# "Sandy" mortar on tuck-point repair



## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

*sounds as if the mortar froze to me  anti-hydro added to the mix would have been a great help ! IF you can push a knife into it, its not hard ! { no financial interest in anti-hydro nor do i know IF they're still in biz ! }*


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## drm31078 (Jan 19, 2011)

itsreallyconc said:


> *sounds as if the mortar froze to me  anti-hydro added to the mix would have been a great help ! IF you can push a knife into it, its not hard ! { no financial interest in anti-hydro nor do i know IF they're still in biz ! }*


I cannot push a knife through it. It is hard. My concern is when I rub the mortar with my finger, sand grains comes off. But it is most definitely hard. 

My question is whether or not the sand grains coming off is normal? or is it a problem, even though it's hard?


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

*depends on how deep you can rub your finger,,, some is normal due to raking a pointed jnt,,, question is more how 1 defines ' some '*


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## drm31078 (Jan 19, 2011)

itsreallyconc said:


> *depends on how deep you can rub your finger,,, some is normal due to raking a pointed jnt,,, question is more how 1 defines ' some '*


On some of the joints it seems like I could rub the joint completely out with my finger but I haven't tried. Some of the joints are "worse" than others. Does it matter as long as the mortar is hard? Would cold weather cause this?


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

*another reason to think frozen mortar,,, cold weather wouldn't be the cause of cured mortar weakening however freezing temps on fresh mortar is definitely a cause for concern to me*


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## Rapscallion (Nov 22, 2012)

Time to fully cure depends on the type of mortar and the temp + humidity in the area of the application i.e., Type N mortar in warm temps takes ~ 28 days to cure according to Quikrete. Your conditions suggest that the mortar had not as of yet fully cured.


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

What does this have to do with doing it yourself?


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