Tried a new pointing style on a garden wall and the difference was huge

I built two identical brick garden walls for a client in Charlotte last spring, about 30 feet each. On the first one, I used a standard flush joint with my trowel. For the second, I took the extra time to do a proper concave joint with a proper jointer. The concave joint shed water instantly during the next rain, while the flush joint let water sit and darken the brick. It only added maybe 20 minutes to the whole job, but the finished look and function were so much better. Has anyone else found a small change in technique that made a surprisingly big difference on a project?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.val4d ago

Buffing grout dry sounds good, but that extra step can waste time on a big floor.

the_kelly4d ago

Yeah, that "small change, big difference" thing is so real. I switched from just wiping grout haze off tiles with a wet sponge to buffing it dry with a microfiber cloth right after. The haze just vanished, no more cloudy tiles or a second cleanup later. Such a simple fix for a problem that used to drive me nuts.