Masonry - Wikipedia

Masonry - Wikipedia
Jump to content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Building of structures from individual units of stone, bricks, or blocks
This article refers to the building structure component. For the fraternal organization, see
Freemasonry
A mason laying a
brick
on top of the
mortar
Bridge over the
Isábena river
in the
Monastery of Santa María de Obarra
, masonry construction with stones
Masonry
is the craft of
building a structure
with
stone
brick
concrete
, or similar
material
, including mortar
plastering
, which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by
mortar
. The term
masonry
can also refer to the building units (stones, bricks, concrete blocks, etc.) themselves.
The common materials of masonry construction are
bricks
and
building stone
rocks
such as
granite
marble
, and
limestone
cast stone
concrete blocks
glass blocks
, and
adobe
. 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 substantially affect the durability of the overall masonry construction.
A person who constructs masonry is called a mason or
bricklayer
, or in some places colloquially a "brickie". These are both classified as
construction trades
History
edit
Masonry is one of the oldest building crafts, even predating written history. The construction of Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and medieval cathedrals are all examples of masonry. Early structures used the weight of the masonry itself to stabilize the structure against lateral movements. The types and techniques of masonry used evolved with architectural needs and cultural norms. Since mid-20th century, masonry has often featured steel-reinforced elements to help carry the tension force present in modern thin, light, tall building systems.
Applications
edit
Masonry has both structural and non-structural applications. Structural applications include walls, columns, beams, foundations, load-bearing arches, and others. On the other hand, masonry is also used in non-structural applications such as fireplaces, chimneys and veneer systems.
Brick and concrete block are the most common types of masonry in use in industrialized nations and may be either load-bearing or non-load-bearing. Concrete blocks, especially those with hollow cores, offer various possibilities in masonry construction. They generally provide great compressive strength and are best suited to structures with light transverse loading when the cores remain unfilled. Filling some or all of the cores with concrete or concrete with steel reinforcement (typically
rebar
) offers much greater tensile and lateral strength to structures.
Advantages
edit
The use of materials such as bricks and stones can increase the thermal mass of a building.
Masonry is a non-combustible product and can protect the building from fire.
Masonry walls are more resistant to projectiles, such as debris from hurricanes or tornadoes.
Disadvantages
edit
Extreme weather, under certain circumstances, can cause degradation of masonry due to expansion and contraction forces associated with freeze-thaw cycles.
Masonry tends to be heavy and must be built on a stable ground made of either undisturbed or mechanically-compacted soil, otherwise cracking may occur.
Unlike concrete, masonry construction does not lend itself well to mechanization, and requires more skilled labor.
Structural limitations
edit
One problem with masonry walls is that they rely mainly on their weight to keep them in place; each block or brick is only loosely connected to the next via a thin layer of mortar. This is why they do not perform well in earthquakes, when entire buildings are shaken horizontally. Many collapses during earthquakes occur in buildings that have load-bearing masonry walls. Besides, heavier buildings having masonry suffer more damage.
Dry set masonry
edit
Dry set masonry supports a rustic
log bridge
, where it provides a well-drained support for the log (which will lengthen its service life).
See also:
dry stone
The strength of a masonry wall is not entirely dependent on the bond between the building material and the mortar; the
friction
between the interlocking blocks of masonry is often enough to provide a great deal of strength on its own. The blocks sometimes have grooves or other surface features added to enhance this interlocking, and some
dry set
masonry structures forgo mortar altogether.
Stonework
edit
Stone masonry
Main article:
Stonemasonry
Stone blocks used in masonry can be dressed or rough, though in both examples corners, door and window jambs, and similar areas are usually dressed. Stonemasonry utilizing dressed stones is known as
ashlar
masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as
rubble masonry
. Both rubble and ashlar masonry can be laid in coursed rows of even height through the careful selection or cutting of stones, but a great deal of stone masonry is uncoursed.
Slipform stonemasonry
produces a hybrid wall of reinforced concrete with a rubble stone face.
Natural
stone veneers
over CMU, cast-in-place, or tilt-up concrete walls are widely used to give the appearance of stone masonry.
Sometimes river rock of smooth oval-shaped stones is used as a veneer. This type of material is not favored for solid masonry as it requires a great amount of mortar and can lack intrinsic structural strength.
Manufactured-stone, or cultured stone, veneers are popular alternatives to natural stones.
Manufactured-stone veneers are typically made from concrete.
Natural stones from quarries around the world are sampled and recreated using molds, aggregate, and colorfast pigments.
To the casual observer there may be no visual difference between veneers of natural and manufactured stone.
Brick
edit
Main article:
Brickwork
Brick work
A solid brickwork wall is made of two or more vertical layers (
wythes
) of bricks with those running horizontally (
stretcher
bricks) bound together with those running
transverse
to the wall (
header
bricks). Each row of bricks is known as a
course
. The pattern of headers and stretchers employed gives rise to different
bonds
such as the common bond (with every sixth course composed of headers), the English bond, and the
Flemish bond
(with alternating stretcher and header bricks present on every course). Bonds can differ in strength and in insulating ability. Vertically staggered bonds tend to be somewhat stronger and less prone to major cracking than a non-staggered bond.
Uniformity and rusticity
edit
Masonry repair work done to a brick wall
The wide selection of brick styles and types generally available in industrialized nations allow much variety in the appearance of the final product. In buildings built during the 1950s–1970s, a high degree of uniformity of brick and accuracy in masonry was typical. In the period since then this style was thought to be too sterile, so attempts were made to emulate older, rougher work. Some brick surfaces are made to look particularly rustic by including
burnt
bricks, which have a darker color or an irregular shape. Others may use antique salvage bricks, or new bricks may be artificially aged by applying various surface treatments, such as tumbling. The attempts at rusticity of the late 20th century have been carried forward by masons specializing in a free, artistic style, where the courses are intentionally
not
straight, instead weaving to form more organic impressions.
Serpentine masonry
edit
Main article:
Crinkle crankle walls
A crinkle-crankle wall is a brick wall that follows a serpentine path, rather than a straight line. This type of wall is more resistant to toppling than a straight wall; so much so that it may be made of a single wythe of unreinforced brick and so despite its longer length may be more economical than a straight wall.
Concrete block
edit
Concrete masonry units (CMUs) or blocks in a basement wall before burial
Blocks of cinder concrete (
cinder blocks
or
breezeblocks
), ordinary concrete (
concrete blocks
), or hollow tile are generically known as Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs). They usually are much larger than ordinary bricks and so are much faster to lay for a wall of a given size. Furthermore, cinder and concrete blocks typically have much lower
water
absorption rates than brick. They often are used as the structural core for veneered brick masonry or are used alone for the walls of factories, garages, and other
industrial-style
buildings where such appearance is acceptable or desirable. Such blocks often receive a
stucco
surface for decoration. Surface-bonding
cement
, which contains synthetic fibers for reinforcement, is sometimes used in this application and can impart extra strength to a block wall. Surface-bonding cement is often pre-colored and can be stained or painted thus resulting in a finished stucco-like surface.
The primary structural advantage of concrete blocks in comparison to smaller clay-based bricks is that a CMU wall can be reinforced by filling the block voids with
concrete
with or without steel
rebar
. Generally, certain voids are designated for filling and reinforcement, particularly at corners, wall-ends, and openings while other voids are left empty. This increases wall strength and stability more economically than filling and reinforcing all voids. Typically, structures made of CMUs will have the top course of blocks in the walls filled with concrete and tied together with steel reinforcement to form a bond beam.
Bond beams
are often a requirement of modern
building codes
and controls. Another type of steel reinforcement referred to as
ladder-reinforcement
can also be embedded in horizontal mortar joints of concrete block walls. The introduction of steel reinforcement generally results in a CMU wall having much greater lateral and tensile strength than unreinforced walls.
"Architectural masonry is the evolvement of standard concrete masonry blocks into aesthetically pleasing concrete masonry units (CMUs)".
failed verification
CMUs can be manufactured to provide a variety of surface appearances. They can be colored during manufacturing or stained or painted after installation. They can be split as part of the manufacturing process, giving the blocks a rough face replicating the appearance of natural stone, such as
brownstone
. CMUs may also be scored, ribbed, sandblasted, polished, striated (raked or brushed), include decorative aggregates, be allowed to slump in a controlled fashion during curing, or include several of these techniques in their manufacture to provide a decorative appearance.
"Glazed concrete masonry units are manufactured by bonding a permanent colored facing (typically composed of polyester resins, silica sand and various other chemicals) to a concrete masonry unit, providing a smooth impervious surface."
Glass block
edit
Glass block
or glass brick are blocks made from glass and provide a translucent to clear vision through the block.
Veneer masonry
edit
A masonry veneer wall consists of masonry units, usually clay-based bricks, installed on one or both sides of a structurally independent wall usually constructed of wood or masonry. In this context, the brick masonry is primarily decorative, not structural. The brick veneer is generally connected to the structural wall by brick ties (metal strips that are attached to the structural wall, as well as the mortar joints of the brick veneer). There is typically an air gap between the brick veneer and the structural wall. As clay-based brick is usually not completely waterproof, the structural wall will often have a water-resistant surface (usually
tar paper
) and
weep holes
can be left at the base of the brick veneer to drain moisture that accumulates inside the air gap. Concrete blocks, real and
cultured stones
, and veneer
adobe
are sometimes used in a very similar veneer fashion.
Most insulated buildings that use concrete block, brick, adobe, stone, veneers or some combination thereof feature interior
insulation
in the form of
fiberglass
batts between wooden wall studs or in the form of rigid insulation boards covered with
plaster
or
drywall
. In most climates this insulation is much more effective on the exterior of the wall, allowing the building interior to take advantage of the aforementioned thermal mass of the masonry. This technique does, however, require some sort of weather-resistant exterior surface over the insulation and, consequently, is generally more expensive.
Gabions
edit
Gabion Wall
Gabions
are baskets, usually now of
zinc
-protected
steel
galvanized steel
) that are filled with fractured stone of medium size. These will act as a single unit and are stacked with setbacks to form a revetment or
retaining wall
. They have the advantage of being well drained, flexible, and resistant to flood, water flow from above, frost damage, and soil flow. Their expected useful life is only as long as the wire they are composed of and if used in severe climates (such as shore-side in a salt water environment) must be made of appropriate corrosion-resistant wire. Most modern gabions are rectangular. Earlier gabions were often cylindrical wicker baskets, open at both ends, used usually for temporary, often military, construction.
Similar work can be done with finer aggregates using
cellular confinement
Passive fire protection (PFP)
edit
Further information:
Passive fire protection
Masonry walls have an
endothermic
effect of its
hydrates
, as in chemically bound
water
, unbound moisture from the concrete block, and the poured concrete if the hollow cores inside the blocks are filled. Masonry can withstand temperatures up to 1,000 °F (538 °C) and it can withstand direct exposure to fire for up to 4 hours.
citation needed
In addition to that, concrete masonry keeps fires contained to their room of origin 93% of the time.
citation needed
For those reasons, concrete and masonry units hold the highest flame spread index classification, Class A.
Fire cuts
can be used to increase safety and reduce fire damage to masonry buildings.
Mechanical modeling of masonry structures
edit
A comparison (using transmission
photoelasticity
) between the stress diffusion in an elastic body (on the left) and a model of masonry (on the right). A highly localized stress percolation is visible on the right.
From the point of view of material modeling, masonry is a special material of extreme mechanical properties (with a very high ratio between strength in compression and in tension), so that the applied loads do not diffuse as they do in elastic bodies, but tend to percolate along lines of high stiffness.
10
See also
edit
Castle
– Fortified structure
Clay panel
– Building material made of clay with some additives
Concrete finisher
– Tradesperson
Pages displaying short descriptions with no spaces
CEN/TC 125
– European Union technical committee
Defensive wall
– Fortification used to protect an area from potential aggressors
Dry-stone wall
– Construction method
Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Fire protection
– Measures that prevent or mitigate unwanted fire
Galleting
– Architectural technique
List of decorative stones
NIST stone test wall
References
edit
Kingsley, Gregory R. (2003-01-01),
"Masonry"
, in Meyers, Robert A. (ed.),
Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (Third Edition)
, New York: Academic Press, pp.
133–
143,
doi
10.1016/b0-12-227410-5/00405-1
ISBN
978-0-12-227410-7
archived
from the original on 2023-01-13
, retrieved
2023-01-13
Holmes, Mike (2008-04-25).
"A brick house isn't as solid as you think"
The Globe and Mail
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-13
. Retrieved
2023-01-13
"Common Problems with Brick Masonry (U.S. National Park Service)"
www.nps.gov
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-23
. Retrieved
2023-01-13
House, This Old (2020-01-18).
"The Basics of Masonry"
This Old House
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-13
. Retrieved
2023-01-13
"Architectural Concrete Masonry Units"
NCMA
Archived
from the original on 2020-06-21
. Retrieved
2020-06-18
"Ground Face Units (Burnished, Honed)"
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-05-21
. Retrieved
2009-11-21
"Glazed (Prefaced) Units"
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-05-21
. Retrieved
2009-11-21
Allen, Edward; Rand, Patrick (2016).
Architectural Detailing: Function, Constructibility, Aesthetics
(3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 137.
ISBN
978-1118881996
Archived
from the original on 1 January 2024
. Retrieved
18 October
2022
"Davide Bigoni"
www.ing.unitn.it
. Solid and Structural Mechanics Group – University of Trento.
Archived
from the original on 2020-08-18
. Retrieved
2011-11-27
"video"
Archived
from the original on 2012-05-01
. Retrieved
2011-11-27
General references
edit
Atamturktur, Sezer; Laman, Jeffrey A. (2012). "Finite element model correlation and calibration of historic masonry monuments: review".
The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings
21
(2):
96–
113.
doi
10.1002/tal.577
S2CID
111060455
Sarhosis, V.; Sheng, Y. (2014).
"Identification of material parameters for low bond strength masonry"
Engineering Structures
60
100–
110.
Bibcode
2014EngSt..60..100S
doi
10.1016/j.engstruct.2013.12.013
External links
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Masonry (craft)
Mason Contractors Association of America
International Masonry Institute
National Concrete Masonry Association
Masonry Institute of America
Illustrated Glossary of Stone Industry Terms
Archived
2017-03-15 at the
Wayback Machine
Stonemasonry
Types
Ashlar
Rustication
Carving
Dry stone
Letter cutting
Masonry
Post-tensioned stone
Massive precut stone
Monumental
Rubble
Sculpture
Slipform
Snecked
Materials
Artificial stone
Brick
Cast stone
Decorative stones
Dimension stone
Fieldstone
Flagstone
Gabion
Granite
Grout
Lime mortar
Limestone
Marble
Types
Mortar
Sandstone
List
Slate
Stone veneer
Tools
Angle grinder
Bush hammer
Ceramic tile cutter
Chisel
Diamond blade
Lewis (lifting appliance)
Trowel
Non-explosive demolition agents
Plug and feather
Stonemason's hammer
Straightedge
Techniques
Flaming
Flushwork
Knapping
Polygonal masonry
Repointing
Scabbling
Tuckpointing
Veneer
Brickwork
Wythe
Products
Castle
Hardstone carving
Headstone
Footstone
Mosaic
Sculpture
Stone wall
Machicolation
Organizations
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland
Mason Contractors Association of America
Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association
Worshipful Company of Masons
Authority control databases
International
GND
National
United States
France
BnF data
Japan
Israel
Other
Yale LUX
Retrieved from "
Categories
Masonry
Building materials
Building stone
Stonemasonry
Hidden categories:
Articles with short description
Short description is different from Wikidata
All articles with failed verification
Articles with failed verification from January 2022
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020
Pages displaying short descriptions with no spaces via Module:Annotated link
Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets via Module:Annotated link
Commons category link is on Wikidata
Webarchive template wayback links
Masonry
Add topic