My old foreman in Gary kept harping on me to wet the brick before laying, and the wall proved him correct

David Williams · 2026-10-25T02:35:03.935681+00:00

Back when I worked on a house in Gary, Indiana about 7 years ago, my foreman kept telling me to dunk every brick in a bucket before it went down. I thought it was a waste of time on a hot July day and skipped it on a small garden wall out back. Three months later the mortar joints on that wall were crumbling and pulling away from the brick, and I had to tear the whole thing down and rebuild it. He never said a word when he saw it, just handed me the bucket. Does anyone else soak their brick on hot days, or do you just trust the mud to hold?

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My old foreman in Gary kept harping on me to wet the brick before laying, and the wall proved him correct | Bricklayers - Guest Forum