Question
hello Mark!

my neighborhood has two types of stone wall in front of a lawn.
One style has a very tight pattern, i.e., the spaces between the stones is tightly filled with cement.
The other style has the stones cemented to each other, but with empty spaces between the stones. In the latter case, weeds and other plants pop out between the stones; naturally, I remove the weeds from time to time.
My question:
Over time, some of the stones become loose. I want to cement them in order to keep them in place. If I place cement on top of one stone, then place a second stone on top of the first one, won't the weight of the upper stone squeeze the fresh cement out, so very little cement remains, hence there will be poor bonding between the two stones.
Is there something I can do to keep, say, a quarter of half inch of cement between the two stones?

Thanks for your help.

Chris

Answer
Hello,

Layer the mortar about 1 inch thick and that will give you a joint of about half inch thick. The 1 inch thickness compensates for mortar displaced by the weight of the stone.


Mark Harshman

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