Hot take: I was dead set against using a mortar mixer on small jobs but now I get it

I always thought renting a mixer for anything under 500 bricks was a waste of money. Hand mixing in a wheelbarrow worked fine for me for 8 years. Then I took on a retaining wall job in Kamloops last spring that was about 300 blocks. I borrowed a buddy's mixer for a day and finished the mortar in 2 hours instead of 6. The mix was way more even too. I still think hand mixing has its place for tiny patching work. But has anyone else found a specific job size where a mixer makes sense even for small crews?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sarah20h ago

Oh man, anything over 150 blocks is a mixer job for me now. The consistency alone saves you from wasting time on dry spots or soft joints later.

davidwright18h ago

Read something last week from a guy who used to mix by eye for ten years before switching to a machine. Said he went back and checked his old walls with a laser level and felt like an idiot for all the hours spent fixing dips. Spent less time on cleanup too since the mixer keeps everything contained. Makes sense when you think about it, the machine does the hard work so your hands don't have to.