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Found a faster way to butter the same mortar mix twice in a row

I was on a job in Austin last month doing a retaining wall and kept running into the issue where my mortar would start to stiffen up after I mixed a batch. Normally I'd just toss the stiff stuff and mix fresh, but I was burning through material fast. I tried adding a little water back in and reworking it on the spot, and damn it actually held fine for the next 20 bricks. No cracking, no weak joints after it cured. I tested it on a small test wall in the back before committing. Anyone else rehydrate mortar that's gone a bit stiff on the board or am I asking for trouble down the line?
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3 Comments
julia549
julia5491mo ago
Did you check if it compromised the color consistency after curing?
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jenny_hall
jenny_hall1mo ago
Wait, are you telling me I've been throwing away perfectly good mortar like some kind of wasteful amateur this whole time? I'm gonna go dig through my trash pile and apologize to all those dried out batches.
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nancy817
nancy8171mo ago
Yeah that trick works way better than it should honestly.
3