Mortar flaws??

[Chet]

OK, I thought my eyes were going to h*ll when I looked at this photo of a masonry wall. See the "swirlies" in the mortar?

They really are there when you look at the wall. I can't say I've ever seen this before. This is a face brick over block wall - not precast or tip-up construction.

Anyone ever had a similar sighting? Is this poor workmanship or just a funny viewing angle?

 

[Jeff]

Is that just dirty sections of mortar which make it look swirly?

 

[donk]

it looks like poor / sloppy workmanship. Take a look at the area near the run off spout. it appears that the water gets trapped in the swirls and exaggerates them.

or it could be a lame attempt to make a blank wall more appealing