In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
You sound like me. I'm trying to sell Jaguars as the next Miata and repeat my sales pitch endlessly.
Honestly I watched a guy put up a wall, then critiqued him from what I'd read.
Did it my way and it worked out.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Yes, you are beating a dead horse. I've never met a mason who measured the thickness of mortar behind his stone veneer.
It's not about thickness. It's about bond.
To maintain bond, you need to keep the back of the stones mildly damp (so the dry material doesn't wick the moisture out of the mortar and dry it too quickly). Then you need to work reasonably quickly (for the same reason). You will feel the bond as the stones "squish" into the mortar slightly. A small amount of "squish" around the perimeter of each stone also helps create a small ledge to help secure the stone.
I am all about speed of installation (while maintaining quality). It you trowel mud on the wall it's super fast. That gets you most of the mud you need on the wall in front of you. Then keep a margin trowel handy to butter the backs quickly as you install as needed. That will give you the additional mortar you are hoping for.
You don't need a consistent even toothed trowel application on the back of the stones. You just skip a little extra mud slopped on the back. It's not an even coverage like stuccoing. It's more like buttering a biscuit.
Proper speed... Installation of the stone for the entire job should take approximately 1/3 of the time you have spent researching it. 
LOL!
Great to know. Thank you.
... and you've obviously never seen me butter a biscuit. Even coverage, man. 
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Haha
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