Question

In a masonry wall, the strength of the mortar should be __________ that of the masonry unit.

(a) Lesser than

(b) Greater than

(c) Equal to

(d) Greater than or equal to

The question was asked in an online interview.

The question is from Load Bearing Walls topic in portion Load Bearing Walls of Construction & Building Materials

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

(a) Lesser than

In a masonry wall, the strength of the mortar should be lesser than that of the masonry unit. This is because the mortar is meant to hold the masonry units together and should not be stronger than the units themselves, which would cause the masonry units to fail before the mortar does. The mortar should have enough strength to bind the units effectively but not exceed the strength of the units to avoid premature failure of the wall.