Two years of ignoring the mortar mix ratio warnings finally bit me on a retaining wall job last spring

I always figured close enough was fine until that wall started cracking along the joints after the first freeze and I had to tear down 12 feet of it to redo it with the right sand to cement ratio, has anyone else found that getting lazy with the mix ends up costing way more in the long run?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles28d ago

Hold up though, how bad was the cracking really? I've been sloppy with mortar ratios for years on smaller jobs like patios and garden walls and never had more than a few hairline cracks that were purely cosmetic. Sure, if you're building a structural wall holding back a ton of dirt that's a different story, but for a typical backyard retaining wall under three feet I think people overhype the danger. Your mix might have been fine and you just had bad luck with drainage or freeze-thaw cycles.

richard_shah28d ago

Nah man, I gotta hard disagree on this one. Cracks in a retaining wall, even a little three footer, aren't just cosmetic. Water gets in those cracks, freezes, expands, and turns a hairline into a gap you could stick your finger in over one winter. I've seen it happen on a buddy's garden wall where he got lazy with the mix and within two years the whole top course was bowing out. Slumping on the mortar ratio means weaker joints no matter the size of the wall, and that's how you end up with a section that suddenly gives way after a heavy rain. Saying it's fine for small jobs is how people end up with a mess they gotta redo entirely.