Half the time the real problem is the part you stopped checking because it seemed fine.

Remember how rushing one part just shifts the mess somewhere else down the line. You might get the sand done quick, but then you're chasing problems in the mix or with mold integrity, which eats up way more hours. It's like cutting any corner, the shortcut always comes back as a longer, harder fix later. I've seen it with a hundred other things, you save five minutes now to lose half a day tomorrow.

So how wet are we talking here, like just damp or fully soaked? I mean, I tried dampening mine once but still had some gaps, maybe I didn't do it enough. @tarahart mentioned the mortar drying too fast, which makes total sense if the brick is sucking out all the water. Is there a trick to knowing when they're ready, or do you just dunk them for a bit? I gotta get this right for my next walkway section because picking out dried mortar is the worst.

Tbh, zoned out once and almost backed into a mailbox.

Staples rarely fail on their own, it's usually poor stretching that causes problems down the line (seen it too many times). Two years without issues is possible, but those wrinkles might still be coming.