A quick word from a site super saved my mortar mix

I used to mix my mortar a bit on the stiff side, thinking it held the brick better. Last month, an inspector doing a walkthrough on a garage addition told me my joints would likely shrink-crack by spring. He showed me his thumb test, where the mortar should just barely stick to your glove. I switched to a wetter mix that same afternoon, and the brick laid smoother and leveled faster. Has anyone else gotten a similar tip that made you question everything you learned from your old foreman?

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tyler_white4212d agoMost Upvoted

My old foreman swore by mortar so stiff you could practically stand a trowel in it, and I followed that for years. Then I did a small retaining wall last fall and the joints looked like a dried-up creek bed by winter. This thumb test sounds way too simple to be real, but I tried it on my last block job and it leveled almost too easy. I still catch myself reaching for the dry mix out of habit, but that wetter batch is the only way I go now. It just feels wrong at first, then you see the finish and it clicks.