PSA: your mortar joints are probably too thick if you level with a torpedo level

Been laying brick for 7 years and always trusted my 6 inch torpedo level for everything. Last Tuesday a site inspector in Des Moines walked over, pulled out a 4 foot level, and just set it on my wall. Looked at me like I had two heads. Said my joints were running 1/2 inch because I was only checking the face of each brick, not the run. He was right. I went back and measured 10 sections, all over 3/8. Structural guys flagged it the next day. Anyone else learn levels are for the whole course, not just each unit?

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1 Comment

jordan18430m ago

Huh, that seems like a pretty big stretch to me. A half inch joint on a residential wall isn't going to cause the world to cave in, especially if the brick is laid solid. I get checking the long run, but I've seen plenty of walls with slightly fat joints that hold up just fine for decades. Honestly, sounds like the inspector was just flexing his 4 footer to make a point.