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Spent 5 hours trying to match mortar color on a 1920s Chicago brick and it was the sand all along
Had a repair job on this old two-flat in Chicago last month, about 6 square feet where a chimney had been removed. Homeowner wanted the patch to blend with the original brick, which was this soft orange-red with a lot of character. I mixed up three batches using the same mortar I always use, and every single one came out too gray. I kept adding more pigment, then tried a different cement, then started messing with the water ratio, and by hour 4 I was ready to tell the guy to just paint it. Finally my buddy who has been laying brick for 30 years stopped by and asked what sand I was using. Turns out the bagged sand from the big box store has too much round grain and not enough fines for matching old work. Switched to a sharp mason sand from a yard out in Cicero and the color landed almost dead on in one try. Five hours of my life gone because I never thought to question the sand. Any of you have a go-to sand source for matching older brickwork around here?
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