[MORTAR JOINTS]
Great Importance
In examining the bond in a brick wall, the eye naturally is first attracted to the brick units as so many colored spots arranged in different order so as to produce a certain pattern effect; but this pattern effect in the brickwork depends very largely upon what at first may be overlooked or disregarded, the mortar joint. The mention of mortar suggests in the mind a very commonplace thing which the workman mixes and carries in a hod to the bricklayer; but it is concave one of the most important elements entering into the beauty, as well as the strength, of a brick wall.
Fig. 57. Mortar Joints
Effect of Mortar Color
When you consider that all the joints in brickwork, both vertical or "head" joints, and horizontal or "bed" joints, are filled with mortar weathered of one color or another, amounting on an average to one-seventh of the wall, it is evident what a vital part they play in the appearance of the entire wall surface. An artist will tell you that this amount of color introduced into any surface will greatly modify, by contrast or analogy, the general effect, so that it is of the utmost importance, in selecting the sort of brick you wish for your wall surface, that you also select the mortar joint.
Three Elements Involved
Three elements must be carefully considered in dealing with the mortar joint: its color, its texture, and its size and kind. The color of the mortar joint may be such as entirely to destroy the beauty of the brick. On the other hand, if it is properly chosen, it will bring out the fine shades and tones of the brick in such a way as to enhance very greatly its natural beauty. Then, the mortar joint has a certain texture which is produced either by finishing it rough or smoothing it with the trowel or a tool made for that purpose. This mere treatment of the surface of the mortar joint has more to do with the appearance of the wall than one might at first suppose. In addition to that, the size of the mortar joint, running from a thin "buttered" joint up to an inch in width affects the color relation of the whole surface; and the kind of joint, whether cut flush, raked out, or tooled in various shapes, has a distinct bearing on the whole effect ([Fig. 57]). In a word, do not neglect the mortar joint, for it is one of the most important elements that go to make up the beautiful fabric of the brick wall, in the building of which there is deserved and required the exercise of a fine discriminating taste.