Mike shows his style and knowledge of cement use. All my videos are my ways and ideas, I always suggest when someone is building or re-doing work to consult outside professional help.
Mike - This is bringing back so many memories of my father. He was a union Master Plasterer in Northern Indiana. He started his career back in 1957. I remember him mixing plaster in the same way you talk about mixing mortar. I remember his Ford pickup truck with the windowed cover over the bed, the same as I've seen in your videos. I remember helping him load that bed with buckets and trowels and wooden levels and bags of sand and lime and gypsum when I was probably 8 or 9. I remember him waking up at 4:30 and getting his breakfast ready and heading out by 5:00 for jobs that were an hour and half away. I found your videos because I was looking at fixing some masonry around my home. I found something else: memories and a recognition of true tradecraft. Thank you Mike.
Hi Mike: Thank you so much for passing on your knowledge of cement from you many years of experience. Bravo for guys like you that take the time to pass along such useful knowledge. You're a champ. Thanks again. Jim Williams
, I wouldn't do anything on anybodys house that I wouldn,t do on mine. Of course it is always my opinion and my ways of doing things, seems to work for me. and I try to tell folks to always ask other pros. I appreciate the comment. thanks mike
It all depends. Old school is just Portland in a paint but there are some resurface products at lowes and homedepot tha work well, depending. on what you want. test it on an old block to make sure. thanks mike
Mike your the best . I did cement work around the house before. I had no idea what I was doing until I found you on RU-vid. thank you very very much for teaching me things i will use the rest of my life. there is also some kind of cement work I find to do now because of you . thank you.
Thanks for another excellent video Mike. I'm just about to restore a 1920 fieldstone porch pillar because the mortar has decomposed so I will use Portland instead of the S-type mortar like I had planned on using
I can't tell anyone what to use. but I ususally on a outside wall use two buckets of sand to one bucket of S mortar. then if it will be exposed to any weather I will add a shovel of portland. now if it is on a patio where the rain hits it everyday I will use only portland. sometimes its a good idea to let some days go by so the base coat has time to shrink, my opinion thanks mike
Your videos are the best. I have learned so much about concrete by watching your videos. Your Dad passed his knowledge onto you about how to do this and now you are teaching thousands of people to do this via the internet. Pretty neat!!
mike thanks for all of the great tips. I always wondered how the molecular structure of cement worked. based on viewing many of your videos I'm going to do the block work on my shop addition.
+Dickie Brown I hope it works out, depending on the job for block I usually use S mortar, every area and mason does it different, I would ask the locals what they use first. hope it helps, thanks mike
Mike, I just wanted to take some time and thank you for the videos you have posted. I had some cracks in my basement steps and stumbled upon your channel looking into ways to patch em up. I'm a younger guy mid 20s but relate to your old school methodology as it reminds me much of the way my grandfather who was a big influence on me during my teens worked on diesel equipment well into his 90s, the nothing to fancy get the job done kinda approach. Anyways after watching all you had to offer twice (including the banjo stuff) i came away with the courage to not only try and patch up my stairs I ended up busting up and rebuilding a old small garden retainer wall on the side of my house. Got quite a bit of smack talk from the neighbors during the process n probably took me 5xs the amount time to complete compared to paying someone to do it but in the end cost me bout 150 bucks for the tools and portland/sand and got compliments from all of them, my father in law thought my my stairs were brand new at first. I had my 8yr old watching n he even got into once you started painting the chickens. Anyone asks him he'll tell you want it stick gotta get it wet first. I'm in the tropics of WNY where we get the mildest of winter weather from our northern neighbors across Great puddles of Erie and Ontario so well see how it looks in April. Thanks again man.
thanks Jack, hearing these kind of comments make me feel I am on the right track, and its true lots of folks do not have the guts to try it themselves, I should be the one giving you the credit, thanks mike
Don't forget it takes cement weeks to finally cure, and every mason uses different mixes especially from different states, I get my masonry sand sometimes from the concrete company or quarrys, all depends on what I am doing, good luck, mike
my best answer is - every mason I every worked with used a different mix and every region and state and country is the same way. many masons still add lime ,nothing wrong with that. but you can go to lowes or home depot and buy a ready mix for mortar or Portland , which is fine, I use them for certain jobs. hope it helped, thanks mike
love it . I work for E.G Conti for 6 months and I was the pit man. I learned that they had a special way of mixing which gave them a special looking mortar.
Interesting. I worked on resurfacing and adding some grade to a little sidewalk project and tried everything until I read an article that mentioned 2 sand and 1 portland and I have used it for projects all summer and it works great. It's nice to hear a confirmation on it. Thanks Mike for your expertise and willingness to share it.
Thanks for the explanation Mike, this is very helpful (especially as I'm also in PA, so your region-specific tips apply for me). Your teaching style really makes the prospect of masonry work less intimidating.
Down in South Carolina. I think I've watched every video you've done twice. I wanted to thank you as you've made me a more informed owner. I know I can't do these jobs myself, but you've given me the confidence to make sure I get the RIGHT people to do the job and that's what I needed. I hoped to do the work myself, but seeing skilled laborers vs myself, it's better to pay a skilled worker the first time. Thanks Mike, I owe you a beer or 12.
Mike Haduck. The winters aren't nearly as harsh here in Oklahoma. I'm learning how to lay stone and the professionals are helping me. Love your videos.
Oscar Mendez thanks, check out my video," masonry tips for beginners," MIke Haduck --- it adds a little more to dealing with masonry thanks again, mike
I'm a Janitor / Sextant... for a Boston Church with a 5' Stone Wall and a series of steps up to sanctuary entrance. The stone wall has a bit of loose mortar. The side walls for the stairs are also cracking like crazy. When I first started working on the wall - I used premixed cement with some small stones built in. Well - long story short - that was wrong cement - tough to tuck into the cracks and between stones. Now I'm using Portland and sand. 2:1 ratio. I'm getting better at this. Tremendous thanks to Mike Haddock. I feel like I'm a Mike Haddock - Apprentice.
Thank you so much for your informative videos Mike Haduck! I love those repairing concrete steps videos. They are a great help for what I want to undertake to repair my mom's steps. You instruct like a real pro who has been doing it "for thousands of years!" lol. Best of luck and thanks again for your generosity and insight!
You answer my question I am installing a standing shower & when you explain that Portland cement they use it in high way & swimming pools , I am going for the portal cement, because experience is knowledge, thanks a million!
Good video. I never understood why the ready mix mortars never seemed to work for me. After they set, I could scratch the material away with my fingernail. I experimented trying to make a block of ready mix mortar, and it would just crush into sand. So I purchased portland cement and sand, and will do the 1 to 2 mix like you do. I have brick stairs to repair and also a flagstone patio. I am not looking for perfection with the patio, I just don't want the weeds growing through the joints.
Veteran realtime experienced knowledge . no better teacher than the real old timers. Reminds me of summers carpenters apprentice 1985 Bklyn Shops ARtie ( Italian) and Ray(Irish) two of the best tradesmen. similar to this old house. Thanks Mike Haduck _ please continue to share your vast knowledge .
Hey Mike, I’m from Kansas, we bought a small house, but the east basement wall leaks water really badly when it rains. Built in 1908 and has the old (red brick) walls with a slight bow in it. The house has no guttering and a sidewalk by it, which is terrible. I’m putting up guttering and putting in a new sidewalk, but this time the cement will go up to the house and about 4 feet out, should end the water problem. Then I want to put about a 1/4 inch of Portland on the brick walls to seal them, inside. What mix do you recommend? I was going to mix 2-Sand and 1-Portland? Thanks, Jim
Hi Jim, That is what I use, and I have not had a problem, others say different, but I do have videos out and how i repair an old stone foundation, They may help thanks Mike
Every mason has a different opinion, I got to say I always use portland, because I never have a problem, I also think it is the weight of the retaining wall that keeps it in place more than the cement. I don,t thing you are doing wrong cause s mortar holds up a lot better than plain mortar, and a shovel of portland can't hurt.. and I sure don,t want to tell some one what to do. my videos are just my opinions being passed on as something to be considered... thanks for the comment. mike
Mike, I know Concrete work is brutal work. I enjoy watching someone that definitely know his trade. You make it look simple, but I know it is not. Thank, Mike
Great video. I'm going to resurface my concrete entryway steps. I have some minor spawling that I'm going to patch before I resurface. After I strip the old paint off and clean it, what type of cement/mix would you use I use to resurface it?
Thanks for the great videos. I'm researching because I'm planning on doing a little flagstone work by my pool after a plumbing company wanted $700 to do about a 4x4 area after fixing a leak underneath.
Mike thanks for the education. Very helpful for a not very skilled (but wants to have a go DIYer). I liked how as soon as you started the lawnmower started up. I assume you asked them to stop please and then as soon as you re-commenced over came the aircraft.
Yup, this is one of the videos that saved me on my first attempt at fixing stairs. I’ve watched it 4 times. My garage is now filled with small wooden molds, bags of aggregate and Portland cement. My wife got annoyed that I snuck out at 1am to check on the 1’ by 2’ “slab” I poured.
I would get a couple old bricks and practice first, If you get a hose and wire brush the cement that is on the brick will clean up the next day, check out my how to do a stone patio on the cleaning part, good luck my opinion, mike
I learned a lot about cement and sand. It's good to know I can just go with Portland's on most projects. I don't have any projects yet but it's something to think about
These videos remind me of the old days when my father and grandfather used to team up to do some job around the house. Dad had been in the building trade in the early 50s and Grandpa learned way back in the 20s. They used to call me over and say 'watch this and learn something'. They hated any fancy quick fix solution that cost a lot of money.
Hi Mike thanks for the video, I am working on a 59 foot wide x 5 foot high stone retaining wall, I have been using 2/1 type s mortar plus one shovel of Portland . Could this wall strength improve by using 2/1 Portland? Thanks in advance
Excellent video Mike, very helpful. The last time I patched my sidewalk it came out gray. Will the Portland mixed with white sand turn out white or should I use cement all? Thanks for taking the time to post this vid.
sandpiper9988 I have to do a video on cement colors, (I am color blind actually) I don't really use them but my dad would. I know what ever you mix I get a hair dryer and dry a piece so I know how it ends up. thanks mike
Hay Mike, Your videos are the balls!....Please keep them coming…..Inspiring me to take on my front door steps with stick on fake stones like in your video. My prefab steps have a “Ghetto” look that I want to class up, any words of advice or caution regarding drilling prefab steps for support wire or how to finish sides and top? Can send a pic for reference. I live in northern MA. Thanks for your help! Mark McD.
Hi Mike, I live in long island NYC the weather here is cold, hot muggy. This is my first time using cement. My front house step is made of bricks and the bricks are getting loose. just wondering can i just use Portland cement to fix the loose brick. Do i need to add sand or type S cement. kinda new in this and trying to save money by fixing it my self. can you tell me what the best way of fixing my brick step and what kind of cement i need to buy. Thank you
brick work and block work is a whole different thing, if you wet the brick it gets sloppy and cleaning is a big issue, same with block work, remember that cement is a binder and not a glue, if you want to do the glue effect then you wet it. things like stucco and patch up. you have to work in the trade for a while to understand it. every mason in every state or country does it different. my opinion, thanks mike
