Why cement mortar need to be consumed within 30 min just after it is mixed? Cement mortar is a mixture of cement, sand, and water used for various construction purposes such as plastering, masonry, and laying bricks. The reason why cement mortar needs to be consumed within 30 minutes after its preparation is due to … Read more
Properties of Mortar Properties of mortar which are sought for use in masonry are: workability, water retentivity, rate of stiffening, strength, resistance to rain penetration and durability. These properties have been discussed below explaining their effect on masonry. Choice of masonry mortar is governed by several considerations such as Type of masonry unit and its … Read more
PLASTERING The following topics are covered in this post. What is plastering? What are the requirements of good plaster? Different types of mortars for plastering Number of coats of plastering How to preparation of background before plastering? What are the recommended mortars mixes for different situation? What are the defects in plastering? What is plastering? … Read more
Technical Properties of Mortar For the sake of projects, the newly mixed mortar should have good workability, and the hardened mortar should have the required strength, the bending power to the bottom face, little deformation and durability. 1. Workability of Fresh Mortar The workability of fresh mortar refers to the comprehensive properties of mortar easy … Read more
Characteristics of Good Mortar The chief properties of hardened mortar are strength, development of good bond with building units, resistance to weathering and those of green mortar mixes are mobility, placability and water retention. In addition, the mortar should be cheap and durable and should not affect the durability of building units in contact. The … Read more
Purpose Water retentivity of mortar is the ability of mortars to retain water against suction and evaporation in general. It is indirectly a measure of the workability of mortars. Apparatus The apparatus used for this test consists of a water aspirator or other source of vacuum controlled by way of a three way stopcock to … Read more
Why to Use Clean Sand for Mortar? Contaminated sand will not bind with cement, hence is weakening the mortar. Also sand with high percentage of clay or silt will weaken the mortar, because the clay or silt contains too many fines that needs to be covered by cement for proper binding. Why Use Fresh Cement … Read more
What is Mortar? It is a plastic mixture of binding material (like cement, lime, etc), fine aggregates (like sand, surkhi, etc), water and any admixture approved by the engineer in-charge. This is used to bond masonry or structural units. There are different types of mortar used in construction industry. The following are the type of … Read more
Consistency of mortar is tested by using a standard cone apparatus. In this test a cone weighing 300 g is allowed to fall from a specified height to penetrate through the mortar. The depth of penetration of the cone is called its consistency value. It is expressed in mm. To read the test procedure click … Read more
What is Consistency? The term consistency of masonry mortar means its property of mobility or fluidity. Consistency means the property of holding together all the ingredients without leading to segregation of mortar. It generally ranges from stiff to fluid. The working consistency of the mortar is usually judged by the worker during application. What are … Read more