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Hot take: My old boss was wrong about mixing mortar in the cold
When I was an apprentice in Buffalo, my boss would always say you could mix mortar in any weather if you just worked fast. He told me, 'Just add a bit more water and get it on the wall, the sun will fix it.' I followed that for years until a big job last November. We had a cold snap, about 28 degrees, and I mixed a batch for a chimney repair. By the next morning, the whole thing was powdery and crumbled when I touched it. I had to tear it all out and start over, costing us a full day and about $300 in materials. Now I use heated water and a tarp no matter what, and I keep a thermometer in the mix. Has anyone else had a job fail because of bad cold weather advice?
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tara7936mo ago
Your boss was right, you just rushed it.
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kaih366mo ago
My old manager said that about every project, even the ones that took months.
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