claire958•1mo agoProlific Poster

Update: My old way of mixing mud was a total mess until a job in Tacoma last fall.

I used to just dump a whole bag of 90 minute mud into a bucket, add water, and hope for the best. It was always too thick or too thin, and I wasted so much time and material. Then on a big apartment job in Tacoma, the foreman, Frank, showed me his trick: weigh out exactly 3 pounds of powder per gallon of water on a cheap kitchen scale. The consistency is PERFECT every single time now. Anyone else have a weirdly precise mixing method that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ryan1mo ago

Tried weighing my grout once and it changed everything.

ray_patel277d ago

Oh man, @the_ryan, that hits home. I used to just dump grout powder straight from the bag and guess at the water. My joints would cure all different colors, some dark and some weirdly light. Now I use a cheap kitchen scale and mix in a clean bucket every time. It feels a little silly, but the color is finally even. That one change saved me so much headache on my last bathroom job.

averyfox1mo ago

Totally get it. I used to eyeball thinset for tile and it was a disaster. My lines were always uneven because the mix was wrong. Now I use a marked bucket and follow the water first, then powder rule from the bag to the letter. It feels like overkill but I haven't had a single tile pop since. What's the weirdest tool you've used for measuring?