Masonry

WALL SYSTEM
masonry walls consist of modular building blocks bonded together with mortar

masonry walls are durable, fire-resistant, and structurally efficient in compression

uses MORTAR as a bonding agent

a buit-up construction or combination of building materials such as clay, concrete, or stone

masonry walls may be constructed as:

solid construction

cavity

veneer

other forms of classification for masonry walls would be

unreinforced — units are “stacked” bonded with mortar and compressive in strength

reinforced — has steel reinforcing bars embedded; helps resisting stress and can resist
greater lateral forces

TYPES OF MASONRY UNITS

BRICKS
1. structural units of clay or shale formed while plastic and subsequently fired

2. standard size: 3 3/4” x 2 1/4” x 8” (76.2 x 50.8 x 203.2)

HOW ITS MADE

1. bricks are made by screening, grinding, and working clay to the desired consistency

2. it is then molded by hand or with a machine

3. the bricks are subsequently fired to strengthen it

BRICK TERMINOLOGIES

1. soldier — short ends with wide faces (vertical)

2. sailor — perfect cube

3. stretcher — long edges with wide faces (horizontal)

4. header — short ends long faces (horizontal)

5. rowlock stretcher — wide edges with short faces (horizontal)

6. rowlock — long edges and long faces (horizontal)

7. bond (breaking joint) — the connection between bricks, stone, or other masonry units

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 COMMON OR BUILDING BRICK

used for all purposes, including facing

solid and cored bricks

TYPES OF BRICKS

facing brick

has specific surface characteristics

is used for exposed masonry surfaces

glazed brick

has a smooth outer surface

can be dull satin or high gloss finish

fire brick

also called Refactory brick

ordinarily made from a mixture of flint clay and plastic clay

used for the lining of furnaces, fireplaces, and chinmeys

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 CONCRETE

CONCRETE HOLLOW BLOCKS

also called cement block

a concrete masonry unit made of Portland Cement and suitable aggregates combined with
water

thickness height length

100mm (4”) 200mm (8”) 400mm (16”)

150mm (6”)

200mm (8”)

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 CHB of 100mm thickness should be used only for interior partition walls where weather-
tightness is not required

CHB walls are heavy

when resting on grade, it must be supported from below

reinforcement for CHB walls are commonly:

10mm diameter vertical bars at 600mm O.C

10mm diamter horizontal bars every third layer

CHB cells with reinforcements are filled with cement mortar

mortar joints are ideally 10mm thick but are usually made larger

dowel bars are used to anchor CHB walls to the concrete frame’s columns and beams

this allows the CHB walls to have something to hold on to and resist “falling over”

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 dowel bars embedded into the wall footings or grade beams which will be connected to the
vertical bars

CHB wall can be strengthened in the corners by:

STIFFENER COLUMNS

GROUTED CELL OR INTERLOCK CONSTRUCTION

CHB walls cannot be too big; it must be supported at regular intervals by:

STIFFENER COLUMNS (vertical every 3m)

STIFFENER BEAMS (horizontal every 3m)

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 keeping the CHB in place

a horizontal structural member (such as beams over an opening)

can be constructed with lintel blocks, u-blocks, or can be cast-in-place

lintel blocks area usually placed with its open end upright

the bloocks form a cotinuous beam when filled with grout and proper reinforcement

OTHER TYPES OF MASONRY UNITS

1. insulated masonry — insulation may also be integrated in between layers of concrete

2. extruded polystyrene — in between layers of masonry can be insulation for climate adaptive
features

STONE
one of the earliest building materials

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 still largely used in construction until the 1900s (structurally speaking)

TYPES OF STONES USED IN CONSTRUCTION

1. granite

2. marble

3. travertine

4. sandstone

5. limestone

6. slate

TYPES OF STONE CUTS

1. rubble — delivered from the quarries rough and irregular in shape

2. dimension — cut into specific sizes and squared to dimensions; cut with a specific thickness

MORTARS AND PLASTERS

a cement mix used to glue masonry units to each other

also used to glue other surface finishing materials like bricks and stones to a receiving
structure like a wall or floor

HANDLING MORTAR
can be mixed by hand or a mechanical mixer

hand mixing should be done on water tight platforms made to prevent the loss of cement

the cement and sand should be mixed dry in small batches on a clean platform

water is added after the cement and sand has been thoroughly mixed

mortar should never be re-tampered after it has begun to set

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 PLASTER
mortar applied to wall surfaces as a preparation or a hard finish coat

applied in coats (layers) to masonry surfaces, lath or various types of plaster board

produces a hard finish surface to interior or exterior walls and ceilings

fiber or hair is sometimes added to the mixture to give increased strength as when used for
the first coat

METHODS OF PLASTERING
THREE-COAT

apply binding coat called scratch coat

apply as straightening coat called the brown-coat

apply a final coat called the finish coat

TWO-COAT

combined scratch and brown-coat is applied

finish coat is applied

REINFORCED CONCRETE WALLS

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 LOAD BEARING WALL — a wall on which either a floor or roof construction rests

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