Weathering and deterioration of masonry joints

There are several styles and kinds of masonry joints. The masonry joint is the area of mortar in between your block, brick, or stone. On brick and block the vertical joints are referred to as head joints and the horizontal joints are referred to as bed joints.

The way in which you tool, or joint your masonry work is not only for aesthetic purposes. In drier climates masonry joint style is strictly personal preference. While some styles of jointing are more resilient to weather, when you live in a climate like Michigan where you have high precipitation and constantly shifting seasons jointing style can be structural and more than just personal preference.

The first style of jointing is the concave joint. The concave joint also is good at concealing small irregularities in masonry construction.

The "V" joint is very similar to the concave joint. It is also a very weather resistant form of jointing. The primary difference between the "v" joint and the "s" joint is the "v" joint provides a very small line in the center of the mortar joint. The "v" joint is not nearly as common as the concave joint.

Another style of joint is the weather joint. The weather joint is the most weather resilient style of joint. This is because it seals evenly against the bottom edge of the brickwork and allows moisture to drain off of it.

The fourth style of mortar joint is the rake joint. The rake joint is a deeper joint than the concave joint and can look very appealing on more textured or uneven brick. The rake joint is achieved through the use of either a tool called a rake jointer (skate) or by wire brushing the mortar between the bricks out to the desired depth.

While this may sound like the easiest and worst appearing of the joints, for the trained mason this is actually the hardest type of joint. This means that without any thought at all the mason will oftentimes find his trowel scraping away the excess mortar between the joints in order to apply the mortar to the head joint of the next brick he lays. The weeping joint is the only joint not pictured below.

The sixth style of jointing is the flush joint. The flush joint is the easiest of the joints for a mason to construct. The flush joint is typically used under walls that are going to be painted or not seen. It is where the mason simply scrapes the excess mortar out from between the bricks. No additional tooling is required.

The beaded joint is a raised and rounded, bead-shaped segment of the mortar away from the mortar surface producing an old-fashioned, formal design. Although beaded joints can create interesting shadows, they are not recommended for exterior use due to their exposed ledges. Beaded joints allow moisture to penetrate your masonry work.

The eight style of joint is the struck joint. The struck joint provides poor weather resistance but will emphasize the bed joints of your masonry construction nicely.

The final style of jointing is the grapevine joint. The grapevine joint is a combination of the struck joint and the "v" joint.

On brick and block the vertical joints are referred to as head joints and the horizontal joints are referred to as bed joints.

The primary difference between the "v" joint and the "s" joint is the "v" joint provides a very small line in the center of the mortar joint. The "v" joint is not nearly as common as the concave joint.

The rake joint is a deeper joint than the concave joint and can look very appealing on more uneven or textured brick. The grapevine joint is a combination of the struck joint and the "v" joint.