That moment my mortar mix turned into soup on a job in Cincinnati

I was laying a garden wall last Tuesday and the forecast said clear skies, but about an hour in a freak drizzle started. My mortar got way too wet, turned into a sloppy mess, and the first course of blocks started sliding around. I ended up tearing out 12 feet of work and mixing a stiffer batch with less water. Anyone else have a weather surprise ruin their whole morning like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin_reed4d ago

Hold on... you said "freak drizzle"? That's wild. I've had rain come out of nowhere but not like a freaking freak drizzle scenario where it's barely wet but somehow ruins everything. Last spring I was pointing a job in Ohio and the sky was blue for two hours then suddenly this thin mist rolled in and my mix was basically water. I had to scrape it all off and start over, cost me an extra 45 minutes. I feel your pain man that's brutal.

xena_kim4d ago

Starts raining and suddenly you're making wet concrete soup instead of mortar.

verafoster4d ago

That's just how it goes, every time you get settled into a rhythm something has to mess it up.