c/bricklayers

Walked a job site in Phoenix and the expansion joints were a total joke

I was out in Phoenix last Tuesday looking at a parking structure for a friend and the expansion joints were spaced every 40 feet. In the desert. With 100 degree temp swings. Someone quoted that slab out with zero thought to movement. I counted 12 cracks in one bay alone. The guy who poured it probably saved 2 hours of work by skipping the extra joints. Now the owner is looking at a 15k repair bill. How do you handle telling a GC their spacing is wrong when they already signed off on it? Has anyone else dealt with this on commercial work?

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blairtaylor•3d ago

My level kept slipping on a hot job in Nashville

My level kept slipping on a hot job in Nashville, and after losing a full course, I wiped the base clean with a dry rag and dusted it with a little sand, which held it steady for the next 80 feet. Anyone else got a quick fix for when tools get slick in the summer heat?

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jakel36•5d ago

The day I finally stopped butterflying my joints after 12 years

I was working a fireplace in Columbus last fall and this older guy on the adjacent crew kept watching me. After about an hour he walked over and asked why I was butterflying every single head joint. I told him that's how my first foreman showed me, seemed like the safe way. He just shook his head and said you're doing twice the work and slowing your whole flow. I looked at my wall and realized he was right, the joints were fine but I was burning up time and trowel loads. He showed me how to load the trowel and lay a line with one pass, no extra fuss. Now I only butterfly when I'm finessing a tight corner or matching an existing wall. Has anyone else had a moment where you found out your 'tried and true' method was just a bad habit someone passed down?

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briancarter•5d ago

Laid my 10,000th brick last Tuesday and it was a weird moment

I've been doing this trade for about 11 years now, mostly residential work around Akron. I keep a tally in my phone whenever I finish a job, just a rough count. Last Tuesday I was finishing a fireplace surround for a couple in Cuyahoga Falls, and I realized that brick I just set was number 10,000 for me. Nobody clapped or anything. The homeowner just asked if I wanted a sandwich. But it got me thinking about all the cold mornings and busted knuckles that got me to that number. For a split second I almost called my old foreman to tell him, but he'd just laugh and say I'm still slow. Has anyone else hit a milestone like that on a random Tuesday, not even on a big project, and just stood there staring at the wall for a minute? What was your number and how did you pick it? Maybe I'm the only weirdo who counts.

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the_tessa•8d ago

The brick saw blade I doubted is still cutting true after 300 feet

I bought a cheaper diamond blade from a supply house in Omaha back in March, figured it would dull out in a week but I needed it same day. That thing has cut over 300 feet of red brick and block without losing its edge, even through some old hard-fired units on a patio job. Has anyone else found a budget blade that outlasted the expensive ones, or did I just get lucky with this batch?

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lucashart•10d ago

Lime mortar vs Portland mix, picked lime for a 1908 row house in Baltimore

Had to repoint about 40 feet of brick on my own place. Talked to three suppliers and they all pushed type N Portland. But the original brick is soft as cheese. Went with hydrated lime and sand instead, 1:3. It took a week longer because the lime cures slow. That said, the wall looks right and nothing cracked over winter. Anyone here dealt with old soft brick and Portland failures?

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bettywood•11d ago

The day I realized my trowel grip had gone soft

I had a job last week up in Peoria, redoing a garden wall that I first built back in 2009. The homeowner kept the old photos, so I got a good look at my work from 16 years ago. My joints were crisp, the lines were dead straight, and every brick sat like it was glued down. Then I looked at what I was doing that day and noticed my hand was holding the trowel way looser, almost lazy, and my buttering motion had gotten sloppy. I think a lot of it is age and muscle memory from doing lighter residential work instead of the big commercial pours I used to run. The 2009 wall took me two full days with a line and a level every course, now I'm lucky if I check my string line twice a morning. Has anyone else caught themselves getting comfortable and had to force the old habits back, or am I just the only one turning into a hack?

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casey_harris•12d ago

Heard a homeowner say bricks are just glued rocks, had to walk away

Honestly, I was on a job in Maplewood last Tuesday, redoing a small garden wall, and the owner comes out chatting. He points at my stack of commons and says, 'They're basically just glued rocks, right? Any idiot can stack them.' Took everything in me not to drop my trowel right there. I've been laying brick for 14 years, and that comment stung worse than a cold joint in January. I wanted to explain how a proper header course carries load, or how your frog should face down for mortar grab, but he wouldn't get it. Instead I just asked him to try leveling one course on a string line with a 3mm joint and see how 'easy' it is. He went quiet after that. Has anyone else had to bite their tongue when folks treat this trade like a weekend craft project?

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jamesm48•12d ago

Foundation level on old houses is never square, here's what fixed my corners

I was working a re-point job on a 1920s row house in Philly last month and the back wall was off by nearly 2 inches from front to back. My partner kept checking the level and pulling his hair out, so I tried snapping a chalk line from the highest corner instead of leveling off the lowest. That gave me a straight reference and I just cut bricks to match each course. It took an extra hour but the corners finally looked right. Anyone else run into this on older homes, or do you just tell the homeowner the walls are crooked and move on?

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keith_rodriguez•12d ago

Had a brickie call out my joint spacing, fixed my whole approach

About a month ago I was on a job in Tacoma and this older guy walks by my wall, stops, and says "your perps look like they're dancing." I was using the same story pole I always used but he pointed out I was eyeballing the final rake instead of checking each course as I laid it. I switched to marking my line every three bricks and tapping each one into place before moving on. Now my joints are dead consistent and I get done faster because I am not fixing gaps at the end. Anyone else get a random piece of advice that actually stuck?

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the_matthew•12d ago

Foreman swore by wetting bricks the night before, I finally see why

My old foreman in Pittsburgh always made us soak pallets overnight, thought it was a waste of time until a hot July job where the mortar kept cracking on us. Tried his method last week on a retaining wall and the difference was night and day, anyone else fight their boss on this and regret it later?

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graceblack•14d ago

That 'salvage' brick pallet cost me double in the end

Grabbed a pallet of reclaimed brick from a tear-down in Akron for $150, figured I was saving big. Half of them crumbled when I tried to cut them, and the color match was way off from what the homeowner wanted. Anybody else get burned buying used brick and end up paying more for new material to finish the job?

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fiona_young•16d ago

That cheap mortar mixer from the auction set me back $400 in labor

Last month I picked up a used mixer for $150 at a farm auction near Joliet. Figured it was a steal until the drum seized up halfway through a foundation pour. Crew lost three hours waiting for a replacement, and I ended up paying overtime that ate any savings. Anyone else had luck with used equipment, or do you all stick to renting from the supply house?

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jenniferw82•18d ago

Maybe thin veneer isnt always the lazy choice after all

Met a guy named Dale at the supply yard last Tuesday, been laying brick since 1979. He flat out told me that anyone doing thin veneer over existing brick is just taking the easy way out. I've always felt the same, though I never said it out loud. But then he started talking about how some old foundations are too cracked to carry real brick weight, and how veneer can actually save a wall from coming down. That got me thinking about a job I did in Portland where the homeowner wanted real brick but the footing was shot. I pushed for a full rebuild and it cost them 9 grand. Dale said he would have done veneer for 3,500 and it would have held fine. Maybe I've been too stuck on tradition and not enough on what actually works for the situation. Has anyone else changed their mind about veneer after hearing a good reason for it?

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masonm70•22d ago

Bought a used gas mixer off Craigslist in Akron, now my mortar sets in 20 minutes

That thing was supposed to save me 300 bucks but the belts are slipping so bad the batch is uneven every single time, ended up dumping 4 wheelbarrows full down the drain last Thursday. Anyone else just stick with hand mixing rather than gamble on second hand equipment?

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fiona_young•22d ago

My brick arch sagged 2 inches, fixed it with a simple form trick

Had a job last Tuesday out in Lancaster, laying a brick arch over a new garage door opening. Got the first two courses up and stepped back for a coffee, noticed the whole thing had dropped about 2 inches on the left side. Mortar was still soft, but I knew if I kept going it would end up a mess. Pulled it all down, took a 2x6 and cut a proper curved template, shimmed it tight with some scrap plywood, and set the bricks on that. Took about 3 extra hours but the arch came out dead level and the homeowner didn't even notice the redo. Has anyone else had luck with homemade arch supports over buying the metal ones?

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lane.eric•22d ago

Noticed my mortar joints changed after I switched trowel size

Repointed my own patio over 3 weekends and the first section looked rough, wide joints every 20 feet or so. Swapped from a 10 inch trowel to an 8 inch for the last stretch and the lines came out cleaner and more even. Anyone else find the trowel size makes that big a difference on residential jobs?

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gracewebb•24d ago

My uncle's old mortar advice finally clicked after 15 years

He always said to keep the mortar a bit drier than you think, and I figured he was just lazy. Last fall in Boise I tried his way on a retaining wall and it held perfectly through the freeze, while my usual mix crumbled on a patio next door. Anyone else had a relative's tip turn out right after you doubted them for years?

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the_matthew•25d ago

Mortar mix too wet, wall leaned, had to tear down 3 courses

I was laying a garden wall out in Denton on Tuesday, got into a rhythm, and didn't notice my mix was running soupier than I liked. By the time I pulled my line taut to check the face, that thing was leaning back a good half inch over six feet. My first thought was to brace it and hope, but I've seen what happens when you leave a lean like that through a rain. So I stripped the top three courses, rewashed the brick, and remixed everything drier than I usually do. Cost me about two hours and a full wheelbarrow of wasted mortar, plus some choice words my neighbor's kid definitely heard. The weird part is the footer and base were dead level, so I know it was all me rushing the mix. Anyone else had a wall shift on them just from getting the water ratio wrong on a hot afternoon?

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david37•26d ago

Walked past a job site downtown yesterday and just stared at the brickwork for 10 minutes

I was grabbing lunch near 5th and Main in Portland and saw a crew working on an old building rehab. The way they were laying roman brick with really tight 3/8 inch joints reminded me of how my grandpa used to do it back in the 80s before everyone switched to those quick-snap spacers. Made me wonder if you guys still see crews taking that kind of pride in their lines or if that's just gone now. Anybody else catch themselves rubbernecking at old brick jobs?

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blakem37•28d ago

I used to mix mortar by feel until I tried a specific water ratio last month

For years I just eyeballed the water when mixing mortar. If it looked too dry I added more. If it was too wet I threw in more mix. I figured that was fine because the brick always stuck. But last month I had a job where the wall was bowing after two days. A older guy on the site told me to use exactly 5 quarts of water per 80 pound bag. I tried it on the next section and the mortar held way better. No sagging and the joints came out cleaner. I still add a splash if the sand is damp but I measure the water now. Has anyone else switched to measuring instead of guessing?

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oliviagrant•28d ago

The way people set up their corners seems off lately

I keep seeing new guys on sites here in Portland that don't plumb their corners before they start laying. They just run the line and hope it stays straight, but by the third course it's already leaning. If you don't take the extra 5 minutes to check with a level at the start, you're just making more work for yourself later. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse or is it just me?

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joseph_torres•29d ago

Uncle told me to use a wet sponge on my bricks, I thought he was nuts

He said just dampen the brick before laying it on a hot day and I swear my mortar stuck way better than dry laying. Anyone else tried this trick for summer jobs?

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thomasshah•1mo ago

Vent: Mortar mix was wrong and my wall started moving sideways

I was on a job outside Austin last Tuesday, building a retaining wall for a backyard patio. Mixed up my mortar a little too wet, didn't think much of it. Got about 4 courses high and noticed the whole thing was bulging out like a beer belly. Had to tear it all down before lunch and start fresh. Took me 3 extra hours to fix it. Anyone else ever have a batch go bad on you like that?

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reesea49•1mo ago

Hit my 500th wall tie today and realized I'd been spacing them wrong for years

A site inspector pointed out my ties were every 24 inches instead of 16, and I had to redo a whole corner I laid last Tuesday. Anyone else find out they'd been messing up a basic rule for way too long?

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