BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 2

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

MASONRY

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.0 MASONRY WALLS
Masonry walls consist of modular building blocks bonded together with mortar to
form walls that are durable, fire-resistant, and structurally efficient in compression.
Masonry walls may be constructed as solid walls, cavity walls, or veneered walls.

SOLID CAVITY VENEERED

WALL WALL WALL
ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
Masonry walls may also be classified as unreinforced or reinforced.
Unreinforced masonry walls, also called plain masonry walls, incorporate horizontal joint
reinforcement and metal wall ties to bond wythes of a solid or cavity walls.

SOLID MASONRY CAVITY WALLS MASONRY

Reinforced masonry walls, utilize steel reinforcing bars embedded in grout filled joints
and cavities to aid the masonry in resisting stresses.

Wythe – refers to a continuous vertical section of a wall that is one masonry unit in thickness.
Grout – 1. Mortar containing a considerable amount of water so that it has the consistency of a viscous liquid, permitting it to be poured or pumped into joints, spaces, and
cracks within masonry walls and floors, between pieces of ceramic tiles, and into joints between preformed roof deck units. 2. In foundation work, mixtures of
cement, cement-sand, clay or chemicals; used to fill voids in granular soils, usually by a process of successive injection through drilled holes.
ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
3.1 TYPES OF MASONRY UNITS
The most common types of masonry units are bricks, which are heat-hardened clay units, and
concrete blocks, which are chemically hardened units. Other types of masonry units include
structural clay tile, structural glass block, and natural or cast stone.

CONCRETE
BLOCK

BRICK GLASS BLOCK STRUCTURAL CLAY TILE

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.2 MORTAR
Mortar is a plastic mixture of cement or lime, or a combination of both, with sand and
water, used as a bonding agent in masonry construction.

TYPES OF MORTAR ACCORDING TO MATERIAL

CONSTITUENCY

1. Cement mortar is made by mixing portland cement, sand,

and water.
2. Lime mortar is a mixture of lime, sand, and water that is
rarely used because of its slow rate of hardening and low
compressive strength.
3. Cement-lime mortar is a cement mortar to which lime is
added to increase its plasticity and water retentivity.
4. Masonry cement is a proprietary mix of Portland cement
and other ingredients, as hydrated lime, plasticizers, air-
entraining agents, and gypsum, requiring only the addition
of sand and water to make cement mortar.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

 TYPES OF MORTAR ACCORDING TO STRENGTH
1. Type M mortar is a high strength mortar recommended for use in reinforced masonry below
grade or in contact with the earth, as foundation and retaining walls subject to high lateral or
compressive loads; compressive strength is 2500 psi (17,238 kPa).

2. Type S mortar is a medium-high-strength mortar recommended for use in masonry where bond
and lateral strength are more important than compressive strength; compressive strength is
1800 psi (12,411 kPa).

3. Type N mortar is a medium-strength mortar recommended for general use in exposed masonry
above grade where high compressive and lateral strength are not required; compressive
strength is 750 psi (5,171 kPa).

4. Type O mortar is a low-strength mortar suitable for use in interior non-load bearing walls and
partitions.

5. Type K mortar is a very low-strength mortar suitable only for use in interior non-load bearing
walls where permitted by the building code.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

 3.3 CHB WALL CONSTRUCTION
Concrete Block or Cement Block is a hollow or solid concrete masonry unit (CMU) consisting of
Portland cement and suitable aggregates combined with water. Lime, fly ash, air-entraining
agents, or other admixtures may be included.

TYPES OF CONCRETE HOLLOW BLOCKS

A stretcher is a masonry unit

laid horizontally with its
length in the direction of the
face of the wall.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.4 LAYOUT OF CHB

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.5 WALL FOOTING
The wall footing or strip footing is a strip of
reinforced concrete wider than the wall which
distributes the load to the soil. Reinforcements
for wall footings shall equal 0.2% to 0.3% of the
cross sectional area of concrete, except for
unusual cases.

*MERCADO, JOSE L. The Architectural Reviewer,

Vol. II: Materials and Methods of
Construction

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

To provide anchorage of CHB to concrete, the following are used:

a) Hook or hooked bar – a steel reinforcing bar, for use in reinforced concrete, with the end bent into a hook
to provide anchorage. Used in joint with the wall footing.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

b) Dowel-bar reinforcement – short, reinforcing bars of steel which extend approximately equally into
two abutting pieces of concrete, to increase the strength of the joint. Used in joint with columns or
beams.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.6 STIFFENER COLUMNS AND BEAMS

CHB partition walls are ideally supported against

lateral movements vertically by stiffener columns
and horizontally by stiffener beams. A stiffener
column is located at the intersections of CHB walls
and at regular intervals (of about 3 M) for a long
partition wall. Stiffener columns are in the form of
an I, T or an L.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.6 STIFFENER COLUMNS AND BEAMS

CHB partition walls are ideally supported against

lateral movements vertically by stiffener columns
and horizontally by stiffener beams. A stiffener
column is located at the intersections of CHB walls
and at regular intervals (of about 3 M) for a long
partition wall. Stiffener columns are in the form of
an I, T or an L.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

In low cost construction, however, stiffener columns may be substituted
for a grouted cell (or, a CHB cell compacted with grout) while stiffener RC
beams for bond beams.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
A lintel is a horizontal structural member (such as a beam) over an opening which carries
the weight of the wall above it; usually of steel, stone, or wood.
In CHB construction, a lintel is constructed with lintel blocks or U-blocks, which have a
single core with an open end; usually placed with its open end upright; such blocks form a
continuous beam when filled with grout and proper reinforcement.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

 3.7 ON GRADE CONSTRUCTION
3.7.1 CONCRETE SLAB ON GRADE

Concrete slabs on grade

require the support of a level,
stable, uniformly dense or
properly compacted soil base
containing no organic matter.
When placed over soil of low
bearing capacity or expansive
soils, a concrete ground slab
must be designed as a mat or
raft foundation, which requires
professional analysis and
design by a qualified structural
engineer.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.7.2 CONCRETE SLAB ON GRADE JOINTS
Three types of joints are done in order to accommodate movement in the plane
of a concrete slab on grade:

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.7.3 GRADE BEAMS
Grade Beam – that part of a foundation system (usually in a building without a basement) which supports the exterior
wall of the superstructure; commonly designed as a beam which bears directly on the column footings, or may be self-
supporting, as a long strap footing.

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.8 CONCRETE PIERS ON ISOLATED FOOTINGS
3.8.1 WOOD POSTS ON CONCRETE PIERS

Wood posts are anchor strapped to and supported by reinforced concrete piers on
isolated footings. For the wood post to seat perfectly on the concrete, grout is poured in
between the joint.

Pier – 1. A column designed to support concentrated load. 2. A member, usually in the form of a thickened section, which forms an integral part of a wall;
usually placed at intervals along the wall to provide lateral support or to take concentrated vertical loads.
Isolated Footing – the individual spread footing supporting a freestanding column or pier.
ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
3.8.1 WOOD BEAMS ON CONCRETE PIERS

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.9 POSTS
Wood posts may be solid, built-up, or spaced. In selecting a wood
post, the following should be considered: lumber species, structural
grade, modulus of elasticity, and allowable compressive, bending and
shear stress value permitted for the intended use. In addition,
attention must be paid to the precise loading conditions and the types
of connections used.

Wood posts are loaded axially in compression. Failure can result in

crushing of wood fibers if the maximum unit stress exceeds the
allowable unit stress in compression parallel to the grain. The load
capacity of the post is also determined by its slenderness ratio. As
the slenderness ratio of a post increases, a post can fail from
buckling.
ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM
3.9.2 TYPES OF WOOD POSTS/COLUMNS

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM

3.9.2 WOOD POST-BEAM CONNECTIONS

ARCH.CARMELA C. QUIZANA,uap, MSCM