Mortar binds bricks to each other and courses to each other. It is the “glue" that holds masonry units together. Before the mortar is set it can be troweled, in which case the excess is simply cut off with a trowel, or it can be tooled. When tooling, special tools are used to compress and shape the mortar, leaving a distinctive mark on the structure. Jointers, stickers, rakers, benders and sledrunners are commonly used to tool joints.
Mortar joints are often typical of a particular era or geographic location. When choosing a mortar joint the style of the structure should be considered, as well as the amount of time permitted to work on the structure and the durability of the joint. The most effective joints for moisture resistance are the concave, vee-shaped and weathered joints. One of the most time consuming joints to fashion is the weathered joint since it must be worked from below.
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