FUNCTIONS OF MORTAR IN BUILDING WORKS

The following are the major functions of mortar:

1. To bind building materials such as bricks and stones into a solid mass.
2. To carry out pointing and plasterwork on exposed surfaces of masonry.
3. To form an even and soft bedding layer for building units.
4. To form joints of pipes.
5. To improve the general appearance of a structure.
6. To prepare moulds for coping, corbels, cornice, etc.
7. To serve as a matrix or cavity to hold the coarse aggregates, etc.
8. To distribute uniformly the super-incumbent weight from the upper layer to the lower layer of bricks or stones.
9. To hide the open joints of brickwork and stonework.
10. To fill up the cracks detected in the structure during maintenance process, etc.