Introduction to masonry and

masonry construction
AN Fried
Surrey University.

General information
1. Queries please contact me by e-mail or
knock on the door.
2. Design is to BS 5628 and supporting
standards.
3. Information on EC6 will be provided
4. U-Learn is used as a repository for
notes, presentations and courseworks.

UNIT 1- Introduction
Total study time 12 hours

Considers :
Development of masonry materials
Developments in design and construction.

Historical Introduction
Consider the historical use of bricks.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Great Wall of China
Medieval Castles
Brunelleschis Dome in Florence
The Taj Mahal
Victorian sewers under London (1200 miles)

How is masonry used in buildings

Primary uses exist :
Load bearing structures
Enclosing structures in framed structures.

History of Bricks
Near East and India - Bricks used for 5000yrs.
No natural stone
Bricks laid orthogonally. Gaps filled with bitumen, straw, marsh
reeds, and weeds.

Ancient Egyptians & Indus Valley Civilization - Mudbrick

used.
Unit dimensions - 4 : 2 : 1 [Same as today]

Romans - Fired bricks.

Mobile kilns
Exported brick usage.

12th century - Northern Italy - Fired bricks re-introduced.

Renaissance and Baroque periods Plastered bricks
used.
18th Century - Visible brick walls again popular
Transport of bricks costly locally produced
Stone considered superior to brick.
Brick flourished where stone was scarce.

History of Concrete Masonry

Concrete - Long history.
Ancient Egyptians.
Oldest concrete - 5600 BC
Modern era 1824

First concrete house 1835 in Kent.

First concrete blocks - 1850
Concrete block industry established - 1910,
Major growth - 1918 - 1939

History of Concrete Masonry

Post world war II
Steel short in supply. Concrete expanded.
1950 1960

Resumption of house building. Concrete blocks used.

Lightweight aggregate blocks introduced.
High quality facing concrete masonry.
High rise masonry buildings.
Reinforced masonry in seismic areas

1960 Present Expansion of concrete blocks.

Market share for masonry

Block Brick comparison

Concrete blocks proportion by type

Introduction to Mortar
Mortar for masonry.

Ancient mortars
Gypsum mortars.
Ash Lime mortar
Lime mortars.
Portland cement mortars
Portland cement mortars including lime.
Masonry cement mortars
Thin Layer mortars.

Ancient mortar.
Most ancient mortar
10,000 years old - Galilee, Israel
Constructions in excess of 5000years exist
Much of the mortar in these is still sound.

Gypsum mortar.
Pyramids Constructed using gypsum.
Paris Much of the old city re-constructed
using gypsum. Encourages damp.
Gypsum render has been used in the
past. Attracts water.
Not a modern alternative

Ash lime mortar

Ash materials are reactive in the same
ways as cement.
Ground brick has the same properties in
some cases.
Old bricks good ash lime mortar.
New bricks poor ash mortar {Excellent firing
renders active ingredients in-active}

Lime Mortars

Used for over 2000years.

Can take a long time to harden.

Quicklime
Raw material for lime mortar. Calcium Oxide

Hydrated lime
Add water to quick lime = Hydrated lime.
Hardens by carbonation slow process.

Hydraulic lime
Hydrated lime + clay impurities = Hydraulic lime. Gains strength at say 90
days. Acceptable.

Lime mortar is hydraulic lime. This is rare in the UK.

Hadrians wall (Roman) and tower of London (900 years old)

The development and types of modern cement

mortars
In 19th century lime mortars were the norm.
Cement mortars used from 1910 onwards.

Range of cement mortars.

Cement : sand
Cement : lime : sand
Cement : Sand plus plasticiser
Cement : sand Plus air entrainer
Cement : sand plus polymers.

Cement : ground limestone : sand. (Masonry cements)

Current practice
Factory mortars the norm.
Good quality and consistency

Wet ready to use

Dry ready to use
Lime sand for mortar

Construction
Site Practices and Requirements
Preparing and Building Reference Panels
When final visual appearance of masonry
important
Guarantees an objective assessment of visual
appearance throughout the contract.
Construct panels close to work on level firm base.
Use materials across several palettes to construct
the panels.
Use same bond and joint finish as specified in
final contract.

Handling, Storage and Protection of

Bricks and Blocks
Provide clean, firm, level surface for
storage.
Check colour of units against reference
panels if appearance important.
Maintain packaging as long as possible.
Store similar materials together.
Protect from excessive rain and splashing.

Transportation of Mortars
Wet ready-to-use mortar
Delivered in truckmixers
Needs no further mixing upon arrival on site.
Discharge mortar into purpose-made mortar tubs at central safe
convenient location.

Dry ready-to-use mortar

Delivered in silos or bulk bags,
Add water and mix on site.
Mortar discharged into mortar tubs for site distribution.

Mortar tubs.
Do not overfill.
Protect from frost.

Mortar management during construction

Wet ready-to-use mortar

Contains retarding admixture useable for 2 -3 days.

Do not exceed recommended retardation.
Keep covered - contaminants / rain / excessive heat.
Never allow mortar to freeze discard if necessary.
Never top up tubs.
Store on level, dry areas
Saturation caused by rain

Dry ready-to-use mortar.

Keep silos on firm safe base.
Provide adequate access.
Ensure top up is possible.

Summer Working Laying masonry units

Main concerns

Advantages

Bricks and blocks Unaffected by hot weather.

Bond may be reduced in hot units. Units absorb water.
Store bricks or blocks in the shade, Docking units , spray units with water.

Mortar-good practice

Rate of hydration increases

Curing can be excellent in hot weather.

Masonry units-good practice

Evaporation of water from the mortar.

Too little water bond reduced.
High temperatures less damaging to the performance of the masonry as those of low
temperatures.

Loses its plasticity rapidly - evaporation of the water, increased rate of hydration of the
cement.
Increase water content in a controlled way.
Increase the lime content of the mortar.
Use plasticisers which retain water.
Shade materials and mixing equipment

Masonry good practice.

Lay units quickly.

After tooling joints, cover masonry to prevent drying.

Winter Working Laying masonry units

Introduction

Masonry units-good practice

Protect bricks and blocks by covering against rain, frost and snow.
Saturated units may be damaged on freezing.

Mortar-good practice

Hydration of mortar occurs above 4C.

Do not construct masonry at temperatures below 3 oC
Mortar should never be allowed to frieze when wet.

Protect mortar against rain, frost and snow.

Discard frozen mortar.
Never lay mortar on frozen surfaces.
Do not trust anti-freeze admixtures.

Masonry-good practice
Cover newly constructed masonry

Protect from rain

Protect from snow.
Protect from frost.

Workmanship
Basic Laying Techniques
Use correct mortar mix Traditionally the mason
decides.
Place units as near to their finished positions possible
avoid too much tapping.
Use full beds of mortar if possible.
Fill perpends.
Strike joints flush when building. Finish joints later.
If appearance is important avoid getting mortar on brick
face.
Mix units from three packs to ensure colour uniformity.

Jointing
Well filled and tooled joints enhance :
Appearance
Durability
Weather resistance of walls.

Mortar joints :
Uniform thickness
10mm is now accepted as the norm.

Tooling joints.
Commence when mortar resists an easy thumbprint.
Too early or too late affects bond and durability.

Types of Joint.

Flush:

Struck or Weathered:

Suitable for every degree of exposure.

Surface of the mortar is closed by ironing and inclined to the lower edge to shed off water.
Ironing produces a good bond between the mortar and units.
Masonry constructed with this joint type requires good workmanship to obtain a uniform colour and texture.

Bucket Handle:

Suitable for moderate and sheltered exposure.

Joint has an open texture.
Bond between unit and mortar depends upon skill used during the unit laying.
Produce a uniformly coloured and textured appearance.

Suitable for every degree of exposure.

Surface of the mortar is closed by ironing and the curved profile tends to allow water to run from the face.
Ironing produces a good bond between the mortar and units.
Masonry constructed using this joint type requires good workmanship to obtain a uniform colour and texture.

Recessed:

Only suitable for sheltered, and moderate exposure.

Special tool used to rake joint.
Deep raking should be avoided - Never extend over half way through the unit depth or into perforations.
Produces excellent uniformity of colour and shade.

Protection after construction

In most temperate conditions adequate curing of
masonry occurs naturally.
If heat is excessive, keep masonry covered and wet.
Do not build masonry in excessive cold or heat if
essential.
Polythene wrapped around masonry is usually
sufficient.

Requirements for Masonry units

Masonry needs to satisfy a number of varied
criteria :

appearance
performance
ease of use
durability

Achieving our criteria is done through correct

unit selection which obviously depends on how
masonry is made.

Concrete Blocks
Three processes exist in the UK.
a foaming process in the case of autoclaved
aerated concrete
a mobile machine called an egglayer
a static machine

Autoclaved aerated blocks

Manufactured under controlled factory conditions.

Materials - Cement and sand (sometimes with pfa) mixed with
foaming agent.
Discharged into large steel moulds.
Foaming proceeds and causes mix to rise like a cake and start to
set
Cakes are cut using wires.
Cut cakes placed in autoclave ovens (High pressure steam curing
oven).
Produced blocks of density 460750 kg/m3
Produces blocks of strength up to 7.0N/mm2
Blocks have excellent thermal insulation properties.
Wires are adjustable unit size can be altered.
Autoclaves stabilises units dimensionally.

The egglayer
Produces a wide variety of solid dense concrete blocks.
Manufacturing technique :

Mobile batching plant

Concrete discharged into hopper and then egg pots.
Egg pots compacted and block pressed out onto concrete apron.
Mix has to be such that the blocks are free standing directly from
the mould without .
Blocks covered or cured as appropriate.

If operation is out of doors, operation is weather

dependant.
Apron needs maintenance to ensure unit dimensions are
acceptable.
Moulds need replacement regularly.

The static machine

Most consistent method of producing good
quality dense and lightweight blocks.
Similar to egg layer except compaction is greater
and curing controlled.
Low shrinkage.
Higher density blocks possible.
Greater dimensional accuracy possible
Greater wear of surfaces.

A variety of
concrete blocks

Concrete
Bricks

Soli dense concrete blocks

Blocks - specials

Lintel
and
Bond Beam
Blocks

Aircrete and lightweight aggregate

blocks and bricks

Solid dense concrete and Aircrete

Density difference

Clay bricks
Manufactured from fired clay.
Properties of bricks determined by the
type of clay, kiln and the method of
forming the brick.
UK - bricks are either moulded or
extruded.
Colouring can be added before firing
Finishes (textures) can be added before
firing.

Manufacture of clay bricks.

Moulding
Hand
Automated

Extruding

Hand moulding

Large kiln firing of clay bricks

Extruding clay brick units

Wire cutting clay brick units

Large perforated clay units (European)

Clay bricks some face bricks

Clay bricks showing variety

Calcium silicate units

Manufacture from sand or flint mixed with
lime.
Constituents are pressed and autoclaved.
Pigments may be added during
manufacture.

Calcium silicate units going into an autoclave

Calcium silicate units

Clay units

Calcium Silicate units (and some clay units)

Calcium Silicate test walls

Calcium silicate units

1000 x 600 x 100/150/240

Calcium silicate units.

Clay brick wallettes