MASONRY

Brick Work In Cement Mortar

 Masonry may be defined as the construction of building
bounded together with mortar.
 Masonry is normally used for construction of walls.

It performs a variety of functions, such as

 Supporting loads
 Subdividing space
 Providing thermal and acoustic insulation
 Affording fire and weather protection etc.
 masonry

mortar
Mortar
 It is the pasty material formed by the addition of water
mixture composed of fine aggregate (sand) and cement or
lime.

 Generally the following types of mortar are in use:

1. Mud mortar
2. Lime mortar
3. Lime surkhi mortar
4. Cement mortar and
5. Cement lime mortar or lime- cement- mortar
Terms Used in Brick Masonry

 Course: A complete layer of bricks laid on the same called a

course and its thickness is equal to the thickness of one mortar
joint.
 Frog : Depressions provided in the face of the brick.
 Bed: The bottom surface of the brick when it is laid flat is
called bed.
 Stretcher: The side surface of bricks visible in elevation when
the brick is laid flat is called the stretcher (19 cm x 9 cm).
 Header: The end face of the brick when it is laid flat is as
header (9cm x 9cm)
Terms Used in Brick Masonry

 Bed joint: The horizontal mortar joints between two

successive courses are known as bed joints.

 Perpend: These are the joints between bricks either in

longitudinal or cross directions.

 Bat: The brick which is cut across its width is called as bat

 Closer: The brick which is cut across its length is called as

closer.
Principles in Brick Masonry Construction

 Good brick masonry should utilize bricks which are sound,

hard, well burnt, and tough with uniform colour, shape and
size.
 The brick should be compact, homogeneous and free from
holes, cracks, air-bubbles and stone lumps.
 In the brick work, the bricks should be laid on their beds with
the frogs pointing upwards.
 The brick courses should be laid truly horizontal and should
have truly vertical, joints.
 As far as possible the use of brick-bats should be discouraged.
 As far as possible the brick walls should be raised uniformly
with proper bond. Generally the height of brick masonry
construction in a day should be less than l.5 m.
 In order to ensure continuous bond between the old and the
new, the walls should be stopped with a. toothed end.
 Finished brickwork in lime mortar should be cured for a period
of 2 to 3 weeks. This period can be reduced to 1 to 2 weeks in
case of brickwork with cement mortar.
 In order to carry out the brickwork at higher level single
scaffolding is used.
Bonds in Brick Masonry

 Bonding is a process of arrangement of bricks and mortars to

tie them together in a mass of brickwork.
 It should have a minimum of vertical joints in any part of the
work. It is a weak portion of brickwork and should not be
continuous in two successive courses.
 A wall having continuous vertical joints shall act as
independent column. Hence load on wall shall not be
uniformly distributed.
 A more strong and durable brick masonry construction will
not have continuous vertical joints. It shall distribute load on a
wider area and thereby minimise the tendency to settle.
various types of bonds are:

Stretcher bond
Header bond
English bond
Flemish bond
1. Stretcher bond

 In this type of bond all the bricks are laid with their lengths in
the direction of the wall.
 This pattern is used for walls having thickness of 9 cm only.
2. Header bond
 In this type of bond all the bricks are laid with their ends
towards the face of the wall.
 This type of arrangement is suitable for walls, which are one
brick thick.
3. English bond
 In this type of bond alternate courses of headers and stretchers
are laid.
 It is necessary to place the queen closer after first header in the
heading course for breaking the joints vertically.

 A quoin closer must be provided after the quoin header. A

header course should never start with a quoin closer.
 Each alternate header should be centrally placed over a
stretcher.
 Continuous vertical joint should not be allowed except at
stopped end.
English bond contd…..
 In case of the wall thickness equivalent to an even
number of half bricks the wall shall present similar
appearance of both the faces.
 In case of the wall thickness equivalent to an odd
number of, half bricks, the same courses shall have
stretchers on one and header on the other.
 The joints on the header course should be made
thinner than those in the stretcher course. This is
because of the fact that the number of vertical joints
in the stretcher course are half the number of joints in
the header course.
English bond
English bond
4. Double Flemish bond

 In this bond alternate headers and stretchers are laid in each

course.
 This type of bond is better in appearance than the English
bond. The facing and back are of the same appearance.
 The Brick bats are used in case of walls having thickness
equivalent to odd number of half bricks.
 The queen closer is placed next to the quoin header in
alternate, courses in order to break the continuity of the
vertical joints.
Double Flemish bond
Flemish bond
Double flemish bond
STONE MASONRY
Classification of Stone Masonry
RUBBLE MASONRY
 In this type of masonry, stones of irregular sizes and shapes are
used.
 The stones, as obtained from quarry, are taken for use in the
same form or they are broken and shaped in suitable sizes by
means of hammer as the work proceeds.

1.Random rubble masonry:

 In this type of masonry, the stones used are of widely different
sizes. This is the roughest and cheapest form of stone
masonry.
 In coarsed random rubble masonry, the masonry work is
carried out in courses such that the stones in a particular course
are of equal heights.
Rubble masonry
2.Square rubble masonry
 In this type of masonry stones having straight bed and sides
are used.
 The stones are usually squared and brought to a hammer
dressed or straight cut finish.
 In the coursed squared rubble masonry, the work is carried out
in courses of varying depth.

3.Dry rubble masonry

 In this type of masonry mortar is not used in the joints. This
type of construction is the cheapest and requires more skill in
construction.
 This may be used for non-load bearing walls such as
compound wall etc.
Square random rubble masonry
Dry rubble masonry
4.Flint rubble masonry
 In this type of rubble masonry, stones used are
flints or cobbles.
These are irregularly shaped modules of silica.
The stones are extremely hard.
ASHLAR MASONRY
 In this type of construction, no irregular stones are used. The
stones used in this masonry are rectangular blocks and are all
dressed finely with chisel.
 The courses are not necessarily of the same height. It may vary
from 25 to 30 cm.
Ashlar masonry
Different types of ashlar masonry are

 Ashlar rough tooled masonry

 In this type of ashlar masonry the beds and sides are finely
chisel-dressed.
 But the face is made rough by means of tools.

 Ashlar rock or quarry faced masonry

 In this type of ashlar masonry, a strip about 25 mm wide and
made by means of chisel is provided around the perimeter of
every stones as in case of rough-tooled ashlar masonry.
 Ashlar chamfered masonry

 In this type of ashlar masonry, the strip is provided as above.

But it is chamfered or bevelled at an angle of 45 degrees by
means of a chisel for a depth of about 25 mm.

 Ashlar block-in-coarse masonry

 This is combination of rubble masonry and Ashlar masonry.

 In this type of masonry, the face work is provided with rough
tooled or hammer dressed stones and backing of the wall may
made in rubble masonry.
Points to be observed in the construction of
stone masonry

 Stones should be strong, rough and hard

 Each stone should be well watered before use
 All the stones should be laid on their natural bed
 Proper bond should be maintained; formation of vertical joints
should be avoided.
 Small stone pieces should be used for facing.
 The wall should be raised uniformly throughout its length.
 Stones should be dressed properly according to the type of
masonry.
 Mortar should be in proper proportion.
 After the construction is over the whole masonry work should
be kept wet for at least 2 to 4 weeks.
Comparison between Stone Masonry and
Brick Masonry
 Cost of stone masonry work is more, as it requires more
skilled labour.
 Due to various sizes and shapes of stone, complicated lifting
devices are required in the construction. But bricks having
regular shape and uniform size, can be moved easily by
manual labour.
 In the case of brick masonry any mortar can be used, but in the
case of stone masonry mortars other than cement will not be
having any bond with the stone surface.
 In the case of stone masonry, the dead weight is more because
it is comparatively heavy, for the same reason, it is suitable for
under water construction.
 Stone work is stronger than brick work.
 Thinner walls are not possible in stone masonry.
 Bricks resist fire better than stones. In case of fire, stone easily
disintegrates.
 In the case of brick masonry, mortar joints are thin and
uniform due to their uniform size and shape, and hence the
structure becomes more durable with less consumption of
mortar. But in the case of stone work, - pointing is necessary.
 It is easy to provide connections and openings in case of brick
work.
 Brick work is less water tight than stone work, bricks absorb
moisture from atmosphere and dampness can enter the
building. Hence plastering is essential, as extra expenditure to
brick work