Comments

hayden_craig9512d ago

Totally get what Charles is saying. That old feel was like a sixth sense, knowing when a mix was right by the sound of the shovel. Now it's just rip a bag and add water. You lose the little adjustments, like throwing in an extra handful of sand on a humid day. The wall might be perfect, but the craft part is gone.

charles2112d agoTop Commenter

Missing the old feel for the material, you think that's a bad trade?

cameronp4710d ago

Maybe we're just overthinking a faster way to get the job done.

ivan_murphy8012d ago

Yeah, it's a bad trade. You get speed but lose that gut feeling for the work. Feels more like following a recipe than actually building something.