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I'd like to get your opinion on Helix Steel Fibers in concrete

I love the positivity

Mike, a thought came to me : The gravity we experience is currently 9.81 N We should consider a reduce gravity , say 4.5 N. A time were gravity and crystal lattice chemistry was different from today. An event took place , a biblical event, wiping out humanity. Leaving behind " stones ".

thanks for being the “masonry father” we needed!

Hey Mike using types S with 2 parts sand and it’s coming out little to gray from me is there anything I can do to make it a bit more white ? Thanks

Mike - Thank you for your service in the U.S. Navy. Looks like you can still fit into your sailor outfit. My dad served on USS Louisville CA 28 from 1943-46. Passed in 2017 at age 92. Take care Mike you have the best videos! Take care! Tony

I like to use s type cause I don't like to fight the rocks when I do projects

Wish I could find a guy like this in SF, California! My back patio is a sheer mess and everyone here wants gigantic bucks for repair, if you can even find a true brick guy - who won’t cut corners and might actually care about their work. A new install would cost an entire fortune.

Hi Mike, I will mix Portland and water to make a paint to apply to my existing sidewalk brick mortar joints to look new. How long will that keep looking good?

If it's so easy why didn't the Inca build the same way..........basically you just said the Inca built on top.........so who built the polygonal masonry.? I do like that you showed the back of the rocks.

U couldve charged him at least a grand

With much respect I say, show us your skills, words mean nothing. This kind of construction is intricately connected to the ancient Andean original Cosmovision.

Cement-All contains no sand or aggregate. So how does it differ from Portland Cement?

This guy taught me all the basics to do a lot of projects.

I love hearing retiring to Florida stories, you can learn so much. I love Florida. My wife and I are currently saving for retirement. Have been since our mid 20's. We are about 5 years away from retiring. When we do, we will have a combined savings/investments (401k/403b) of 2.5 million dollars. In addition my wife gets a pension from her work that will be around $3,000+ a month, and that's not including any social security we may gat (we are not including SS in our plans as we don't know if it will even be solvent). We are planning on buying a home in The Villages. We live an active life, we ride bikes, play pickleball, we have hobbies such as woodworking, metal detecting, kayaking, and we plan to be active in the community. We plan to self insure our home and have one car and two golf carts. I think we have a pretty good plan. We've been researching and planning for several years. We have no desire to live on the coast. Central Florida (not Orlando) for the most part is a lot more laid back living, less traffic than the coastal areas, and more affordable. We will still be an hour to two hours from many beaches if we want a beach day. We can drive to all four cruise ports, we are big cruisers, love sailing the Caribbean. And with the Brightline system, we can park in Orlando and eventually go to Tampa or Miami and other stops along the route, easily and comfortably without having to suffer airports and the hassles of flying. We are really looking forward to it 👍❤

the money this man has saved me is silly at this point...

brilliant!

I'm 73. Got into the business when I was 21. Now I know. Paint it with mud. 😮

Mike, what kind of cement / mortar are you using for laying these stones?

Hi MIke. I just found your channel. Congratulations on the retirement to Florida. Thank you for your service to our County. A middle aged lady here and I am going to watch more videos as I have an exterior wall that separates my driveway from a small porch area. It has been around 45-50 years and now it’s leaning. I’m going to attempt to fix it on my own as someone wants $1200 to redo 2.5 layers! That’s tooooooo steep for me so I’m going to use your instructions and follow them to fix this wall myself. I’ll take before and after pics. I’d be glad to share them when I’m done. I’m in New York. I have to look and see what mortar I should use unless you can recommend one. God Bless. You and thanks for sharing your knowledge! You remind me of my father.

Great job!! Looks great 👍🏻

I would say that you have a Master degree of life! Much respect Mike! I’ve been a tile setter since 1984.. I really enjoy your videos…

Great content and logic…I just subscribed to your channel..

The key words are non-structural. If it is not load-bearing in any form, filling with any type of materials on site will work; however, when load-bearing there are aspects of strength and thermal compatibility with the other parts that would be challenging to justify all of these repair steps. Foundations are structural.

A fulcrum and counterweights can move just about anything. I'm much more impressed by the perfect fit of irregular shapes

Mike, I've been binge watching your videos off and on for years. I do whole house renovations and occasionally have to deal with a masonry issue. As an old drywaller and plasterer, trowels and knives are familiar in my hands. So, I started doing repairs on my own remodels and rental properties. As you say, it's really no big deal, once you know the materials to use and some techniques, which you very clearly show. Thank you sincerely for hosting a great youtube channel. It's been very valuable to me. Best wishes for your new life in Florida.

The Asians use bamboo, no rust, no extreme cost and it grows fast.

is that style doable in New England but you would use rebar instead of fiberglass?

Hello Mike. I stared my own masonry business two years ago, but have never parged before. There is a ICF block foundation that a guy wants me to make look like smooth concrete on the outside. I don't know how yet, but was wondering if you could teach me or have any advice? Thank you for all you do, and much respect to you brother!

“No big deal”! Best of luck to you well deserved!

Thanks Mike,I have watched 20 videos where guys talk and never really show the work we need to see,all the opposite with you ,you show all the work in detail and how is done and then comes the smart and practical explanation of the best approach ,so thank you again,you are my favorite pro when it comes to concrete work,much appreciated !

The 'Freemasons' of Penn will be surely sad to see you leaving!!

What have been easier just to make a straight cut on the one side and then chill it out so you have a straight line of concrete

Good for you Mr. Haduk

Hi Mike.. hope all is well. Im confused. I live in Pa in Hershey. I need to repoint my chimney. My house is double brick construction, so the brick is load bearing. For the chimney, Im reading type S is too strong and could possible damage the brick due to expansion. Should I be using type N? Also when repiinting the house walls, being they are structural, should i use type S for repointing? H E L P Thanks again Jeff

Who CARES?

Welcome to Florida! 😀

Excellent

Spot on about living in Fl and especially insurance. Home insurance is a killer and car insurance keeps getting hire. Perhaps if someone actually got the people off the road that don't have insurance that would be a good first start! Great advice.

Mike, I always thought you'd retire in Portland. No big deal. 🤔

Sorry to hear of your Dad’s passing.

Golden move!

When you smashed the granite together with the other granite, it created a fine powder - is this the abrasive they would have then used to smooth their stone carvings?

Get over you mike

Happy for you living the dream in the best state that exists!!!

can you do some reaction videos to other people's vids of bricklaying? I noticed that in russia pretty much all of them use small metal bars or wood as guides for their mortar. The finished product looks amazing but for whatever reason they're the only ones that do it.

Mike, great video. Does a scratch coat have to be completely dry before starting to adhere stones to it?

Say hello to my little friend!

PA guy here. My father is the same age as you Mike. I told him NOT to go to FL. Why? because I have been a realtor for the last 15 years and everyone and I mean everyone that has listed their home "to move to FL", come right back. I call these people "Boomerangs", because they are usually "boomers" and they circle right back. Whelp Dad and his wife didn't listen to my advice. They sold and gave away everything to move to their new home in FL. They tried for a year and a half to get me to follow them down there. "The people are so great, the weather is awesome, blah blah blah" Nope wasn't biting. Guess what? I found out by accident they secretly sold the house didn't tell anyone and moved back to Delaware. They didn't even last a full 2 years. People have this idea that FL is this inexpensive utopia to retire to, and that dream or that reality has been dead for over ten years. Good luck, seeya back in PA in a year or 2.

Mike you have helped me fix a lot of thing on my property. I'm so grateful you've taken the time to document so much of your wisdom for all of us. Life is too short learn everything the hard way. For all of the bad on the internet, you offset it in good, by a large margin. Keep at it, my man!