A small piece of metal or the hardest or toughest stone procurable, sunk in mortices and fixed across the joints as additional ties is known as
- ACramp
- BDowelCorrect
- CCornice
- DCorbel
Solution
Concept
Types of stone masonry joint ties
Formula
NONE
Step-by-step solution
1. Masonry joints can be tied using specialized metal or stone inserts sunk into mortices. Answer: B
Explanation
A dowel is a short piece of metal or hard stone inserted into mortises across masonry joints to tie adjacent stones together. It prevents relative movement between adjacent units by providing additional shear resistance across the joint. Therefore, option B correctly identifies a dowel.
Why the other options are wrong
A) Cramps are metal strips used to tie masonry units together, but option C is designated here. D) Corbels are projecting stone brackets designed to bear vertical loads.
Shortcut
Dowel is a metal pin or tough stone inserted into mortices across stone joints to hold them together.
Common mistake
Selecting Cramp (option A) by confusing surface metal ties with dowels sunk internally into mortices across joints.
Correct answer: B) Dowel