Module 4: MASONRY  Retemper mortar if:

 Mixed less than 90 mins prior to its

 Masonry is a method of construction stiffening
 Discard if more than 2 ½ hours
HOW MASONRY BEGAN:
 Lime is a nonhydraulic cement
 Began same time as the creation of
low walls by stacking stones or pieces  Carbonation
of caked mud taken from dried puddles  Cures with carbon dioxide reaction
 Can continue for many years
 Mortar
 Originally the mud smeared into joints
TYPES OF WALL MASONRY:
of the rising wall to lend stability and
SOLID MASONRY
weathertightness.
 Solid masonry walls
New methods of construction after: may be constructed
 Quarry, cut and dress stone either solid or hollow
 Burned brick product masonry units
 Creation of the kiln contiguously with all
joints filled with mortar
MASONRY
 Method of construction done  Single Wall
piece by piece (Masonry units)  Double Wythe Wall (two walls)
 Mainly used for walls  Reinforcement is optional
 Materials
 Bricks GROUTED MASONRY
 Stones  All interior joints filled
entirely with grout as the
 Concrete Blocks
work progresses.
 Tiles
 Reinforced Grouted
 Glass blocks
Masonry
MORTAR
CAVITY WALL MASONRY
 A substance used to join masonry units,
 Contains a facing and a
consisting of
backing wythe of
cementitious materials, fine aggregate, and
either solid or hollow
water
masonry units,
 Mortar Types separated by an air
 MaSoN wOrK space
 Type M – High Strength Mortar
 Type S – Medium High-Strength Mortar
 Type N – Medium Strength Mortar
 Type O – Medium Low-strength Mortar
 Type K – Very Low-Strength Mortar

 Hydraulic Cement Mortars

 Cure by hydration
REINFORCED CONCRETE UNIT
MASONRY CUSTOM- MADE BRICKS
 Normal or common masonry method  Water Table Brick
 All cells containing reinforcement are filled  Sills
solidly with grout and
Jamb
*Masonry Veneer Bricks
 Veneer is only seen at the front 
 Light frame, light gauge metal, gypsum board Copings
etc is at the backing

MASONRY MATERIALS:
BRICKS 
SHAPES: 
 Cored – 75% solid Angles and Radials
 Hollowed – 60% void
 Frogged – 75% solid

LAYING BRICKS
TYPES OF BRICKS
 Water-Struck Bricks
 Bricks with a smooth dense surface
 Sand-struck or Sand Mold Bricks
 Matte texture finish
 Fly Ash Bricks
 Made from fly ash and sand, acts as a
binder in the bricks and the sand as
aggregate
 Steam cured which requires less energy,
more safe than concrete masonry bricks
 Brick Wall – Wythe of stretcher courses
 Headers – bond the wythes together for a
COMMON BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
structural unit (walls two or more wythes
BRICKS:
thick)
 Facing Brick (ASTM C216) – intended
 Rowlock courses – are used for caps and
for structural/non-structural, appearance
sills.
matters, solid shape
 Soldier courses – frequenty used by
 Building Brick (ASTM C62) – concealed,
architects
backup wythes of masonry, solid shape,
may be cored of frogged
 Hollow Brick (ASTM C652) - enable
insertion and grouting of steel reinforcing
bars in single wythes of brickwork.
 Paving Bricks (ASTM C902) – paving of
walks, drives, patios, conform to
requirements for freeze-thaw resistance,  Sailor – upright front facing
water absorption and abrasion  Shiner – laid horizontally on the longer
 Firebricks (ASTM C64) – for the lining of edge with the broad face
fireplaces of furnaces, made of special
fireclays MAJOR METHODS OF PROCESSING
  Soft Mud Process – Oldest process, 20-
30% water moisture, pressed into molds BOND PATTERNS
 Dry Press Process – clays that shrink  Running Bond – consists entirely of
while drying, using steel molds, mixed stretchers, single wythe, veneer
with minimum 10% water  Common Bond (American bond) – has a
 Stiff Mud Process – least costly, most header course every sixth course
common, 12-15% water, pushed through  English Bond – first course is header;
a vacuum and then pushed through a die. second course is stretcher. Alternating
Automatic cutter wires slice it into bricks. courses of headers and stretchers
 Firing/Burning – dried for 1 to 2  Flemish Bond – alternating headers and
stretchers in 1 course
 Stack Bond – same face in each course,
usually stretcher face

days in low-temperature dryer kiln.

Ready for their final transformation

TYPES OF KILNS
 Periodic Kiln – fixed structure that is
loaded with bricks, fired cooled and
unloaded
 Tunnel Kiln – passed bricks are cooled
throughout until the end until fully burned

STAGES OF BURNING/FIRING
Takes 40-150 hours
 Water Smoking and Dehydration – drive
off the remaining water from the clay
 Oxidation and vitrification – temperature
rises to 1000 to 1300 C, clay is
transformed into a ceramic material
 Flashing – fire is regulated to create a
reducing atmosphere in the kiln that
develops color in bricks
 Cooled of bricks
 The higher the temperature, the
greater the shrinkage and darker
color

JOINT PROFILES
 The concave joint and
vee joint are the only
ones suitable for
outdoor use in sever
weather.
LINTELS
 Considered to carry
only the triangular
area of brickwork
 Wood is no longer ARCHES
used for lintel
because of its  Barrel Vault – translated along a line
tendency to burn, to perpendicular to its plane
decay and to shrink  Dome – arch rotated about its verical centerline
and allow the masonry above to settle and
crack CENTERING
 The formworks version for brick masonry

Double Angle Steel Lintel

Reinforced brick Lintel

 Brick locations were marked on the

centering in advance to be sure that no
partial bricks or unusual mortar joint
thicknesses will be required to close the
Precast Reinforced arch
Concrete Lintel  Spandrel - the area of flat wall that
adjoins the arch
 Gauged Brick – each brick is rubbed to
the required wedge shape on an abrasive
CORBELS stone
 Creates a transition from the cylindrical tower  Rough Arch – more common type of arch
to a hexagonal roof
 To span a door opening and to create a bracket

REINFORCED BRICK MASONRY

 Analogous to reinforced concrete construction
 Constructed by two wythes of brick 2 to 4”
(50-100mm) apart, placing the reinforcing steel
in the cavity with grout
 Grout – mixture of Portland cement,
aggregate and water
  Having silicone dioxide is
chemically the same as sand, white
to pink in color
QUOINS  Black granite is low In quartz (stone
 Cut stone blocks used to basalt) – for tabletops and
form strong corners on countertops
walls of weak masonry  Mica (potassium aluminum silcate) – 3%
materials such as to 10%
mudbricks or round  Weak mineral, Decomposes easily
filedstones.
 Decorative LIMESTONE:
purposes,  Consisting primarily of the carbonates
protruding beaded of calcium and magnesium, clay,
profile, termination between concrete sand, seashells, and fossils
masonry and another wall finish  Generally homogenous (freestone –
solid and whole) and non-granular
STONE MATERIAL:  Softer, easier to quarry and saw
 Building stone must be wrested from quarries,  White to gray in color, does not
cut, and carved to shapes polish, not recommended as a
 We cannot control the properties of stone countertop
 Reacts to acid (lemon, vinegar)
BUILDING STONE  95% Calcium carbonate
 Obtained by taking rock from the earth and  5% impurities (calcite limestone)
reducing it to the required shapes and sizes of  60% - 80% calcium
construction. carbonate and 20% - 40%
 Can vary greatly in chemistry, structure, magnesium carbonate –
properties and appearance dolomitic limestone
 Igneous Rock – deposited in molten state (stronger than calcite
 Sedimentary Rock – deposited by the limestone)
action of water and wind
 Metamorphic Rock – transformed by heat
and pressure, either igneous or
sedimentary QUARTZ-BASED STONE
 ASTM C119 Stone types:  Sandstone is found as a stratified form
 Granite or as a homogenous freestone
 Limestone  Layers of sand (quartz) particles with
 Quartz-based stone oxides of calcium, silicon and iron as
 Slate cementing agents
 Marble  Cementing:
 Other stones  With iron oxide, sandstone is
brown or red in color, softer
GRANITE:  With calcium oxide, more
 Speckled in appearance, difficult to saw, vulnerable to disintegration
profiling and grinding  Forms of Sandstone
 Present as granules  Brownstone – wall construction
 Fusion of 3 minerals:  Bluestone – highly stratified
 Feldspar (silicate of aluminum, calcium, durable stone for paving and wall
sodium, potassium) – 50% copings
 Weak mineral SLATE
 Quartz (silicone dioxide) – 25% to 40%,  Metamorphic stone, formed from clay,
strongest and most durable soft stone
  Dense, hard stone and can be split into FINISHES ON STONE SLABS AND PANELS:
sheets, useful for paving stone, roof  The polish finish or honed finish generally is
shingles and thin wall facings more durable because it facilitates the drainage
 Black, gray, green and red colors of water from the surface
 Sawn Finish – not finished beyond
MARBLE sawing, has saw marks
 Metamorphic, recrystallized form of  Honed Finish – repeated grinded finish
limestone with fine abrasives, water is used to
 Easily carved and polished control dust. Has a matte finish
 White and black color  Polished Finish – fine abrasives and
 Not true marbles: (same buffing (with felt) finish, with sheen.
characteristics) Added sealer to increase durability. Only
 Limestone marble dense stones (granite, marble, other
 Onyx marble varieties) can develop a polish.
 Serpentine marble
OTHER GROUP:
 Alabaster, greenstone, schist,
serpentine and soapstone

FINISHES ON STONE
SLABS AND PANELS:
 Flame-Cut Finish
 Thermal finish, rough
finish obtained by
torching the stone
TRAVERTINE surface (stone is wetted, torched, and
 Sedimentary rock obtained sediments steam separates the particles)
of limestone (hot springs)  Used only on granite
 Porous and pitted with voids  Floors, granite top stairs and risers
 Related to limestone, softer stone, not  Bush-Hammered Finish
recommended for cladding  Hammering off the surface of the stone
Other Notes on stone: with picks
 Moisture absorption is a good indicator of  Rough finish
stone durability, less possibility for it to freeze-
 Split Face (Cleft finish)
thaw damage or chemical deterioration
 Two split face slabs
 Higher moisture levels can cause corrosion
 Easier in slate stone
 Stone density is also a good measure of
 Cleft and split face are used
durability, correlating with higher strength and
interchangeably
lower absorption
 Sandblasted Finish
 Compressive strength is best for load-bearing
 Rough surface
walls
Stone Blocks to Slabs:
 Sawing method – stone blocks to slab
(Presence of water is needed – to cool the
blade)
 Honing (grinding) of stone slabs using water to
cool the grindes
STONE APPLICATION:
 Stone Masonry
 Laid in mortar (bricks, concrete,
arches, vaults)
 Cladding

STONE MASONRY PATTERN

 Rubble masonry
 Unsquared pieces of stone
 Ashlar is made of squared pieces
 Course Stone Masonry
 Continuous horizontal joint lines
 Coursed Stone Masonry
 Random stone masonry


CONCRETE MASONRY:
 Concrete masonry units (CMUs)
 Large hollow units – concrete blocks
 Solid bricks – pavers

 Larger solid units

 Manufactured by vibrating stiff concrete
mixture into metal molds
 Mold can be reused at the rate of 1000 or
more units per hour
 Cured at an accelerated rate by subjecting
them to steam, atmospheric pressure or
faster curing
 ASTM C90: Weight Classification
 Heavier blocks are less expensive to
manufacture, absorb moisture less readily, have
better resistance to sound transmission, and are
more resistant to abuse.
 Normal Weight (heavyweight) – 125 pcf
 Medium Weight – 105-125 pcf
 Lightweight – 105pcf

TYPICAL CMU SIZE:

HALF CMU: CONCRETE MASONRY LINTEL
 Are available as standard units  Lintel – horizontal member of window or doors
 A half unit cannot be obtained by sawing a full-  Types:
size unit because sawing halves the thickness
of the center web

BULLNOSE UNIT:
 Used where sharp wall corner is avoided  Bond Beam Unit
 Lintel unit – 8” high or 16”, U-shaped
SCORED UNIT:  Steel Lintel
 The wall has the  Made up of a wide flange section
appearance of a stack welded to a plate
bond wall but has the  Used for narrower openings
strength of a running  Reinforced block lintel
bond wall  Composed of bond beam units
 Arching action –  Precast Reinforced concrete lintel
45-degree angle  Methods of construction:
load distribution of  16” high lintel units to make up one
running bond course
wall/flaring load  8” high and one course of regular units

UNITS WITH
PROJECTING FACE
SHELLS:
 More convenient to
mortar head joints,
used in control joint
 Control Joint in CMU
Walls:
 The joint that
receives cracks
first before
affecting the whole
masonry
wall/connection.
Induce cracking
 Uses mortar filling as a shear key and
asphalt paper as a bond breaker
 Also uses sash units – inserted between
each masonry brick to control cracking
PILASTER UNIT:  Also called burnished units (ground face CMU)
 Can act as a column or block  Can be used as an exterior wall, often as accent
 Attached or single unit bands in a wall with split-face units
 Creates a corner
GLAZED UNIT
 Has a facing of a glazing material bonded to
one or more faces of the unit
 1/10” thick
 Impervious to moisture and dust collection and
easy to clean
 Available in different colors

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PILASTER,

COLUMN AND PIERS
 Column – independent isolated load-bearing
masonry or non-masonry unit
 Requires ties
 Pier – Masonry column that is short used as
foundation for wood frame buildings with a
crawl space
 Pilaster – column formed by thickening a small
area of a masonry wall, which may project on
one or both sides of the wall.
 Does not require ties, unless it is provided
with compression reinforcement

ACOUSTICAL UNITS
 Has sound-absorptive properties
 Fiberglass embedded into open slits
SPLIT FACE UNIT
 Mimics a rough stonelike texture
 Cut with a guillotine
RIBBED UNIT
 Ribbed masonry block

BURNISHED
UNITS
 DECORATIVE MASONRY:  Made from natural clay, porcelain and other
a) Split block ceramic materials.
b) Slump Block  Glazed Tiles
c) Split Block  Glossy exposed surface, the glaze protects
d) Ribbed Split face block the tie body against water absorption and
e) Striated block provides color
 Can be opaque, transparent clear or
colored clear, mat sheen, semi-mat, or
bright (high gloss)
 Can be scratched
 Stone Tile (Cut Stone tile)
 Same as stone panel flooring, the backs of
GLASS tiles are gauged or cut flat to have
MASONRY
uniform thickness.
UNITS (GMU)
 For PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
non-load bearing  Quality and uniformity – tile size, color pattern
walls, interior or exterior, non-structural
and texture. Facial structural defects may
material develop
 Must resist lateral loads (wind and earthquake)
 Batching/Tile Batching for uniformity
 Combined
 Crazing – the development of tiny crack
modularity of in the surface of the tile, causes premature
masonry and
deterioration
transparency of glass
 Shapes and dimensions – dimensional
 Properties
consistency
 6x6”, 8x8”,  Width of grout joint is determined by the
12x12” with amount of variation in the thickness of
thickness up to 3-4” tiles
 Generally Hollow with air trapped in and  Warpage – not uniformly flat, will break in
have solid alternatives heavier loads
 The R Vale of glass is nearly 2.0  Lippage – difference between higher
 Nearly translucent elevation and smaller elevation tiles
 Gives greater privacy, more security and  Water Absorption – they absorb water when in
greater sound insulation than a glass direct contact with it
window or curtain wall.  Breaking Strength – a good indication of how
 Higher fire-resistance, 45-minute rating well it will perform
 Slightly depressed in the interior so that  Abrasion hardness – should resist the abrasion
mortar is thicker in the interior that will occur over their service life
 Method of Construction
 Generally laid in a stack bond, with
Portland cement-lime mortar
 Joints are fully mortared with clay
bricks
 Glass Masonry Panel
 A structural frame to support the gravity
and lateral loads on glass masonry
panels
CERAMIC TILES AND STONE PANELS CERAMIC TRIM SHAPE
 Tiles are adhered with mortar, and the voids are
filled with grout
  Organic adhesives – ready to use liquid or
powdered water-emulsion latex that cure by
evaporation
 Light duty, interior use installation
 Cement mortars – Portland cement, sand,
water, and water-retentive additives
 General duty
 Water-cleanable epoxies – epoxy resin and
hardener
 Heavy Duty installation, high temperature
SETTING METHODS conditions
 Mortar Bed: Tiles are set using mortar, a  Furan resin Mortars – furan resin, powder
mortar bed is first set containing silica fillers, and acid catalyst
 Waterproofing – mortar bed is placed in  Resistance to chemical
two applications with a waterproof
SETTING MATERIALS: GROUT
membrane in the middle
 Sand-Portland cement grouts – joints greater
 Subject to heavy loads – reinforced with
than 1/8” wide
wire mesh or metal lath.
 Unsanded cement grouts – contain water
 Additional cleavage (bond-breaking)
retentive additives and are joints up to 18”
membrane is sometimes necessary to
wide
prevent bonding with subfloor.
 Polymer-Modified Cement grouts – possess
 Reinforcing and cleavage is not needed if
increased color stability, good flexural bond
mortar bed is to be bonded with subfloor
strengths, stain resistance, and lower moisture
 After Mortar bed: Tile is set on mortar bed
absorption
while mortar is still green – not cured
 Water-cleanable epoxy and furan resin grouts –
 After it is cured, a Portland cement bond
same as mortars
coat is applied between the tile and mortar
bed TILE TYPES
THICKNESS OF MORTAR:
 Thick Set (thick bed) – 2-3” mortar
bed
 Tiles are 12” x 12” or 60 cx 60
 Excessive variation with tiles
(stone tiles)
 Subfloor has irregularities
 Medium Set (medium bed)
 Involves thin set mortars that can
be applied thicker
 ¼” to ¾” thickness, extra setting
 Large format tile 18-24”
 Thin Set (Thin bed)
 Mortar bed is 1/8” thick, has polymer-
based adhesives
 More popular, smaller tiles 12” x 12”
 Tile thickness is uniformed
 Subfloor does not have irregularities

SETTING MATERIALS: MORTARS,

ADHESIVES, EPOXIES
INSTALLATION:  Polished – reflective sheen and resistant to
 Industry standards for application: wear, can be scratched or dulled by abrasive
 TCA handbook for Ceramic tile materials
installation  Honed – matte sheen, can mask wear
 ANSI A108/A118/AA136 Series,  Thermal – roughened surface that has slip
American National Standard Specification resistance
for the Installation of Ceramic Tile
MATERIALS USED FOR SETTING
MOVEMENT JOINTS:  Rubber mallet for pushing tiles to concrete
 Typically, filled with pedestrian traffic grade  Plastic Shims for grout spacing
urethane of silicone sealant over either a foam
backer rod or bond-breaking tape OTHER TYPES OF MASONRY UNITS:
 Typically use Polytuff  Hollow tiles of cast gypsum or fired clay -
 Interior Installation partition construction
 20-25’ in each direction when not  Structural glazed facing tiles – partitions
exposed to direct sunlight  Structural terracotta – glazed or unglazed
 8-12’ in each direction when molded decorative units of fired clay
exposed  Autoclave aerated concrete (AAC)
 8-12’ exterior installation, in each
direction
 Retaining structural members – changes
in floor elevation
 Subfloor construction – contraction and
expansion joints
 Width of joints – never be less than the
joint in the subfloor below
SOME TERMS:
STONE PANEL FLOORING  Lead – the first installed CMUs in construction
 Known as dimension stone, natural stone that that sets the standard/height for the next few
are cut and trimmed to specific shapes/sizes, blocks.
with or without mechanical dressing  Horizontal reinforcement – every 3 layers of
 Weatherability and flexural strength of CHB, or 60cm every height
stone is more for exterior cladding and  Vertical reinforcement - 60 – 80cm apart for
less important for flooring deformed bars
 Compressive strength are important for
interior flooring
 Panel flooring stones:
 Granite
 Marble
 Limestone
 Slate
 Quart-based stones – sandstone,
bluestone, quartzite
 Usually dressed in 5 faces, with backs left
ungauged (cut without uniform thickness)
 Must be installed over thick set mortar
bed
PATTERNS AND FINISHES FOR STONE
PANEL FLOORING:
MASONRY TIES: HARD FLOORING

CLADDING
 Curtain Walls
 Masonry veneer concrete walls
 Stone Curtain Walls

ROOFING
 Clay tiles roofs

REINFORCEMENT:

FLASHING:

*Counter flashing – found in parapets