Tried buttering my bricks before laying them last week and it actually changed my mortar spread

I saw a guy on a job in Spokane do this old school trick where you wet the brick face with a buttered slurry first and I always thought it was a waste of time, but after a day of fighting with dry suckers on a 90 degree day it sped me up by maybe 30% and cut down my cleanup way more than I expected, has anyone else messed with this or am I just late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscar_hunt6120d ago

Oh sure, because what every bricklayer needs is more butter in their life. Now I'm just waiting for someone to tell me that greasing my trowel with bacon fat is the real secret. But seriously, you're not late to the party, you just showed up when the keg was already kicked. I tried the slurry trick once on a job in Denver and my mortar went from crumbly to smooth like a bad milkshake. Maybe next you'll tell me to pre-warm my bricks in the microwave.

faith_thomas20d ago

Bacon fat on a trowel actually works though. Old timers swear by it for keeping mortar from sticking. The slurry trick is hit or miss depending on your mix and the humidity. Denver air is dry as a bone, so that messes with everything. Pre-warming bricks ain't crazy either if you're working in freezing temps. Cold bricks suck the moisture right out and you get weak joints.