My mortar joints looked like garbage for 8 years, then a guy at a Tulsa job showed me one small change

Wendy Sullivan · 2026-10-09T12:30:03.547157+00:00

For 8 years my mortar joints always looked rough and I just figured my hands weren't steady enough. Two months ago I was on a job in Tulsa and an old guy named Dale watched me strike a joint, then asked why I was dragging the jointer instead of pushing it. I switched to pushing with steady pressure and kept my mortar a touch drier, and the difference in my work is night and day. My joints now look clean and full instead of smeared, and the GC on my current job asked what changed. Has anyone else had a small technique fix make this kind of difference, or was I just the last guy to figure this out?

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My mortar joints looked like garbage for 8 years, then a guy at a Tulsa job showed me one small change | Bricklayers - Thought Shares