Rant: mortar mix ratio I trusted for 15 years let me down on a job in Akron

Been laying block since 2008 and always used 3 parts sand to 1 part cement, never had a problem. Last week on a retaining wall in Akron the joints kept cracking after two days, and the supplier talked me into trying 3.5 to 1 with lime added. Total game changer for me, the wall set up way more even and the cracks stopped. Has anyone else had to ditch their old ratio after a specific job went sideways?

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miles24427d ago

You said 3.5 to 1 with lime is a game changer, but I'll bet the real problem wasn't your ratio. Akron weather is humid and the ground there holds water like crazy, so any mix will crack if you don't control the moisture in the sand. Lime just covers up a wet sand problem by sucking up some of that water, it doesn't fix what caused the cracks in the first place. Your old mix worked for 15 years because you knew how to read your materials on a normal day. You changed everything over one bad batch of wet sand, and now you'll be chasing a new ratio every time the weather shifts. Plus lime costs more and takes longer to cure, so you're paying extra for a fix that's really just a band-aid. I'd bet your next wall with 3 to 1 and dry sand sets up fine, and you'll wish you hadn't switched.