An old mason in Boise told me my brick spacing was off by a sixteenth

He was watching me lay a herringbone patio last fall and said, 'Kid, your joints are breathing.' I had no idea what he meant. He showed me how my spacing was letting too much mortar show, making the pattern look messy. I switched from my old eye-ball method to using a 3/8 inch spacer for every single brick. The difference in the finished look is night and day, everything lines up crisp now. Has anyone else had a simple tool change fix a problem you didn't even know you had?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly96815d ago

Totally get that. Sometimes you don't even know what you're missing until someone points it out. That old guy gave you a golden piece of advice for free. It's wild how one tiny tool can make your whole project look pro instead of just okay. Makes you wonder what else you've been doing wrong by just guessing.

walker.hayden15d ago

Honestly I wouldn't say I was doing it wrong before. Guessing is how you learn the basics. That old guy's tip just leveled things up once I already had the foundation down.