Help with Brick Install

[foxten]

My first day installing my soldier course... went. I'm not sure how I feel about it. What should I be looking for tomorrow to make sure it's passable? Can anybody recommend some good videos for the proper consistency of the mortar? I've read that it should be like peanut butter, but then I saw one video that it looked more like sour cream. Peanut butter didn't "squeeze out" like I had seen in some videos. Also, What is proper buttering technique? I'm buttering the bottom and the side touching the already laid brick. Any good posts on this forum? My search results were spotty.

[JRPizza]

I don't remember where I saw it, but I mixed my mortar (homebrew) till when I ran my trowel through it left peaks/ridges on the surface. If it all slumps back into a relatively flat surface it was too wet. I left my bricks fairly dry, just slightly wiping the edge with a mortar sponge till there was about 1/8" of "penetration" from the moisture. Mostly to wipe of any loose grains or residue from sawing. I found with the sloppy wet mortar and the thirsty dry bricks I got the best adhesion as the dry(ish) surface really wicks the mortar in (if it is thin enough). I had heard about "peanut butter" consistency but with a mix that is 1/2 sand that is nowhere near wet enough.
The way you describe your buttering sounds like what I did. I still needed to pack some in the sides but what I placed on the bottom squeezed out enough to fill that lower gap and partially fill the sides.

[foxten]

I don't remember where I saw it, but I mixed my mortar (homebrew) till when I ran my trowel through it left peaks/ridges on the surface. If it all slumps back into a relatively flat surface it was too wet. I left my bricks fairly dry, just slightly wiping the edge with a mortar sponge till there was about 1/8" of "penetration" from the moisture. Mostly to wipe of any loose grains or residue from sawing. I found with the sloppy wet mortar and the thirsty dry bricks I got the best adhesion as the dry(ish) surface really wicks the mortar in (if it is thin enough). I had heard about "peanut butter" consistency but with a mix that is 1/2 sand that is nowhere near wet enough.
The way you describe your buttering sounds like what I did. I still needed to pack some in the sides but what I placed on the bottom squeezed out enough to fill that lower gap and partially fill the sides.

Thanks. That helps. I've run into another issue that I'm wondering if it is an insurmountable problem.

Here's what I have in the following order from top down

Oven Floor Brick in a Herringbone Pattern
Layer of Half Fire Clay/Half Sand for Leveling
Ceramic FiberBoard
Layer of Half Fire Clay/Half Sand for Leveling
Concrete Foundation

So, I cut my Ceramic Fiberboard the exact shape as my template. The smaller bricks on the perimeter of the floor are not staying level as I'm trying to push down the soldier course. They're supported by a clay/sand mixture that falls out because I don't have enough fiberboard beyond the edge of my stone to support the layer of sand/clay between them. Anyways, I think I can make it work unless I get overwhelming response telling me to tear everything apart and start over.

Ugh!

[JRPizza]

I just saw from looking at your build thread you used something like 1/4 inch of dry leveling compound? No wonder it is leaking out the sides- like sands through an hourglass. That just seems to me like a crazy amount of clay/sand. My board and hearth were relatively flat so I didn't need any compound and chose to not complicate my build with it. If I did need it I would try to only use enough so that most bricks had contact with the board and the compound was only there to make local corrections. It sounds like you have floated your floor on sand the way you would lay bricks for a patio. Would it be possible to pull the floor up and remove the mixture and start over. Look at my pic below - if I had a thick layer of sand under my floor I'd have the same problem you are having.