Showerthought: Saw the difference between wet mud and dry mud on a wall I fixed 6 months ago

I patched a section of my own front wall back in March, like a 3 foot section where the old brick was crumbling. Used some mix I had left over. Yesterday I was out there looking at it and the new brick and old brick are totally different colors now. The new stuff dried way lighter than I thought it would. Guess I should have wet the old bricks first before matching the mortar? Anyone else have a wall that looks like a checkerboard after a few months?

2 comments

2 Comments

miabennett16d ago

Soak the old bricks down good before you patch. The dry old brick will suck the moisture right out of your new mortar and make it cure too fast, which lightens the color. You can also try lightly dampening the new patch for a few days after you put it in to slow the cure down. That should help it match better next time.

kelly.emma16d ago

Respectfully gotta disagree here. Soaking old bricks can actually cause more problems if the water pulls salts out of them, which then bleed through your new mortar later. Slower cure time from dampening the patch helps, but if your mix ratio is off no amount of wetting will fix the color match. Better to test a small spot first with a dry brick and see how the mortar dries naturally. Matching old mortar is more about getting the sand color right than fighting the cure speed.