Is it really faster to butter joint or do the old school point-and-trowel method?

I keep seeing guys on new builds buttering every joint with a gun, claiming it's way quicker. But I timed a buddy last week on a 50 foot wall in Austin, and his butter job took almost as long as my trowel work because he kept fixing squeezed out mortar. Am I wrong for thinking the old way still wins on bigger runs, or is the gun actually better once you get the hang of it?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_baker885d ago

Am I wrong for thinking the old way still wins" - man, I don't think you're wrong at all. I've watched guys on sites near me try to butter everything and they end up cleaning half of it off the next day anyway. Seems like a lot of extra movement for maybe being a tiny bit faster if the stars align. Honestly, if it's not broke don't fix it, trowel works fine.

shane2445d agoMost Upvoted

Amen to that! I swear half the time when I see guys buttering they spend more time scraping off the cleanup than they would have just troweling it in the first place. Plus the gun always jams up on me right when I'm in a groove, so I'll stick with what works.