I'm new to bricklaying, and am in the process of building a low level garden wall that's about 10m long. I have access to a mixer and I've found that if I mix the mortar at 1:4 with some plasticizer it begins to stiffen after about 2 hours. Is it OK to add a little more water and keep using the mortar a little longer as I understand I could be using a 1:6 mix?
Thanks for any advice.
2hrs is way too long. 4:1 is a strong mix, 1:1:6 is a more likely condidate for walling. But 4:1 will work ok, long as youre not using soft bricks.
Your remixed mortar will work, but be much weaker. Best discard after
40 mins or so.NT
Duh! never add water to mix after its started to go off, plaster or mortar. Its a chemical reaction that going on here you know. Only mix as much as you can use. Chuck the unused hardening stuff away.
Don't add more water, don't mix more than you can use in two hours; don't you want a tea break anyway? That may mean it is barely worth using a mixer anyway.
Lots do. I dare say it is wrong though.
It is cheap enough to discard but if he had used a 6:1:1 lime mix he'd have ben better of (you don't use plasticiser with lime mortar.)
Some mortar is supplied in skips that is kept wet for ages.
Its best to make less :-)
I started with 4 shovels of sand, to 1 cement, and when I had enough skill to use that in 30 minuites, I doubled the mix.
Rick
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