Mortar Is A Bonding Agent Which Is Generally Produced by Mixing Cementing or Binding Material

Mortar is a bonding agent which is generally produced by mixing cementing or binding material
(lime or cement) and fine aggregate (sand, surki, sawdust, etc.) with water. Mortar is used to
bind different building blocks like bricks, stones, etc. It can also add a decorative pattern in brick
or stone masonry. Mortar is being used from the dawn of civilization. 2000 years ago, the
Egyptians used lime mortars.
For construction purpose, different types of mortar are used. Depending upon the materials used
for mortar mixture preparation, the mortar could be classified as follows.
1. Cement Mortar
2. Lime Mortar
3. Surki Mortar
4. Gauged Mortar
5. Mud Mortar
Cement Mortar
Cement mortar is a type of mortar where cement is used as binding material and sand is used as
fine aggregate. Depending upon the desired strength, the cement to the sand proportion of
cement mortar varies from 1:2 to 1:6.
Lime Mortar
Lime mortar is a type of mortar where lime (fat lime or hydraulic lime) is used as binding
material and sand is used as fine aggregate. The lime to the sand proportion of cement mortar is
kept 1:2. The pyramids at Giza are plastered with lime mortar.
Gauged Mortar
Gauged mortar is a type of mortar where cement and lime both are used as binding material and
sand is used as fine aggregate. Basically, it is a lime mortar where cement is added to gain higher
strength. The process is known as gauging. The cement to the lime proportion varies from 1:6 to
1:9. Gauged mortar is economical than cement concrete and also possess higher strength than
lime mortar.
Surki Mortar
Surki mortar is a type of mortar where lime is used as binding material and surki is used as fine
aggregate. Surki mortar is economic.
Mud Mortar
Mud mortar is a type of mortar where mud is used as binding material and sawdust, rice husk or
cow-dung is used as fine aggregate. Mud mortar is useful where lime or cement is not available.
PROPERTIES OF A GOOD MORTAR
It is always desirable to use the best mortar in constructions. Therefore, the properties of a
good mortar must be investigated. Generally, good mortar possesses following properties-
 The main quality that mortar should possess is adhesion. Good mortar should provide
good adhesion to building units (bricks, Stones etc).
 Mortar should be water resistant. It should have the capability of resisting the penetration
of water.
 Deformability of mortar should be low.
 Mortar should be cheap.
 Mortar should be easily workable in the site condition.
 The mobility of mortar should be good. It helps the mortar to be paved thinly and evenly.
 It should possess high durability.
 To improve the speed of construction, good mortar should set quickly.
 Cracks should not be developed in the joint formed by mortar. It is desirable to last for
long period of time without losing the appearance.
Some of the numerous functions of mortar in construction are given below.
1. Mortar is used to bind together the bricks or stones in brick or stone masonry.
2. It is used to give a soft even bed between different layers of brick or stone masonry for
equal distribution of pressure over the bed.
3. It is used to fill up the spaces between bricks or stones for making walls tight.
4. It is used in concrete as a matrix.
5. It is used in plastering works to hide the joints and to improve appearance.
6. It is used for molding and ornamental purpose.
Brick masonry is built with bricks bonded together with mortar. For temporary sheds mud mortar
may be used but for all permanent buildings lime or cement mortars are used.
The various types of bonds generally used in brick masonry are..
 Stretcher bond
 Header bond
 English bond and
 Flemish bond
STRETCHER BOND
This bond is sometimes known as running bond. This bond is the simplest bond that is used
today, this bond is not suitable as a stand-alone structural wall and a structural wall built directly
behind it, fixed with wall ties would be needed. Stretcher Bond is normally used a facade for the
main structural building. It can look very plain, but with the introduction of other patterns can
look very affective. Often this bond is used in garden walls, but you should look at other more
attractive bonds like English Bond or Flemish Bond when considering landscaping.
A stretcher is the longer face of the brick as seen in the elevation. In the brick of size 190 mm ×
90 mm × 90 mm, 190 mm × 90 mm face is the stretcher. In stretcher bond masonry all the bricks
are arranged in stretcher courses "
Header Bond
A header is the shorter face of the brick as seen in the elevation. In a standard brick it is 90 mm ×
90 mm face. In header bond brick masonry all the bricks are arranged in the header courses as
shown in Fig. 8.5. This type of bond is useful for the construction of one brick thick walls.
English Bond
English Bond brickwork is where the bricks are laid in alternate layers of headers and stretchers.
this bond is mainly used today as a decorative bond, often used in garden landscaping for screen
walls. The traditional way of laying the courses is often changed to have 1 course of headers,
then 3-5-7 courses in between the stretch course, this is referred to as Garden wall Bond. Like
Flemish Bond, this can be a very difficult bond to get right and will take a lot of practice.
Flemish Bond
This is where alternate bricks are placed as header and stretcher in every course. Each header is
placed centrally between the stretcher immediately above and below to maintain an even bond.
Flemish Bond, bond like others, is rarely used today on new modern buildings and is more suited
to garden walling and feature structures. It can be a very difficult bond to get to grips
with because it requires great attention to detail.

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Mortar is a bonding agent which is generally produced by mixing cementing or binding material

Some of the numerous functions of mortar in construction are given below.

The various types of bonds generally used in brick masonry are..

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