Types Of Masonry Walls

By-

Abhinav Daga (12BCL0247)

Avinash Thakur (12BCL0186)

Mohit Dwivedi (12BCL0172)

Sawan Thakur (12BCL0201)

Shobhit Mishra (12BCL0181)

What is Masonry ?

Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves.

The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone, cast stone,concrete block, glass block, stucco, and tile. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction. However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship, and the pattern in which the units are assembled can significantly affect the durability of the overall masonry construction.

Types of Masonry walls

Based on load bearing

• Load bearing masonry walls.

• Non-load bearing masonry walls.

Based on construction

• Solid walls

• Veneered walls

• Reinforced walls

• Cavity walls

Load bearing masonry walls

A load-bearing wall (or bearing wall) is a wall that bears a load resting upon it by conducting its weight to a foundation structure.

The materials most often used to construct load-bearing walls in large buildings are concrete, block, or brick.

Application Of Load Bearing Wall

Depending on the type of building and the number of stories, load-bearing walls are gauged to the appropriate thickness to carry the weight above them. Without doing so, it is possible that an outer wall could become unstable if the load exceeds the strength of the material used, potentially leading to the collapse of the structure.

HOUSING

TALL BUILDINGS

Non-Load Bearing Wall

Walls that are only intended to support themselves and the weight of the cladding or sheathings attached.

Non load bearing walls provide no structural support and may be interior or exterior walls.

SOLID WALLS

Masonry units laid close together with all joints filled solidly with mortar.

Solid walls are structurally bonded by metal ties, masonry headers or by joint reinforcement.

Where solid masonry walls are used, insulation and mechanical equipment are often installed within a furred space on the interior side of the wall. Below grade, insulation is often placed on the exterior side of the wall.

Types of Insulation In Solid Walls

Internal Wall Insulation

Will slightly reduce the floor area of any rooms in which it is applied (the thickness of the insulation is around 100mm)

Is disruptive, but can be done room by room

Requires skirting boards, door frames and external fittings to be removed and reattached

Can make it hard to fix heavy items to inside walls – although special fixings are available

is generally cheaper to install than external wall insulation

External Wall Insulation

Can be applied without disruption to the household 

Does not reduce the floor area of your home

Renews the appearance of outer walls 

Improves weatherproofing and sound resistance.

Fills cracks and gaps in the brickwork, which will reduce draughts

Increases the life of your walls by protecting the brickwork

Is best installed at the same time as external refurbishment work to reduce the cost

Is not recommended if the outer walls are structurally unsound and cannot be repaired.

Reinforced Masonry Walls

Reinforced masonry is any type of brick, concrete or other type of masonry that is strengthened or fortified with the use of other building materials to increase resistance to deterioration due to weight bearing or other forms of stress

One of the most common examples of reinforced masonry involves exterior walls that are created using concrete blocks or clay bricks. Along with the blocks or bricks, steel rods are worked into the structure, often using some type of vertical framework that aids in allowing the walls to bear up under its own weight, and the weight of the connecting walls and floors within the building.

The weaknesses of the masonry without reinforcement:

1. the sensitivity to cracks

2. the low flexural bearing capacity

Reinforcing in brickwork is applied for two causes: masonry is a quasibrittle material and is very sensitive to cracking. Therefore, one part of the cracks can be prevented by using reinforcing bars or mesh embedded in the bed joint, or the size of cracks can be significantly decreased. . The flexural (tension) bearing capacity of masonry increases considerably with reinforcing.

Using reinforcement to prevent cracks horizontal bed joint reinforcement can be applied in the following cases :

1. if temperature changes or moisture content variations occur, the bricks may dry out, and cracks will arise as a consequence of shrinkage.

2. Strains resulting from differential settlement (Fig. 6 a) or

3. creep can cause big cracks.

4. At the corner of a building and at the cross junction cracks are very common due to the different strain of the differently loaded wall sections. This type of cracks can be decreased with the reinforcing of the junction. In the Fig. 6 b the consecutive layers of a T junction can be seen.

5. Infill walls (Fig. 6 d) in reinforced concrete frames can suffer damage due to the deflection of the floor.

6. In the place of concentrated load induction (Fig. 6 c), tensile stresses occur in the plane perpendicular to loading, which can be handled by the bed joint reinforcement. Increasing the load bearing capacity, the reinforcement improves the stiffness of the masonry, and it distributes the stresses almost uniformly. For example by increasing the capacity of the masonry lintels or beams around openings (Fig. 6 e, f), frameworks and steelworks may be prevented. For that purposes, prefabricated reinforcement meshes and lintel hooks are available.

7. If the walls of cellars (Fig. 6 g) and retaining walls are unable to carry the loads from the pressure of the soil, it is recommended to use vertical joint reinforcement; however, the implementation is more difficult.

The Types of Reinforced Masonry WallsDepending on which materials are used, and how they are located, reinforced masonry (RM) walls can be divided into the following classes:

•confined masonry

•reinforced cavity masonry

•reinforced solid masonry

•reinforced hollow unit masonry

•reinforced grouted masonry

•reinforced pocket type walls.

VENEERED WALLSMASONRY

Veneered Masonry Wall

A brick veneer wall is constructed by having a non-structural external layer, usually with bricks and it isbacked by an air cavity.

The innermost element of this type of wall is structural can consist of wood, metal framing or masonry.

A brick veneer construction has many advantages over solid masonry. It shares some of the advantagesof a cavity wall.

A brick veneer masonry wall is light weight, thermally efficient and can help in reducing costs.

Advantages

The airspace between the brick veneer wall and the structural element acts as a drainage system.

The cavity can be insulated and this improves the thermal performance of the wall.

The structural element can be constructed first and this allows the rest of the construction to proceed. The brick veneer can be completed simultaneously.

A brick veneer construction takes less time to complete than a solid masonry wall which will give cost savings.

A veneer wall will weigh much less than a solid wall. Since the weight is less, the cost of the foundationand structural support can be reduced.

Disadvantage

Masonry walls are durable and long lasting, but they

have one weak point: water penetration.

Solution

Flashing

Some examples of brick veneered masonry walls.

CAVITY WALLS

INTRODUCTION

THE CAVITY WALL METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION WAS INTRODUCED IN THE NORTHWEST EUROPE DURING THE 19th CENTURY AND GAINED THE WIDESPREAD USE FROM 1920’S.

IN SOME EARLY EXAMPLES STONES WERE USED TO TIE THE TWO LEAVES OF THE CAVITY WALLS TOGETHER.INITIALLY CAVITY WIDTHS WERE EXTREMELY NARROW AND WERE PRIMARILY IMPLEMENTED TO PREVENT THE PASSAGE OF MOISTURE INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING.

THE CAVITY WALLS CONSIST OF TWO SKINS SEPERATED BY A HOLLOW SPACE (CAVITY).

THE SKINS ARE COMMONLY MASONRY SUCH AS BRICK OR CONCRETE BLOCK. MASONRY IS AN ABSORBENT MATERIAL AND THEREFORE WILL SLOWLY DRAW RAINWATER OR EVEN HUMIDITY INTO THE WALL.

THE CAVITY SERVES AS A WAY TO DRAIN THIS WATER BACK OUT THROUGH WEEP HOLES AT THE BASE OF THE WALL SYSTEM OR ABOVE WINDOWS.

THE REASON CAVITY INSULATION KEEPS HEAT IN IS THAT THE POLYMER AND AIR IN THE CAVITY ARE GOOD INSULATORS.

Thank you !!