Brick and concrete

masonry manholes
Though largely supplanted by precast components, masonry manholes still
serve well for tight sites or chemical waste lines

By Christine Beall

use in manholes and catch basins sion-resistance in the sewer lines

B
rick and concrete masonry
can be selected as building where a high and uniform degree themselves, Grade SS or SM sew-
materials not only for their of resistance to frost action and er brick are used.
aesthetic qualities, but also for disintegration is needed because Figure 1 shows a typical brick
quite utilitarian purposes. Ma- of the likelihood of the brick freez- masonry manhole. Generally,
sonry manholes have long been ing when saturated with water. cast iron manhole covers are sup-
designed and built because of Grade MM manhole brick offer ported by a circular section of un-
their structural soundness, du- only “moderate and non-uniform” reinforced brick masonry. The
rability, economy, and minimal resistance to such frost action. brick are laid radially in a cylin-
maintenance requirements. For low absorption and high abra- der of about 4 feet in diameter. At
Although, for the most part,
masonry has been supplanted by
precast concrete as the predomi-
nant material for manholes, there
still are situations in which brick
or block are preferred. One obvi-
ous example is in the repair of
existing masonry manholes.
Another example is in sewer
systems designed to carry chemi-
cal wastes from industrial
processes. Clay sewer and man-
hole brick provide greater resis-
tance against chemical attack
than portland-cement-based ma-
terials do, and thus hold up bet-
ter when exposed to chemical
wastes.
Masonry also is a good option
in cases where access to the site is
limited or the terrain is difficult
to negotiate. If the equipment
needed to transport a precast
manhole either is unavailable or
unable to reach the site, bringing
in masonry materials and con-
structing the manhole in the field
may be the best alternative.
ASTM C 32 (Ref. 1) covers two
grades of clay or shale manhole
brick. Grade MS is intended for Figure 1. Typical brick manhole
the neck, the brick are corbelled
inward toward the top to form a
clear opening of at least 20 inch-
es. Empirical design requires an
8-inch-thick wall for depths of 12
feet or less. For each additional 6
feet of depth or fraction thereof,
add 4 inches to the required thick-
ness. If thinner walls are desir-
able, the structure must be de-
s i g n e da sr e i n f o r c e db r i c km a s o n r y.
Concrete block for manhole
construction is covered by ASTM
C 139 (Ref. 3). These blocks are
solid, precast segmental concrete
masonry units made from port-
land cement, water, and aggre-
gate. They also may contain hy-
drated lime or fly ash.
Figure 2 shows both the stan-
dard segmental units in the main
body of the manhole and the
“batter block” used for construc-
tion of the cone section. The cone
reduces the inside diameter from
4 feet to 2 feet at the top to re-
ceive a standard metal manhole
cover. The number and size of
batter units required to create
the cone are predetermined by
the manufacturer so that no field
cutting is required. For nonstan-
dard cover sizes, the wall of the
structure is built without reduc-
tion in diameter for the entire
depth. Then a precast or cast-in-
place slab is added at the top to
accommodate the cover.
The bottoms of masonry man-
hole structures usually are made
of precast or cast-in-place con-
crete. If rock is encountered in the
excavation, dig at least 6 inches
below the required elevation for
the bottom of the structure. Back-
fill with 6 inches of sand, then
PUBLICATION #M930546
Copyright © 1993, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved
place the concrete base on the
sand fill.
The manhole itself should be
laid with Type M mortar because
o fi t sd u r a b i l i t yi nb e l o w - g r a d ec o n-
struction. Brick manholes should
be parged on the outside with a
coating of Type M mortar also.
Heavily galvanized ladder
rungs may be attached inside the
manhole, embedded at about 16
inches on center. Granular ma-
terial such as sand, gravel, or
crushed rock is then used to back-
fill the completed structure.
Contractors interested in pur-
suing opportunities for manhole
construction should look for spec-
ifications in Division 2—Sitework
in contract documents. Masonry
manholes generally are specified
there rather than as a separate
masonry contract. It also might
be worth contacting land develop-
ers and landscape architects to
make them aware of your inter-
est in the work.
Christine Beall is an architect and consul-
tant in Columbus, Texas, and a frequent
contributor to this magazine.
References
1. ASTM C 32, “Standard Specification for
Sewer and Manhole Brick (Made from Clay
or Shale),” ASTM, 1916 Race St., Philadel-
phia, PA 19103.
2. “Brick and Tile in Sanitation Structures,”
BIA Technical Notes on Brick Construction,
N u m b e r3 4 ,B r i c kI n s t i t u t eo fA m e r i c a ,1 1 4 9 0
Commerce Park Dr., Reston, VA 22091.
3. ASTM C 139, “Standard Specification for
Concrete Masonry Units for Construction of
Catch Basins and Manholes,” ASTM.
4. W. C. Panarese, S. H. Kosmatka, & F. A.
Randall, Concrete Masonry Handbook,
Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old Or-
chard Rd., Skokie, IL 60077.