MASONRY

BUENAVENTURA, DHEYLVIN ROY P.

MASONRY
- THE ART OF BUILDING WITH STONE, BRICKS, CONCRETE
BLOCKS OR OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS.
- A FORM OF CONSTRUCTION THAT USES BRICKS AND
OTHER MASONRY MATERIALS, SUCH AS STONE OR
CONCRETE, TO ERECT STRUCTURES LIKE WALLS,
FOUNDATIONS, FIREPLACES, AND STOVES.

MASONRY BUILDING MATERIALS

STONE / ROCK
CMU (CONCRETE MASONRY UNIT)
BRICKS

STONE / ROCK
- IT IS THE LONGEST LASTING BUILDING MATERIAL
AVAILABLE, AND IS USUALLY READILY AVAILABLE.
EXAMPLES ARE:
GRANITE
LIMESTONES
MARBLE

GRANITE
- AN IGNEOUS ROCK WITH AT LEAST 20% QUARTZ AND UP
TO 65% ALKALI FELDSPAR BY VOLUME.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION:
SILICON OXIDE

72.04%

ALUMINUM OXIDE

14.42%

POTASSIUM OXIDE

4.12%

SODIUM OXIDE

3.69%

CALCIUM OXIDE

1.82%

FERROUS OXIDE

1.68%

FERRIC OXIDE

1.22%

MAGNESIUM OXIDE

0.71%

TITANIUM OXIDE

0.30%

PHOSPHOROUS PENTOXIDE

0.12%

MANGANESE OXIDE

0.05%

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

LIMESTONE
A SEDIMENTARY ROCK COMPOSED LARGELY OF THE
MINERALS CALCITE AND ARAGONITE, WHICH ARE DIFFERENT
CRYSTAL FORMS OF CALCIUM CARBONATE (CACO3).
MOST LIMESTONE IS COMPOSED OF SKELETAL
FRAGMENTS OF MARINE ORGANISMS SUCH AS CORAL OR
FORAMINIFERA.

EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS

MARBLE
- A HIGHLY VALUED ROCK KNOWN FOR ITS STRENGTH,
AESTHETICS, ABILITY TO BE POLISHED AND RESISTANCE TO
MOST WEATHERING.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION:
LIME

38-42 %

SILICA

20-25%

ALUMINA

2-4%

VARIOUS OXIDES (SODIUM

1.5-2.5%
OXIDE AND MAGNESIUM OXIDE)
VARIOUS CARBONATES
(MAGNESIUM CARBONATE AND
OTHERS)

30-32%

TAJ MAHAL

USES OF STONE IN CONSTRUCTION

STONE HAS THE FOLLOWING USES AS CONSTRUCTION
MATERIAL.
ENTIRE OR PARTIAL CONSTRUCTION OF:
RESIDENTIAL AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS
MEGASTRUCTURES LIKE DAMS, BRIDGES, HARBORS ETC.
FACE WORK OF STRUCTURE FOR ENHANCING ORNAMENTAL
VALUE
AS AGGREGATE OF CONCRETE
STONE DUST CAN BE USED AS A REPLACEMENT OF SAND
THIN SLABS FOR ROOFING AND FLOORING OF ALL TYPES OF
STRUCTURES

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
STONES ARE MAINLY GATHERED BY A METHOD CALLED AS
QUARRYING. IT IS A PROCESS WHERE MAN DIGS THE
SURFACE OF THE EARTH USING MACHINIRIES TO GET
MINERALS, STONES, AND THE LIKES. ITS EFFECTS ARE LOST
OF HABITAT FOR ANIMALS AS WELL AS HUMANS.
TRANSPORTATION OF THESE MATERIALS LEADS TO AIR AND
NOISE POLLUTION AND ALSO LEADS TO EROSION.

CONCRETE MASONRY UNIT (CMU)

- ALSO CALLED CONCRETE BRICK, CONCRETE BLOCK,
CEMENT BLOCK, BESSER BLOCK, BREEZE BLOCK AND
CINDER BLOCK - IS A LARGE RECTANGULAR BRICK USED IN
CONSTRUCTION.

CMU

RAW MATERIALS IN MAKING CMU

POWDERED PORTLAND CEMENT

WATER
SAND; AND
GRAVEL

PRODUCES A LIGHT GRAYBLOCK WITH A FINE SURFACE

TEXTURE AND A HIGH COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH.
*TYPICAL WEIGHT 38-43LB ( 17.2-19.5 KG)
THE CONCRETE MIXTURE USED FOR BLOCKS HAS A
HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF SAND AND A LOWER PERCENTAGE
OF GRAVEL AND WATER THAN THE CONCRETE MIXTURES
USED FOR GENERAL CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES.

STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
VARIES FROM 1,000 PSI (7 MPA) - 5,000 PSI (34 MPA)
BASED ON THE TYPE OF CONCRETE USED TO MANUFACTURE THE UNIT,
STACKING ORIENTATION, THE TYPE OF MORTAR USED TO BUILD THE
WALL, AND OTHER FACTORS.

USES OF CMU IN CONSTRUCTION

CONCRETE BLOCK, WHEN BUILT IN TANDEM WITH
CONCRETE COLUMNS AND TIE BEAMS AND REINFORCED
WITH REBAR, IS A VERY COMMON BUILDING MATERIAL FOR
THE LOAD-BEARING WALLS OF BUILDINGS, IN WHAT IS
TERMED "CONCRETE BLOCK STRUCTURE" (CBS)
CONSTRUCTION.
AMERICAN SUBURBAN HOUSES TYPICALLY EMPLOY A
CONCRETE FOUNDATION AND SLAB WITH A CONCRETE
BLOCK WALL ON THE PERIMETER.

CMU TESTS
DETERMINATION OF BLOCK DENSITY
DETERMINATION OF WATER ABSORPTION
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

DETERMINATION OF BLOCK DENSITY

THREE BLOCKS SHALL BE DRIED TO CONSTANT MASS IN A
SUITABLE OVEN HEATED TO APPROXIMATELY 1000C. AFTER
COOLING THE BLOCKS TO ROOM TEMPERATURE, THE
DIMENSIONS OF EACH BLOCK SHALL BE MEASURED IN
CENTIMETERS TO THE NEAREST MILLIMETER AND THE
OVERALL VOLUME COMPUTED IN CUBIC CENTIMETERS. THE
BLOCKS SHALL THEN BE WEIGHTED IN KILOGRAMS TO THE
NEAREST 10 GM. THE DENSITY OF EACH BLOCK CALCULATED
AS FOLLOWS:
DENSITY IN KG/M3= MASS OF BLOCK IN KG/MASS OF BLOCK IN CM2* 106

DETERMINATION OF WATER ABSORPTION

THREE FULL SIZE BLOCKS SHALL BE COMPLETELY IMMERSED IN CLEAN
WATER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR 24 HOURS. THE BLOCKS SHALL
THEN BE REMOVED FROM THE WATER AND ALLOWED TO DRAIN FOR ONE
MINUTE BY PLACING THEM ON A 10 MM OR COARSER WIRE MESH, VISIBLE
SURFACE WATER BEING REMOVED WITH A DAMP CLOTH, THE SATURATED
AND SURFACE DRY BLOCKS IMMEDIATELY WEIGHED. AFTER WEIGHING ALL
BLOCKS SHALL BE DRIED IN A VENTILATED OVEN AT 100 TO 1150C FOR
NOT LESS THAN 24 HOURS AND UNTIL TWO SUCCESSIVE WEIGHING AT
INTERVALS OF 2 HOURS SHOW AN INCREMENT OF LOSS NOT GREATER
THAN 0.2 PERCENT OF THE LAST PREVIOUSLY DETERMINED MASS OF THE
SPECIMEN. THE WATER ABSORPTION CALCULATES AS GIVEN BELOW:
ABSORPTION, PERCENT =(A-B)/B * 100
WHERE,
A = WET MASS OF UNIT IN KG.
B = DRY MASS OF UNIT IN KG.

USUAL SIZES OF CMU IN THE PHILIPPINES

40CM (LENGTH) X 20CM (WIDTH) X 4IN (THICKNESS)
40CM (LENGTH) X 20CM (WIDTH) X 5IN (THICKNESS)
OR
4 X 8 X 16
6 X 8 X 16
8 X 8 X 16

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
THE MINING, PROCESSING, AND TRANSPORT OPERATIONS INVOLVING
SUCH LARGE QUANTITIES OF AGGREGATE CONSUME CONSIDERABLE
AMOUNTS OF ENERGY, AND ADVERSELY AFFECT THE ECOLOGY OF
FORESTED AREAS AND RIVERBEDS. THE CONCRETE INDUSTRY ALSO
USES LARGE AMOUNTS OF FRESH WATER; THE MIXING WATER
REQUIREMENT ALONE IS APPROXIMATELY 1 TRILLION L EVERY YEAR.

BRICKS
A BRICK IS A BLOCK OR A SINGLE UNIT OF A KNEADED CLAY-BEARING
SOIL, SAND AND LIME, OR CONCRETE MATERIAL, FIRE HARDENED OR AIR
DRIED, USED IN MASONRY CONSTRUCTION.

BRICKS

METHODS OF MANUFACTURING
FIRED BRICKS
CHEMICALLY SET BRICKS

FIRED BRICKS
FIRED BRICKS ARE BURNED IN A KILN WHICH MAKES THEM DURABLE.
MODERN, FIRED, CLAY BRICKS ARE FORMED IN ONE OF THREE
PROCESSES
SOFT MUD,
DRY PRESS, OR
EXTRUDED.
THE SOFT MUD METHOD IS THE MOST COMMON, AS IT IS THE MOST
ECONOMICAL. IT STARTS WITH THE RAW CLAY, PREFERABLY IN A MIX WITH
25-30% SAND TO REDUCE SHRINKAGE. THE CLAY IS FIRST GROUND AND
MIXED WITH WATER TO THE DESIRED CONSISTENCY. THE CLAY IS THEN
PRESSED INTO STEEL MOULDS WITH A HYDRAULIC PRESS. THE SHAPED
CLAY IS THEN FIRED ("BURNED") AT 900-1000 C TO ACHIEVE STRENGTH.

COMPOSITION
SILICA (SAND) - 50% TO 60% BY WEIGHT
ALUMINA (CLAY) - 20% TO 30% BY WEIGHT
LIME - 2 TO 5% BY WEIGHT
IRON OXIDE - 7% BY WEIGHT
MAGNESIA - LESS THAN 1% BY WEIGHT

CHEMICALLY SET BRICKS

CHEMICALLY SET BRICKS ARE NOT FIRED BUT MAY HAVE THE CURING
PROCESS ACCELERATED BY THE APPLICATION OF HEAT AND PRESSURE IN
AN AUTOCLAVE.

USES OF BRICKS IN CONSTRUCTION

BRICKS ARE USED FOR BUILDING, BLOCK PAVING AND
PAVEMENT.
ENGINEERING BRICKS ARE USED WHERE STRENGTH, LOW
WATER POROSITY OR ACID (FLUE GAS) RESISTANCE ARE
NEEDED.

TESTING OF BRICKS

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

ABSORPTION TEST
EFFLORESCENCE TEST
STRUCTURE TEST
SOUNDNESS TEST
HARDNESS TEST

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

SPECIMEN BRICK IS IMMERSED IN WATER FOR 24 HRS.
THE FROG OF BRICK IS FILLED FLUSH WITH 1:3 MORTAR
AND BRICK IS STORED UNDER DAMP JUTE BAGS FOR 24
HOURS FOLLOWED BY IMMERSION IN CLEAN WATER FOR
THREE DAYS.
THE SPECIMEN IS THEN PLACED BETWEEN PLATES OF
COMPRESSION TESTING MACHINE.
LOAD IS APPLIED AXIALLY AT UNIFORM RATE TILL FAILURE.
MAXIMUM LOAD AT FAILURE DIVIDED BY AVERAGE AREA OF
BED FACE GIVES COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH.

ABSORPTION TEST
24 HRS IMMERSION COLD WATER TEST
DRY BRICKS ARE OVEN DRIED AT 105 5 C.
ROOM TEMPERATURE COOLED BRICKS WEIGHED W1.
BRICKS IMMERSED IN WATER AT 27 2 C FOR 24 HRS.
SOAKED BRICKS WEIGHED W2.
WATER ABSORPTION IN % = (W2 - W1)/W1 X 100

EFFLORESCENCE TEST
THE SOLUBLE SALTS IF PRESENT IN BRICKS CAUSE EFFLORESCENCE ON
THE SURFACE OF BRICK.
BRICK IS IMMERSED IN WATER FOR 24H. IT IS THEN TAKEN OUT AND
ALLOWED TO DRY IN SHADE. THE ABSENCE OF GREY OR WHITE DEPOSITS
ON ITS SURFACE INDICATES ABSENCE OF SOLUBLE SALTS. OBSERVATION
IS MADE WITH NAKED EYES AND CLASSIFIED AS BELOW.
NIL - IMPERCEPTIBLE EFFLORESCENCE
SLIGHT - DEPOSIT COVERS AREA < 10% OF EXPOSED AREA
MODERATE - DEPOSIT COVERS EXPOSED AREA 10% TO 50%
HEAVY - DEPOSIT COVERS EXPOSED AREA > 50%
SERIOUS - DEPOSITS ARE HEAVY AND POWDER OR FLAKE AWAY THE SURFACE

STRUCTURE TEST
A SPECIMEN IS BROKEN AND ITS STRUCTURE IS EXAMINED. IT
SHOULD BE HOMOGENEOUS, COMPACT, AND FREE FROM
DEFECTS E.G. LUMPS AND HOLES, ETC.

SOUNDNESS TEST
THIS TEST IS PERFORMED BY STRIKING TWO SPECIMEN
BRICKS WITH EACH OTHER. THE BRICKS SHOULD NOT BREAK
AND A CLEAR RINGING SOUND SHOULD BE PRODUCED.

HARDNESS TEST
THIS TEST IS PERFORMED BY MAKING A SCRATCH ON BRICK
SURFACE WITH THE HELP OF FINGER NAIL. IF NO IMPRESSION
IS LEFT ON SURFACE, THE BRICK IS CONSIDERED TO BE
SUFFICIENTLY HARD.

USUAL SIZES OF BRICKS

190MM (LENGTH) X 90MM (WIDTH) X 90MM (THICKNESS)
190MM (LENGTH) X 90MM (WIDTH) X 40MM(THICKNESS)

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
THE PROCESS OF MAKING CLAY BRICKS IS EXTREMELY HARMFUL TO THE
ENVIRONMENT. BY PHYSICALLY DIGGING INTO THE EARTH AND USING THE
AMOUNT OF FUEL TO DRY THE BRICKS MAKES IT AN EXPENSIVE AND
HARMFUL MATERIAL.

ADVANTAGES

THE USE OF MATERIAL SUCH AS BRICKS AND STONES CAN INCREASE THE
THERMAL MASS OF A BUILDING AND CAN PROTECT THE BUILDING FROM FIRE.

MOST TYPES OF MASONRY TYPICALLY WILL NOT REQUIRE PAINTING AND SO

CAN PROVIDE A STRUCTURE WITH REDUCED LIFE-CYCLE COSTS.

MASONRY IS NON-COMBUSTIBLE PRODUCT.

MASONRY WALLS ARE MORE RESISTANT TO PROJECTILES, SUCH AS DEBRIS

FROM HURRICANES OR TORNADOES.

MASONRY STRUCTURES BUILT IN COMPRESSION PREFERABLY WITH LIME

MORTAR CAN HAVE A USEFUL LIFE OF MORE THAN 500 YEARS AS COMPARED
TO 30 TO 100 FOR STRUCTURES OF STEEL OR REINFORCED CONCRETE.

DISADVANTAGES

EXTREME WEATHER -COMBINED WITH THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES- CAN

CAUSE DEGRADATION OF MASONRY WALL SURFACES DUE TO FROST DAMAGE.

MASONRY TENDS TO BE HEAVY AND MUST BE BUILT UPON A STRONG

FOUNDATION, SUCH AS REINFORCED CONCRETE, TO AVOID SETTLING AND
CRACKING.

SAVE FOR CONCRETE, MASONRY CONSTRUCTION DOES NOT LEND ITSELF

WELL TO MECHANIZATION, AND REQUIRES MORE SKILLED LABOR THAN STICKFRAMING.