Analysis reveals that while mortar bonds matter, the bond's extent may dictate leakage risks in masonry walls.
The subject of water permeance of masonry walls has been of much interest and controversy for over fifty years. Leakage of such walls has been blamed on mortar, workmanship, and occasionally design. Mortar has increasingly come under fire principally because of proprietary interests. Masonry bond is twofold: (1) Strength of the bonding or adhesion between the mortar and the masonry unit and (2) extent or area of the bonding at the interface of the mortar and the unit. With respect to leakage, the bond strength is relatively unimportant if the extent of bond is poor.
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H. C. Fischer (1992) studied this question.
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