My uncle's old mortar advice finally clicked after 15 years

He always said to keep the mortar a bit drier than you think, and I figured he was just lazy. Last fall in Boise I tried his way on a retaining wall and it held perfectly through the freeze, while my usual mix crumbled on a patio next door. Anyone else had a relative's tip turn out right after you doubted them for years?

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eric7232mo ago

Did your uncle ever explain why the drier mix works better, or was he just like "trust me on this"? My grandpa had the same thing with concrete, kept saying to add less water than the bag says, and I thought he just hated doing extra mixing. Years later I did a small walkway his way and it's still solid while my neighbor's batch with the exact mix instructions cracked by spring, hah.

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phoenix_thompson42mo ago

Wait, your patio next door actually crumbled? That's wild, like your uncle's method literally saved one wall while your "right" way killed the other one in the same freeze. Guess that proves it wasn't just him being lazy, he must've learned that from years of watching stuff fail.

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