When it comes to masonry, the color, size and shape of the brick to be used are, of course, of great significance to the end result of a design. But without mortar and grout, the bricks in “traditional” masonry do not form a whole that can be described as a wall.

As with the choice of stone, there are many different options when it comes to grouting. Joints or no joints? Or perhaps just the (horizontal) ribbon joints without the (vertical) butt joints? How thick (or thin) will the joints be executed? Will the bricks be mortared with a mortar that is finished with a grout or will a continuous grout be used, whereby the grout is also the finished grout? What color of mortar is used and if grouting is applied, what is the type of grout? Flat, recessed, cut or one of the other variants?

The influence of the grout on the appearance and appearance of the overall masonry is not small. Therefore, in consultation with the contractor, I prefer to have a few samples set up, as was the case with the new building in Veldhoven that I looked at with the client at the end of the day. The contractor had set up four samples, two, shown on the left, where the grout is about 3mm deep and two, shown on the right, where the stone has just been grouted freely. And of each grout type also, in each case, a dark anthracite color, visible above, and an anthracite color, visible below. And although the differences seem small, the effect is definitely visible.

After a tour of the construction finally tied the knot together. Which one it became? We’ll keep that a secret for now… But both clients and architect agree that it was the right choice.