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I finally saw what I was doing wrong with my mortar mix after a job in Spokane
I was laying brick for a garden wall last month and the mix felt off, too sticky and slow to work with. I kept adding water to try and fix it, which just made it worse. The tip off was when the homeowner, an old guy who used to do masonry, came out and said, 'Son, your mud looks like soup. You're killing the lime.' He was right. I'd been using a cheap bagged mortar and mixing it way too wet for years, thinking it gave me more time. That wet mix was why my joints were always weak and crumbly after a season. Now I mix it much stiffer, like damp sand that just holds together. Has anyone else had a client point out a basic mistake you were making?
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spencer_johnson221d ago
Honestly, that's more about glue joints than pressure fittings.
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cameron7241d ago
Man, that old timer in Spokane did you a solid. A plumber I worked with once saw me cranking on a PVC fitting and just shook his head. He told me I was about to crack the collar because I forgot to loosen the nut on the other side first (a total rookie move, honestly). I was so used to forcing things that the simple step slipped my mind. His quiet tip saved me a huge mess and a trip back to the supply house. Sometimes you just need a second pair of eyes on the basics.
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