kim191•22d ago

Took me 6 hours to figure out why my brick was spalling on a simple garden wall job

I was working on a small retaining wall for a lady's backyard in Austin last week. Nothing fancy, just a single wythe wall about 3 feet high. But after the first row was laid, I noticed the bricks looked like they were starting to chip and flake on the surface. I spent the next 6 hours tearing out what I had done, checking my mortar mix ratios, looking up online if maybe the local supplier gave me soft bricks by mistake. Turns out, I was using a cheap brick that wasn't rated for ground contact. The supplier had switched brands on me without saying anything. The lady just wanted a cheap wall and I didn't double check the materials before I started. Has anyone else had a supplier slip in lower grade brick on a hurry-up job?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix82421d ago

Facts, getting them to initial the spec sheet is a good move. I'm gonna start doing that on every order over 100 bricks.

vera_campbell22d ago

Yeah, that's a classic bait and switch. You'd think after the third or fourth time a supplier slides in some "budget friendly" seconds you'd learn to check every pallet before it comes off the truck. I had a guy in San Antonio try that with some "common" bricks that looked fine until they sat in the rain for a day. The trick is to always ask for the actual spec sheet and make them initial it on the invoice. That way if they try to pull that again, you've got it in writing that you paid for a specific grade.