UNIT-II

MASONRY
Definition: Masonry may defined as the construction of a building units
bonded together with mortar.
Classification of masonry: There are three types of masonry they are
as follows,
1. Brick masonry
2. Stone masonry
3. Composite masonry

Definition of terms used In masonry

Following are some of the
technical terms used in masonry
work
Arrises: The edge formed by the
intersection of plane surfaces of
brick are called the arrises.
Bed : The lower surface of a brick or
stone in each course.
Course: A Course is a horizontal layer
of masonry
Bed joint: The horizontal layer of
mortar upon which the bricks or stones
are laid is known as a bed joint.

Elevation of a brick wall

Stretcher: A stretcher is the longer

face of the brick (23cmX11.4cm) as
seen in the elevation of the wall. A
course of bricks in which all the
bricks are laid as stretcher on facing
is known as a stretcher course.

Header: it is the shorter face of the

brick (11.4cm X 7.6cm) as seen in
the elevation of the wall. A course of
bricks in which all the bricks are laid
as headers on facing is known as
header course.

Elevation of a brick wall

Elevation of a brick wall

Quions: the exterior angle or
corner of a wall is known as
quoin. The stones or bricks
forming the quoins are known as
stone quoins or quoin bricks.

Lap: the horizontal distance

between the vertical joints in
successive courses is termed lap.

Perpend: It is a imaginary vertical

line which includes the vertical
joint separating two adjoining
bricks.
Racking back: it is a termination
of a wall in a stepped fashion.

Toothing: it is the termination of

the wall in such a fashion that
each alternate course at the end
projects in order to provide
adequate bond if the wall is
continued horizontally at a later
stage.

Closer: A piece of brick which is

used to close up the bond at the
end of brick courses is known as
a closer.
Bat: It is the portion of the brick
cut across the width. Thus, a bat
is smaller in length than the full
brick.
Face: The surface of wall
exposed to the weather is known
as the facing.

Back: The inner surface of wall

which is not exposed to the
weather
Backing: The material used in
the formation of the back of the
wall.
Facing: The material used in the
face of the wall.
Hearting: The inner portion of the
wall between the facing and
backing

(i) Unburnt or Sun dried bricks- UN burn or sun dried with the help of
heat received from sun after the process of moulding. These
bricks can only be used in the constructions of temporary and
cheap structures. Such bricks should not be used at places
exposed to heavy rains.

(ii) Burnt Bricks- The bricks used in construction works

bricks.

are burnt

First Class bricks: These bricks are table moulded and of standard
shape. The surface and edges of the bricks are sharp, square, smooth
and straight. All the qualities of good bricks and used for superior work
of permanent nature.
Second class bricks: These bricks are ground moulded and they are
burnt in kilns. The surface of bricks is some what rough and shape is
also slightly irregular. These bricks are commonly used at places where
brick work is to be provided with a coat of plaster.
Third class bricks: These bricks are ground moulded and they burnt in
clamps. These bricks are not hard and they have rough surfaces with
irregular and distorted edges. These bricks give dull sound when struck
together. They are used for unimportant and temporary structures and
at places where rainfall is not heavy.
Fourth class bricks: These are over burnt bricks with irregular shape
and dark colour. These bricks are used as aggregate for concrete in
foundation, floors, roads,etc because of the fact that the over burnt
bricks have compacted structure and hence, they are some times found
stronger than even first class bricks

Qualities of Good Brick:

(i) Bricks should be table moulded, well burnt in kilns, copper coloured,
free from cracks and with sharp and square edges.
(ii) Bricks should be uniform shape and should be of standard size.
(iii) Bricks should give clear ringing sound when struck each other.
(iv) Bricks when broken should show a bright homogeneous and
compact structure free from voids.
(v) Bricks should not absorb water more than 20 percent by weight for
first class bricks and 22 percent by weight for second class bricks,
when soaked in cold water for a period of 24 hours.

(vi) Bricks should be sufficiently hard no impression, should be

left on brick surface, when it is scratched with finger nail.
(vii) Bricks should be low thermal conductivity and they should be
sound proof.
(viii) Bricks should not break when dropped flat on hard ground from a
height of about one meter.
(ix) Bricks, when soaked in water for 24hours, should not show
deposits of white salts when allowed to dry in shade.
(x) No brick should have crushing strength below 55kg/cm2

Brick Load Bearing Construction

constituents of bricks
1. Silica-(50-60%)
2. Alumina (clay) (20-30%)
3. Lime (10%)
4. Iron oxide (5-6%)
5. Magnesia- (<1%)

Types of Bricks
Bricks used in masonry are of two types:
1. Traditional Bricks
2. Modular Bricks

Traditional Bricks
These are those which are not standardized in size.
The dimensions of traditional bricks vary from 20 to 25cm in length, 10

to 13cm in width and 5-7.6cm in thickness (height).

The commonly adopted size of traditional brick is 23cm X 11.4cm X

7.6cm.

The average weight of a brick will be about 3 to 3.5kg

Modular bricks
If bricks are large, it is difficult to burn them properly and they become
too heavy to be placed with a single hand.
On the other hand if bricks are small, more quantity of mortar is

required.
Hence BIS has recommended the bricks of uniform size. Such bricks

are known as modular bricks.

Nominal size of these bricks are 20cm x 10cm x 10cm.

Special types of Bricks

a) Squint Bricks
These bricks are made in a
variety of shapes and are used to
the construction
b) Bull Nosed Bricks:
These bricks are used to form
rounded quoins.
c) Perforated Bricks
These bricks may be standard
size
bricks
produced
with
perforations running through their
thickness.

d) Hallow Bricks:
These bricks are made of clay and
are provided with one or more
cavities.
e) Circular Bricks:
These bricks have internal and
external faces curved to meet the
requirement of the particular curve
and radius of the wall.
d) Plinth cornice and String
Course Brick:
These bricks are moulded in
several patterns with the object of
adding architectural beauty to the
structure.

Bonds in Brick work

A bond is an arrangement of layers of stones or bricks by which no

continuous vertical joints are formed.

Bond is the interlacement of bricks, formed when they lay those

immediately below or above them.

Bonds of various types are distinguished by their elevation or face

appearance

It is essential to eliminate continuous vertical joints in the face of the

wall.

The bond distribute the load coming on the structure evenly and

prevents the formation of a vertical crack

wall having continuous vertical joint does not act as a

homogeneous mass to distribute the super imposed loads .

Types of Bonds
Following are the types of bonds provided in brick work.
1. Stretcher bond
2. Header bond
3. English bond
4. Flemish bond
5. Facing bond
6. Dutch bond
7. Raking bond
8. Zigzag bond
9. English cross bond
10. Garden wall bond
11. Brick on edge bond

English bond
1. It consists of alternate courses
of headers and stretchers
2. In this bond, vertical joints of
the header courses come
over each other, similarly the
vertical joints of the stretcher
courses also come over each
other.
3. There is no continuous vertical
joint

4. Every alternate header comes

centrally over the joint between
two stretchers in course below.
5. Queen closer is put next to the
quoin header to develop the face
lap.
6. In the stretcher course, the
stretchers have a minimum lap of
1/4th their length over headers.
7. The hearting (middle portion) of
each of the thicker walls consists
entirely of headers.

8. Walls of even multiple of half

bricks represent the same
appearance on both faces. Thus
a course showing stretchers on
the front face will also show
stretchers on the back face.
9. Wall of odd multiple of half
bricks will show stretchers on one
face and headers on the other
face.
10. The queen closers are not
required in stretcher courses.

Flemish bond
1. In this type of bond, each
course is comprised of alternate
headers and stretchers.
2. Every alternate course starts
with a header at the corner
(quoin header).
3. Quoin closers are placed next
to the quoin header in alternate
courses to develop the face lap.
4. Every header is centrally
supported over the stretcher
below it.

Flemish bonds are two types:

1. Single Flemish bond
2. Double Flemish bond
Single Flemish bond
Special features of single Flemish
bond are
1. This bond is a combination of
English and Flemish bond.
2. This bond uses the strength of
the English bond and appearance
of Flemish bond
3. In this work the facing of the
wall consists of Flemish bond and
the backing consists of English
bond in each course.
4. It is used for those walls having
thickness at least equal to one &
half brick.

Double Flemish bond

Special features of double Flemish
bond are
1. Alternate headers and stretcher are
laid in each course.
2. The facing and backing of the wall,
in each course have the same
appearance.
3. In walls having thickness equal to
odd multiple of half bricks, half bats
4. For walls having thickness equal to
even multiple of half bricks, no bats
are required. A header or stretcher will
come out as header or stretcher on
the same course in front as well as
back faces.

Mortar
Mortar acts as a cementing material and unites the individual brick units

together to act as a homogeneous mass.

Mortar is a homogeneous mixture produced by uniform mixing of a

binder with sand and water to make a paste of required consistency.

Following are the types of mortar used in masonry
1. Mud mortar
2. Cement mortar
3. Lime mortar
4. Composite mortar

Reinforced Brick Masonry

Reinforced brick work is the one in

which the brick masonry is

strengthened by the provision of
mild steel flats, hoop iron,
expanded mesh or bars.
This type of masonry is capable of

resisting compressive, tensile and

shear stress.
The reinforcing material may be
1. Hoop

iron
2. Mild steel bars
3. Mild steel flats
4. Expanded mesh

The reinforcement can be laid

either in horizontal or in vertical
direction.
Horizontal Reinforcement
Generally 2 strips of hoop iron
are used per header brick and
one hoop iron per stretcher
brick.
Mild steel flat bars may have
width between 22 to 32mm and
thickness equal to 0.25 to1.6mm
protection against rust is
provided by dipping the bars in
hot tar.

Vertical Reinforcement
it is in the form of mild steel
bars is provided in brick
columns, brick walls and brick
retraining walls. Vertical mildsteel bars are then placed in the
holes.
Brick

retaining
walls
are
reinforced when the height is up
to 3m since work is cheaper.

The size of the groove is kept

slightly more than the diameter

of the bar so that it may be
grouted in with cement mortar,
to prevent corrosion.

Reinforced brickwork is adopted in the

following circumstances:
1. When the brickwork has to bear tensile or shear stresses.
2. When it is required to increase the longitudinal bond.
3. When the brickwork is supported on soil which is susceptible to large
settlement.
4. When it is supported to act as a beam or lintel over openings.
5. When it has to resist lateral loads, such as in retaining walls
6. When it has to carry heavy compressive loads.

STONE MASONRY
STONE: Stone has been defined
as the natural, hard substance
formed from earth crust which are
part of rocks.
ROCK: Rock may be defined as
the
aggregates
of
mineral
constituents forming the earths
crust

Uses of stones:
The following are the uses of stones as follows.
1. Structure: Stones are used for foundations, walls, columns, lintels,
arches, roofs, floors, damp proof course etc.
2.Face works: Stones are adopted to give massive appearance to the
structure. Wall are of bricks and facing is done in stones of desired
shades. This is known as composite masonry.
3. Paving stones: These are used to cover floor of building of various
types such as residential, commercial, industrial etc. They are also
adopted to form paving of roads, foot paths etc.
4. Basic material: Stones are disintegrated and converted to form a
basic material for cement concrete, morum of roads, calcareous
cements, artificial stones, hallow blocks etc.
5.Misalliances: Stones are also used for (i) ballast for railways (ii) flux
in blast furnace (iii) Blocks in the construction of bridges, piers,
abutments, retaining walls, light houses, dams etc.

Common Building stones

Some of the common buildings
stones are as follows
Granite (Igneous rock):

It is used for heavy engineering

works for bridge piers, columns,
retaining wall, foundation and
Dam constructions.
Lime stone (Sedimentary):

It is used for the walls as coarse

aggregate for concrete and also
as a base material for cement.

 Sand stones (Sedimentary):

They are used for ornamental

work and paving.
Laterite (Decomposed from

igneous rocks):
It can occur in hard and soft
varieties. The soft variety is
used for paving the pathways.
Marble (Metamorphic rock):

It

is used for ornamental,

flooring and stone facing
slabs.

 Slate (Metamorphic rock):

It is used for damp proofing and

flooring.

Quartz (Metamorphic rock):

It is also used in the same way

as granite but it is not used for
ornamental work as it is brittle.

 Gneiss (Metamorphic rock):

It is used in the same way as

granite. It can be identified by
its elongated plates minerals
often mixed with mica.

Basalt (Igneous rock):

They have the same use as

granite and also commonly
used in railway track.

Properties of common building stones

A good building stone should have the following qualities.
For face work:

It should have fine, compact texture; light-coloured stone is preferred

as dark colors are likely to fade out in due course of time.
Structure:

A broken stone should not be dull in appearance and should have

uniform texture free from cavities, cracks, and patches of loose or soft
material.
Strength:

A stone should be strong and durable to withstand the disintegrating

action of weather. Compressive strength of building stones in practice
range between 60 to 200 N/mm2.

 Weight:

It is an indication of the porosity and density. For stability of structures

such as dams, retaining walls, etc. Heavier stones are required, whereas
for arches light stones may be the choice.
Hardness:

This property is important for floors, pavements, aprons of bridges, etc.

Toughness:

The measure of impact that a stone can withstand is defined as

toughness. The stone used should be tough when vibratory or moving
loads are anticipated.
Porosity and absorption:
Porosity depends on the mineral constituents, cooling time and structural
formation. A porous stone disintegrates as the absorbed rain water
freezes, expands, and causes cracking.

 Seasoning:

The stone should be well seasoned.

Weathering:

The resistance of stone against the wear and tear due to natural agencies
should be high.
Workability:

Stone should be workable so that cutting, dressing and bringing it out in

the required shape.
Fire resistant:

Stones should be free from calcium carbonate, oxides of iron, and

minerals having different coefficients of thermal expansion.
Specific gravity:

The specific gravity of most of the stones lies between 2.3 to 2.5.

Classification of Stone Masonry

Rubble Masonry
In this type of construction, the

stones of irregular size are

used.
The stones are obtained from
quarry are taken in use in the
same form or they are broken
and shaped in suitable sizes by
means of hammer as the work
proceeds.
Since stones of irregular size
are used, the masonry will have
wide joints.

Coursed rubble masonry

In this heights of stones vary
from 50mm to 200mm.

The masonry work is carried out

in courses such that the stones

in a particular course are of
equal heights.

This type of masonry is used for

the construction for public

buildings, residential buildings
etc.

Uncoursed rubble masonry

This is the poorest form of stone
masonry. Since it is cheaper it is
used for the construction of
compound walls, godowns,
garages, labour quarters etc.
The stones to be used for the

work are directly obtained from

the quarry.
The larger stones are laid first

and the spaces between them

are then filled up by means of
spalls or snecks.
The thickness of joints should

not exceed 13mm

Random rubble masonry

This form is slightly superior to
uncourse rubble masonry.
In this type of masonry, the
stones of irregular sizes and
shapes are used.
More skill is required to make
this masonry structurally stable.
If the face stones are hammer
dressed and the thickness of
mortar joints are hammer
dresses and the thickness of
mortar joints does not exceed
12mm.
This type of masonry used for
the construction of residential
buildings,
compound
walls,
godowns etc.

Ashlar Masonry
The work built from carefully dressed stones with accurate bedding

and jointing is termed as ashlar masonry

In this type of construction, the square or rectangular blocks of stones

are used.
The courses are not necessary of the same height.
The height of stones varies from 250mm to 300mm.
The length of stones should not exceed 3 times the height and the

depth into the wall should be at least equal to half the height.

Ashlar fine masonry

All the stones are fine tooled on
all beds and sides joints.
The height of the course is
never less than 30cm
All courses are kept of same
height.
The height of stones used is
never less than their breadth and
their length not less than twice
their height.
The face stones are generally
laid as header and stretcher
alternately.
The thickness of the mortar
joints should not exceed 3mm.

It gives perfectly smooth

appearance but it is costly in
construction.

Ashlar Rough Tooled

The exposed faces of stone

generally have a fine dressed

chisel drafting all round the
edges. But he face is made
rough by means of tools.

The thickness of mortar joints

does not exceed 6mm.

A strip about 25mm wide and

made by means of a chisel is

provided around the perimeter
of every stone.

Ashlar rock or quarry faced

masonry
It is similar to ashlar rough

tooled except that the exposed

faces of face stones between
the chisel drafting are left rough.

Only the projections on the face,

known
as
the
bushings,
exceeding 80mm are removed
by a hammer. It gives massive
appearance.

Ashlar chamfered masonry

Here the strip is provided as

above. But is chamfered at an
angle of 45o.

It is similar to Ashlar or quarry

faced
masonry.
A
neat
appearance of the grooved
joints is obtained.

Ashlar block in course masonry

It occupies an intermediate
position between ruble masonry
and the ashlar masonry.
The faces of the stones are

generally hammer dressed and

the thickness of mortar joints
does not exceed 6mm.
The depth of courses varies

from 200mm to 300mm.

It is used for heavy engineering

works such as retaining walls

etc.

Ashlar facing
it

is provided with brick or

concrete block masonry to give
better appearance.

The sides and beds of each

block are properly dressed so s

to make them true to shape.
The

exposed faces of the

stones are rough tooled and
chamfered.The backing of wall
may be made in brick masonry.