Mortar set

ICPI's glossary defines mortar-set pavement by that phrase, units adhered directly to a concrete base using mortar, with the joints filled with mortar or stabilized joint material. That is a different arrangement from a sand-set surface, where the units are compacted into bedding sand and the joints are filled with sand rather than mortar.

The Brick Industry Association explains the constraint: pavers set in a mortar setting bed should be installed only over a concrete base, because other types of bases are not rigid enough to resist cracking of the mortar joints.

That narrows the choice ICPI's definition of a paver base otherwise leaves open, where a base can be aggregate, asphalt or concrete: under mortar-set paving, only concrete qualifies. A cracked mortar joint is a repair for an installer or a mason, and a cleaning does not mend it.

BIA's clay-paver classification names the counterpart directly: Type R pavers are intended to be set in a mortar setting bed with mortar joints over a concrete base, the rigid system its own Technical Note on mortar-set clay paving covers for pedestrian and light vehicular pavements.

That note keys mortar-set clay paving as a rigid pavement, while BIA's Type F clay pavers are intended for a sand setting bed with sand-filled joints instead. How clay brick is cleaned, compared with concrete pavers, is answered on can clay brick be cleaned like concrete pavers, and whether clay brick pavers should be sealed at all is the subject of can brick pavers be sealed. Which bed a reclaimed Chicago brick surface sits in is a question for whoever laid it. Pool coping, the row of material forming the top of a pool wall, is a separate element with its own page.