Grout is a thin, pourable cement-based mixture used to fill hollow block cores, the space behind stone veneer, or gaps around reinforcing steel, distinct from the thicker mortar used to bond masonry units.
Grout is a thin, pourable cement-based mixture, wetter and more flowable than mortar, used to fill the hollow cores of concrete block, the gap behind stone veneer, or the space around reinforcing steel in a masonry wall. Where mortar is meant to hold its shape and bond units together at the joint, grout is designed to flow into voids and cavities and lock everything solid once it cures. The two aren't interchangeable even though both are cement-based.
Grouted block cores and reinforced retaining wall cells matter for keeping water out of the wall's interior, where it can freeze, expand, and crack the block or corrode the rebar it's protecting. On block foundations and reinforced retaining walls we build in the foothills, solid grouting around the steel isn't optional, it's what keeps the wall's structural reinforcement doing its job through decades of freeze-thaw cycles instead of failing quietly from the inside.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
Chelo's Brick & Stone serves Hillsville, Galax, Wytheville, Fancy Gap, and Independence, VA. Call for a straight answer and a free on-site estimate.
