Grout Gun?

laybrick

Anyone here use a grout gun for mortar joints? If so, how are they in comparison to a bag? Do they bind up a lot? I imagine they are a lot easier than squeezing a bag, but are they more of a pain in the ass than useing a bag? Thinking about buying one . Will I use it , or will I just get frustated & leave it in the truck, hence, wasteing $$ on it? Any input would be appreciated

3-D Mason

Ive never used one myself but one of my employees had used one on a previous job, he said it was great until you wanted to reach up to get that last joint or to the side, he said they were a two handed deal and you had to remember to keep that hopper upright every time we get a larger repointing project I think about getting one myself but I haven't pulled the trigger yet

laybrick

I figured it would be ok for pointing brick & maybe square stone, but I don't know about irregular phony stone. I might try it though. anything's gotta be better than squeezing that bag

Railman

I bought one to redo about 500 ft of mortar joint on my shop. It hookes up to an electric drill. One of my boys did all the diamond cutting, & tucking. It worked out great. I don't see how a bag could get the same kind of feed pressure or speed. Clean up wasn't that bad either. I found mine on ebay, but right now I can't remember the brand name, but I believe it was made in Australia.
Joe

laybrick

I don't do a lot of pointing, but I do do a lot of fake stone. Wondering if it would be ideal, or not. http://www.quikpoint.com/Merchant2/m...ategory_Code=T

CR2

Yes, it will be, once you use it, you won't go back to grouting bags,we have not one but two and two bulk calk guns for overhead grouting(easier then the angle nozzle),hands down, it's the fastest and neatest way to grout, buy it and you won't regret it.
Good Luck!

Railman

After checking, I bought my "Quick Point" in 05. It was the older orange model 1864.
Joe

laybrick

thanks CR2, thats the answer I was hopeing to hear. Watching the demo video, it looks like it would work pretty good. I wouldnt mind haveing to use a bag for a few spots, as long as I can do the majority with the quickpoint

Tommy C

Interesting topic, as I recently had major problems with the baker's bag while filling in cultured stone for a fireplace. It was a very small job, so I bought a few bags of the mortar/sand mix. I don't know if it was because the mix was richer than what I typically use, but the damn stuff would NOT flow out of the bag!!! So frustrating...anybody else had that problem with the mortar mix??

laybrick

seems to me that a lot of the ready mixes are inconsistant. More sand / cement in one, than the other. To rich, seems to want to harden faster, while to much sand makes the water want to go to the top, makeing it chunky

concretemasonry

Mixing time and temperature of materials also have an effect on the ability to apply mortar.

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

lukachuki

Oh Yeah, we have experienced it all in fighting MBs (mortar bag)

Here's all I know about MBs

I've found that some bags are just so much nicer than others. Marshall makes a great MB with a nice rubber lining makes things much easier.

As you know getting the wetness of the mortar just right is the key. We usually mix it so it just dribbles out when holding it vertical.

Also don't use crappy sand with misc foreign debris in it.

We also cut our MB opening a little larger.

Some guys on this board add some lime to the mix which is supposed to really
help a lot.

Roll the bag like (some people) you do a toothpaste tube, it easily creates pressure while keeping thing clean.

When you get a piece of debris clogging you up it is much easier to take hammer and carefully smash the offender in the tip than to unload the whole bag. Note: This is hard on the bag itself

We also like to have an extra bag for every guy so the you can clean the bag inside and out after emptying it into the wall. The extra bag allows time for the clean bag to dry.

When filling a mb out of a wheelbarrow fold the roll the top down a couple of inches...this will keep the mouth open and make it easier to fill...also use a coffee can instead of a mortar shovel. Keeping the outside of the bag clean makes for a much easier day.

As to the quick point it looks like the ticket on easy to reach spots at chest level etc. (which is the easiest place to use a MB) , but looks extremely bulky and heavy to reach those hard to get spots. Someone needs to make a pneumatic one.

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"The problem with internet quotes is, you never know if they are authentic." -Abraham Lincoln-

Less with the jaw more with the paw!

Tommy C

Has anybody used this?

http://www.capcityequipment.com/grout1899.html

Or does it look like a piece of junk?

lukachuki

I'd say brilliant although i've never used one. Thats what I was talking about when I said roll it up like a tube of toothpaste and who wouldn't love a little handle to help the twisting action. I'd try this before I went out and bought that bulky looking quick grout gun/hopper.

__________________
"The problem with internet quotes is, you never know if they are authentic." -Abraham Lincoln-

Less with the jaw more with the paw!

laybrick

[QUOTE=lukachuki;Someone needs to make a pneumatic one.[/QUOTE]

that's what I was thinking when I was looking for something. just to be able to move a small hose around

concretemasonry

A pneumatic mortar dispenser was developed about 10 years ago by a Denver mason contractor - Gage Behunin (Gage Systems - I think).

It was used to dispense two very uniform beads of fluid mortar to be used when laying special block against a wall or guide. He used oversize block and a thin mortar joint and then came back to point and finish the "green" wall.

I saw his 2 or 3 kids (big and strong) lay a 24'x8' block wall (8x8x16 units) with an 8'x8' return wall in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Before we could eat a sandwich, they pointed and finished the joints (raked). This was the second wall they had ever built. The height was right on and they rolled the wall with paint to show/emphasize the joint appearance. They also laid 8x4x12 brick walls with similar results.

About 15 years earlier (before Gage retired the first time) he got a patent for a plant/factory to build masonry wall panels. He was a sucessful contractor that could not stand sitting around.

__________________
Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

deedubya

Hello all, this is my first post on this forum, I have been in the masonry trade since 74 and have been running my own buisness since 95 I have been installing the faux stone for about 6 years now -- I don't like it but I like the money it produces--I use a combination of bags and the quickpoint guns on my projects.I lay all stone to the wall first then go back and grout before we move scaffolding or move to another location on the job, this way we get a more uniform mortar shade on the prodject.To make the mud easier to use I use the additive That I also order from quickpoint I think its called Midbro or something like that, its a liquid lime additive that adds board life and workabillity plus makes the mud slicker than snot, I don't squeese the bags but roll them like you would twist the head off of a cat ,easier on the arms and hands. When we get to a point on the job when we are ready to grout , everyone grabs a bag or a gun while I usally make the grout I measure everything as I only trust myself to do it ,as it's my name on the line--We load up with grout using 1.5 qt. grain scoops everyone grouts till they get 2 to 3 hundred sq.ft. ahead of the guys that are going to start jointing that way one or two of the guys will continue to grout while I and maybe another mason will start jointing while the mud is setting up.WE usally can get 6 to 8 hundred sq.ft grouted in a 8 hr. day. using the guns for most of the meat of the work with the bags being used in out of position work . We just finished up two big commercial jobs using this method.

TOthe16th

Back to the grout gun, they can be a bit awkward to use at first, but after becoming familliar with it, it can be a useful, productive tool. Do you do a lot of point up jobs? If not, renting one might be another option. When using it, you MUST add the plasticizer additive to the mud. Its a powdery substance and its concentrated. About a teaspoon to a wheelbarrow. It will make the mud gummy. Much more gummy than you'd ever want in your mudpan in fact. But this is because if you don't use it, pumping the mud will loosen it drastically and it will flow out like a wendy's frostee left out in the sun. The hopper on the device is open topped, and gravity fed. So pointing a ceiling is definitely not on the uses list. When we used it to repoint a large walkway on a college, it worked beautifully. Depending on units, one person pumping ahead and 2 or 3 pointers behind him would probably be most efficient for jobs like our large paving stone. Brick, maybe 1 or 2 pointers could keep up. Hope I could help!

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stuccosteve

Just my two cents, but having been grouting stone/ brick veneer for years I found the power operated devices to be awkward and difficult to gauge as opposed to a traditional bag.

Tim Caroll

Forget the above methods.Check out "thegroutgun.com"