BUILDING MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION (18CV34) CKM
MODULE 02
FOUNDATION & MASONRY
FOUNDATION:
1.1 INTRODUCTION:
Building is an assemblage of various structural components like beams, columns, slabs
and footings which resists deformation caused due to external loads. Therefore buildings are
means of transferring forces and moments. Building consists of two parts
Substructure: The structural components which are constructed below ground
level are called substructures.
Superstructure: The structural components which are constructed above ground
level are called superstructures.
Definition: Foundation is a substructure which transmits the load of the superstructure to the
underlying soil or ground surface. It is the most critical part of building which is to be
designed carefully. The soil on which foundation rests is called foundation bed.
SITE INVESTIGATION:
Site investigation or sub-surface exploration is done in order to obtain the information
about soil condition at the site of proposed construction. This very important for big
engineering projects based on which the design and construction techniques are planned. Site
investigation of soil involves 3 stages.
Reconnaissance survey: This is the first step in the site investigation. It includes a
visit to the site and to study the maps in order to know the geographical features of the
site based on which the exploration methods are decided.
Preliminary investigation: This is done in order to determine nature of soil, depth of
bed rock, depth of groundwater table by excavating small test pits in the site.
Detailed investigation: This is to determine the engineering properties of soil such as
SBC (Safe Bearing Capacity), permeability, shrinkage & swelling by conducting
laboratory test on soil collected from the test pit.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION:
Before construction of any building, the preliminary investigation of soil is very
important. The following are the information’s collected during preliminary investigation:
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1. Behavior of ground due to variation in depth of water table.
2. Safe bearing capacity of soil (SBC).
3. Selection of economical and safe type of foundation.
4. To fix the depth upto which foundation must be taken into the ground.
5. To know the underground water level and to solve the problems related to ground
water.
6. Disposal of storm water at site.
7. Nature of soil by visual examination.
8. Movement of ground due to any reasons etc.
FUNCTIONS OF FOUNDATION
1. To distribute the total load of the building evenly over large area.
2. To support the structure.
3. To give enough stability to the structure against disturbing forces like rain, wind,
earthquakes etc.
4. To provide a level surface for concreting or masonry works.
5. To take structure deep into the soil and thus provides enough stability.
6. To provide structural safety against scouring and undermining due to animals and
flood water.
7. To prevent or minimize cracks due to movement of moisture in case of weak or poor
soils.
REQUIREMENTS OF FOUNDATIONS
1. Location: The foundation should be located in such a way that it is able to resist any
unexpected future influence which may adversely affect its future performance.
2. Stability: The foundation structure should be constructed to sustain the dead and
imposed loads and transmits these loads to subsoil in such a way that the pressure on
the soil should not cause any settlements and should be provide stability to the
structure.
3. Settlements: Foundation base should be rigid so that differential settlements are
minimized.
4. Foundation should be taken sufficiently deep to protect the building from damage
caused due to swelling or shrinkage of subsoil.
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Causes of failure of good foundation
1. Non-uniform settlement of subsoil and masonry
2. Alternative swelling and shrinkage of subsoil.
3. Action of weathering agencies like sun, rain, wind, and earthquake forces etc.
4. Root trees and shrubs which penetrate into the soil which has more affinity towards
water which may leads to the failure of the foundation.
SAFE BEARING CAPACITY:
Terminologies:
1. Safe bearing capacity of soil: The ability of the soil to support the loads coming from
the structure without causing any settlement or displacement.
2. Ultimate bearing capacity: It is the minimum load on the soil which causes failure.
3. Allowable bearing pressure: The maximum pressure to which soil can be subjected
without causing shear failure and settlement of soil.
4. Maximum safe bearing pressure: The maximum pressure that a soil can receive any
risk of shear failure.
5. Bearing Capacity: The maximum load per unit area the soil can resists is known as
bearing capacity.
METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL:
1. Plate load test: This is the improved refined method and it is widely used for
determining the bearing capacity of soil for important civil engineering structures.
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The procedure to carry out the plate load test is as follows:
1. The test pit and the square hole for the steel plate are made. The plate is firmly seated
in the hole. If the ground is slightly uneven, a thin layer of sand is spread below the
plate. The loading is done with the help of sand bags, stones or concrete blocks.
2. The load is applied in convenient increments.
3. The settlement of the plate is observed by two sensitive dial gauges which are fixed at
diametrically opposite ends and supported independently on a suitable datum bar. The
sensitivity of the dial gauges should be 0.02mm.
4. As the plate settles, the ram of the dial gauges moves down and settlement is
recorded. The load is indicated on the load gauge of the hydraulic jack. The settlement
should be observed for each increment of load after an interval of 1, 4, 10, 20, 40 and
60 min and thereafter at hourly intervals.
5. The recording of settlement is continued until the rate of settlement becomes less than
0.02mm per hour. The next load increment is then applied.
6. The load-settlement curve is plotted.
2. Method of dropping a weight or penetration test: In this method, a substance of
known weight is dropped from a known height. The depth of impression made by the
weight on the soil is noted. Then bearing capacity is determined by using below
formula
Safe Bearing capacity of soil = R/ (A *f)
Where f= factor of safety
Where, R = w*h/d
R = resistance of soil, w = weight of the substance
h = height, d = depth of impression
A = cross section area of the substance
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INCREASING THE BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL:
Sometimes the required safe bearing capacity of the soil is not available at shallow
depth or it is so low that the dimension of the footing works out to be very large and
uneconomical. Under such circumstances, it becomes necessary to increase the bearing
capacity of soil.
Methods for increasing the bearing capacity of soil:
1. Increase in depth of foundation: Bearing capacity of soil gets increased by
increasing the depth of foundation. But this measure is not economical since the cost
of the construction increases with increase in depth of foundation.
2. Drainage of soil: In case of sandy soil 50% of bearing capacity is lost due to the
presence of excess water. The SBC can be improved by providing effective drainage
from the point of foundation.
3. Confining the soil: The movement of soil under the action of load can be prevented
by confining the ground by sheet piles.
4. Grouting: The bore holes in sufficient numbers are driven in the ground. The cement
grout is then forced under pressure through these bore holes. The cracks on the
surface of rock are thus filled up, resulting in the increase of bearing power of soil.
5. Compaction of soil: The compaction of soil results in increase in density and strength
and hence bearing capacity also increases.
6. Chemical treatment: In this treatment, certain chemicals which can solidify and gain
early strength are used in place of cement paste grout to solidify the soil. But as this
process is costly, it is adopted only in case of important buildings.
7. Stone columns: Stone columns are invariably used in weak soils having very poor
bearing capacity. It is normally used in soft inorganic soils. Pieces of stones are well
compacted in pre-bored holes to form stone column which acts as reinforcement,
confines the soil and improves bearing capacity.
8. Sand Piles: The construction of sand piles proves to be very useful in case of sandy
soils or soft soils.
9. Use of geo-synthetics: Geo-synthetics are used as reinforcing material which
improves the ground condition. The bearing capacity of such soils is improved by
300% by using geo-synthetics. The various types of geo-synthetics are Geo-textiles,
Geo-grids, Geo-cells, and Geo-drains etc.
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TYPES OF FOUNDATION:
Foundations may be broadly classified into 2 types;
a) Shallow Foundations
b) Deep Foundations
SHALLOW FOUNDATION: A foundation is shallow if its depth is equal to or less than its
width. This is the most common type of foundation and it can be laid by using open
excavations by allowing natural slopes on all sides. This type of foundation is provided when
the height of structure is less.
Types of shallow foundations:
a) Spread footing:
It spread the super imposed load of wall or column over a large area
It supports either a column or wall.
It may be of the following types:
i. Wall footing
ii. Isolated column footing
iii. Combined column footing
iv. Cantilever footing
v. Continuous footing
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vi. Inverted arch footing
Wall Footing:
These footings can be either simple or stepped footing.
If the wall directly rests on foundation concrete without any step, it is called simple
footing.
Stepped footing is used for a heavily loaded column which requires greater spread.
Wall footing is a type of footing which is provided to support the wall.
This type of footing is used only for the light weight structures.
Fig: Wall Footing
Isolated Column footing:
Isolated footings are most commonly used footings for Reinforced cement concrete
column because it is simple and most economical. An isolated footing is used to support a
single column. Isolated footings are independent footings which are provided for each
column.
This type of footing is used when
Columns are not closely spaced.
Loads on footings are less.
The Safe bearing capacity of the soil is generally high.
The Isolated footings essentially consist of a bottom slab. There are three basic types of bottom slabs
are:
Pad footing/ simple footing (with uniform thickness)
Stepped footing (with non-uniform thickness)
Sloped footing (trapezoidal section)
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Reinforcement
Fig: Isolated column footing
Combined footings
A footing which supports two or more columns in a row is known as combined
footing.
It is made with reinforced cement concrete.
It may be in rectangular or trapezoidal in shape.
Fig: Combined footing Fig: Strap footing
Strap footings/ Cantilever footing:
The footing which consists of two or more individual footings which are connected by
a beam is called strap footing or cantilever footing.
The footings connected by a beam is called strap.
This type of footing is suitable when the distance between the columns is so great.
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Continuous Footings:
If a footing is common to more than two columns in a row, it is called continuous
footing. This type of footing is necessary, if the columns in a row are closer or if SBC of soil
is low.
Fig: Continuous footing Fig: Inverted arch footing
Inverted Arch Footing
Inverted Arch Footing is used to be provided for multi-storeyed buildings in olden
times. However, the advantage of inverted arch construction is that in soft soils the depth of
foundation is greatly reduced. This of foundation is not commonly used for buildings, but it is
quite suitable for other structures like bridges, reservoirs, tanks, supports for drainage lines
etc.
b) Raft or Mat foundation:
A raft or mat is a combined footing that converts the entire area beneath a structure
and supports all the wall and columns.
It is more economical when the soil pressure is low and it covers one half the areas.
They are also used where it is difficult to control differential settlements in soil.
Raft foundation is also used to reduce settlement by making the weight of structure
equal to weight of soil excavated.
DEEP FOUNDATION:
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Foundation is said to be deep if its depth is greater than its width.
a. Pile foundation:
Pile foundation is the construction of foundation which is supported on piles.
It is deep foundation where the loads are taken to a low level by means of vertical
members which may be of timber, concrete or steel.
It is adopted when loading is uneven and no firm bearing strata exists at reasonable
depths.
In this type, foundation receives load from superstructure and then it distributes load
to the piles, then these piles transmittes the load to the ground.
This type of foundation is applicable only when loose soil is extended to a greater
depth.
Pile foundation can be further classified into 4types:
a. Bearing piles
b. Sheet piles
c. Friction piles
d. Compaction piles
Bearing piles:
Bearing piles are those which are driven into the soil until hard strata is reached.
The bearing piles do not support the load but it acts as media to transfer the load from
superstructure to ground.
It also acts as a pillar to support the superstructure.
Sheet piles:
Sheet piles acts as a barrier or retaining wall to prevent the entry of water into the
foundation area or structural area.
Friction piles:
The friction piles are used when weak soil is extended to some considerable depth.
These piles carry the loads from superstructure and transmit to the ground and this
load is resisted by the friction developed between the piles and the ground.
This type of piles is used where the SBC of the soil is less.
Compaction piles:
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Compaction piles are used to compact loose granular soils thus increasing their
bearing capacity. The compaction piles themselves do not carry load by it but it carry
by weaker material like timber, bamboo sticks and sands.
b. Well foundation or caissons:
Well foundations are box like structure - circular or rectangular which is sunk from
the surface.
They are much large in diameter compared to other deep foundations.
They are hollow from inside and filled with sand and plugged at the bottom.
It is used for major works like:
Bridge piers and abutments in rivers, lakes etc
Large water front structures such as pump
houses
MASONRY:
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1.2 INTRODUCTION:
The term masonry is used to indicate the art of building the structures in either stones
or bricks.
It may be defined as the construction of building units bonded together with mortar.
The masonry is used for the construction of foundations, walls, columns and other
similar components of a structure.
Depending upon the type of material used, masonry can be broadly divided in the
following categories:
i. Stone masonry
ii. Brick masonry
iii. Reinforced masonry
iv. Hollow concrete block masonry
v. Load bearing wall tile masonry
Definitions and terms used in masonry:
1. Course: A Course is a horizontal layer of masonry or bricks or stones.
2. Bed: The lower surface of a brick or stone in each course.
3. Back: The inner surface of the wall which is not exposed to weather.
4. Face: The surface of wall which is exposed to weather.
5. Backing: The material which is used in the formation of back wall is known as
backing.
6. Facing: The material which is used in the formation of face wall is known as facing.
7. Arrises: The edge formed by the intersection of plane surfaces of brick is called the
arrises.
8. Hearting: The portion of wall between facing and backing.
9. Stretcher: A stretcher is the longer face of the brick 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.
Or
“A stretcher is a full stone or brick which is laid along its length”.
10. Header: It is the shorter face of the brick 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. (or) “A header is a full stone or brick which is laid along its width”.
11. Header course: It is a course of brickwork entirely composed of headers on the
exposed face of wall.
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12. Stretcher course: It is a course of brickwork entirely composed of stretchers on the
exposed face of wall.
13. Bond: Bond is an arrangement of layers of stones or bricks by which no continuous
vertical joints are formed.
14. Bed joint: The horizontal layer of mortar upon which the bricks or stones are laid is
known as a bed joint.
15. Quoins: 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.
16. Lap: The horizontal distance between the vertical joints in successive courses is
termed lap.
17. Bat: It is the portion of brick cut across the width is known as bat.
18. Closer: A piece of brick which is used to close up the bond at the end of brick courses
is known as a closer. Following are the types of closers:
i. Queen closer
ii. King closer
19. King Closer: It is formed by cutting of a triangular piece between center of one end
and center of other side.
20. Queen closer: It is formed by cutting of a brick into two portions along its length.
21. Frog: The depression in top face of a brick is called frog.
22. Spall’s: The chips of stones which are used to filling the gaps in stone masonry or
brick masonry is known as spalls.
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BRICK MASONRY:
Construction of brick units bonded together with mortar is termed as brick masonry.
Two essential components of brick masonry are
1. Bricks
2. Mortar
Bricks:
Bricks are the products of the clay. It is defined as a small, solid building unit in the
shape of a rectangular block composed of inorganic, non-metallic substances of mineral
origin and hardened by heat.
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. Gauged mortar
Bonds in Brick work:
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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 distributes the load coming on the structure evenly and prevents the
formation of a vertical crack.
A wall having continuous vertical joint does not act as a homogeneous mass to
distribute the super imposed loads.
Types of Bonds:
Following are the main 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
Stretcher bond:
In this type of bond, all the bricks are arranged in the stretcher course.
The stretcher course will be useful for one-brick partition walls as there are no
headers in such walls.
As this bond does not develop proper internal bond, it should not be used for walls
having thickness greater than that of one-brick wall.
Stretcher course Header course
Header
Stretcher
Header Bond:
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In this type of bond, all the bricks are arranged in header course.
The bond does not have strength to transmit pressure in the direction of the length of
the wall. Hence it is not suitable for load bearing walls.
However this bond is used for curved surfaces in brickwork.
English bond:
This is the most commonly used bond. It is considered to be the strongest bond.
Following are the features of English bond
It consists of alternate courses of headers and stretchers.
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.
There is no continuous vertical joint
Every alternate header comes centrally over the joint between two stretchers in course
below.
In the stretcher course, the stretchers have a minimum lap of 1/4th their length over
headers.
The queen closers are not required in stretcher courses.
Flemish bond:
In this type of bond, each course is comprised of alternate headers and stretchers.
Every alternate course starts with a header at the corner (quoin header).
Quoin closers are placed next to the quoin header in alternate courses to develop the
face lap.
Every header is centrally supported over the stretcher below it.
Flemish bonds are two types:
Single Flemish bond
Double Flemish bond
Single Flemish bond:
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This bond is a combination of English and Flemish bond.
This bond uses the strength of the English bond and appearance of Flemish bond
In this work the facing of the wall consists of Flemish bond and the backing consists
of English bond in each course.
It is used for those walls having thickness at least equal to 11/2 brick.
Double Flemish Bond:
Alternate headers and stretcher are laid in each course.
The facing and backing of the wall, in each course have the same appearance.
Comparison of English bond and Flemish bond:
English bond is stronger than Flemish bond for walls thicker than 1 ½ brick
Flemish bond gives more pleasing appearance than the English bond.
Broken bricks can be used in the form of bats in Flemish bond. However more mortar
is required.
Construction with Flemish bond requires greater skill in comparison to English bond.
Requirements of Brick masonry:
The bricks used in a masonry work should have good qualities.
Good brick masonry should utilize the bricks which should be sound, hard, tough,
durable, and uniform in color, size and shape.
The bricks should be compact, homogeneous, and free from cracks, lumps or voids.
In the brickwork, bricks should be laid on their beds with frogs pointing upwards.
The bricks should be laid horizontally and should have truly vertical joints.
As far as possible, avoid the use of brick bats.
After the construction of brick masonry, it has to be cured for 2-3 weeks in case of
lime mortar & 1-2 weeks for cement mortar.
In order to carry out brickwork at higher level, scaffolding is used.
All joints should be properly finished and filled with mortar, so that no cavity is left in
between two bricks.
The bricks should be soaked in water before used in construction.
STONE MASONRY:
Construction of stone units bonded together with mortar is termed as stone masonry.
Two essential components of stone masonry are stones and mortar.
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Commonly used stones for masonry
Some of the stones found in India and their uses as follow:
1. Granite (Igneous rock): It is used for heavy engineering works for bridge piers,
columns, retaining wall, random rubble, foundation, dressed stone work and for
coarse aggregates in concrete.
2. 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.
3. Quartize (Metamorphic rock): It is also used in the same way as granite but it is not
used for ornamental work as it is brittle.
4. Slate (Metamorphic rock): It is used for damp proofing, flooring and flooring.
5. Marble (Metamorphic rock): It is used for ornamental, flooring and stone facing
slabs.
6. Lime stone (Sedimentary): It is used for the walls as coarse aggregate for concrete
and also as a base material for cement.
7. Sand stones (Sedimentary): They are used for ornamental work and paving.
8. Laterite (Decomposed from igneous rocks): It can occur in hard and soft varieties.
The soft variety is used for paving the pathways.
Characteristics and Requirements of stone masonry
1. The stones to be used for masonry should be hard, tough and durable.
2. The pressure acting on the stones should be vertical.
3. For effective transfer of load, stones should be laid flat.
4. The stones should be dressed as per requirements.
5. The mortar to be used should be good quality.
6. The construction work should be raised uniformly
7. As for as possible, broken stones should not be used.
8. Proper bond should be maintained while carrying out masonry work.
9. The masonry should be provided with adequate number of stones.
10. Stones to be used in the work should be well wetted before use.
11. The entire masonry work should be properly water cured for about 2 to 3 weeks.
Classification of Stone Masonry
Depending upon the arrangement of stones in the construction, degree of refinement
used in shaping the stone and finishing adopted, the stone masonry can be classified as
follows:
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Rubble Masonry Ashlar Masonry
1. Coursed Rubble 1. Ashlar fine
2. Uncoursed Rubble 2. Ashlar rough tooled
3. Random Rubble 3. Ashlar rock/quarry faced
4. Dry Rubble 4. Ashlar chamfered
5. Polygonal Rubble 5. Ashlar block in course
6. Flint Rubble 6. Ashlar facing
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.
a. 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. the course rubble masonry is further divide into 3 categories
b. Uncoursed rubble masonry:
This is the poorest form of stone masonry.
Stones are not dressed.
The stones to be used for the work are directly obtained from the quarry.
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The larger stones are laid first and the spaces between them are then filled up by
means of spalls or snecks.
Courses are not maintained regularly. But for every 300 to 500mm a level will be
maintained.
The thickness of joints should not exceed 13 mm.
Since it is cheaper, it is used for the construction of compound walls, gowdowns,
garages, labour quarters etc.
c. Random rubble masonry:
This form is slightly superior to uncoursed 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 chisel-dressed and the thickness of mortar joints does not exceed
6mm, it is random rubble masonry I sort.
It 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, it is random rubble
masonry II sort.
This type of masonry used for the construction of residential buildings, compound
walls, gowdowns etc.
d. Polygonal Rubble Masonry:
Stones selected for the work is of irregular polygon shape.
Skilled labors are required in order to get better appearance.
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.
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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.
a. Ashlar fine masonry:
Here all the faces of the stones are finely dressed.
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.
b. Ashlar Rough Tooled:
In this type all the faces of the stones are roughly dressed by means of chisel.
The thickness of mortar joints does not exceed 6mm.
The masonry may be either in English bond or Flemish bond.
c. 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.
d. Ashlar chamfered masonry:
It is similar to Ashlar fine masonry, but only difference is, the edges or corners of the
stones are cutted or angled at an angle of 450 for a depth of 25mm.
All the sides of stones are finely dressed and it is used for decorative purpose.
e. Ashlar block in course masonry:
This type of masonry takes the intermediate position between rubble masonry and the
ashlar masonry.
The faces of the stones are generally hammer dressed and the thickness of mortar
joints does not exceed 6mm.
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The depth of courses varies from 200mm to 300mm.
It is used for heavy engineering works such as retaining walls etc.
f. Ashlar facing:
In this type of masonry, only front face of the stone or only one facing face is dressed
roughly and remaining sides are kept undressed.
JOINTS IN STONE MASONRY:
Following are the various types of joints used in stone masonry:
1. Butt or square joint
2. Rebated or lapped joint
3. Tongued or grooved joint or joggle joint
4. Tabled joint
5. Rusticated joint
6. Plugged joint
7. Dowelled joint
8. Cramped joint
Butt or square joint: The joint is formed by placing 2 stones side by side.
Rebated or lapped joint: In this type the rebates are provided which prevent the
movements of stones. The length of the rebate depends on the nature of the work. But
it should not be less than 70mm. this joint is used for arch work or on gables.
Tongued or grooved joint or joggle joint : In this type a projection is kept on the stone
and a corresponding sinking is provided in the other stone over the other. This joint is
also known a joggle joint.
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Tabled joint: In this type, a joggle is formed in the bed of the stone to prevent lateral
movement. The depth of projection is about one-third the breadth of the stone. This
type of joint is used in case of structure such as sea-walls where the lateral pressure is
heavy.
Plugged joint: It consists of plug holes made on the top surface of stone and then the
plug is filled with Asphalt or Lead.
Dowelled joint: This joint is formed by cutting rectangular holes in each stones and
then inserting dowels into it. It prevents displacement or sliding of stones. The dowels
are generally 25mm thick and 100mm to 150mm long.
Cramped joint: The cramped joint is formed by making holes in the both stones and
then cramp which is made up of gun metal/iron/copper placed into the hole. After
placing the cramp into the hole, it is filled with cement or asphalt or lead.
WALL:
Wall is one of the most essential components of a building. The primary function of a
wall is to enclose or divide space of the building to make it more functional and useful.
Definition: The wall is a vertical load bearing member, its length should be more than
4times of its thickness.
Functions of wall:
To provide protection from weather, animal
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BUILDING MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION (18CV34) CKM
To divide the areas
Act as sound barriers
As fire walls to attenuate the spread of fire from one building unit to another
Separate the interior spaces
To improve the building appearance
To provide privacy
Materials for Walls
Timber, brick, concrete block, reinforced concrete can be used for wall construction.
TYPES OF WALLS:
The walls are of 3 types:
a. Load bearing walls
b. Non load bearing walls or partition walls
c. Cavity walls
Load bearing walls:
Load bearing walls are those which are designed to carry super imposed loads, in
addition to their own weight.
These walls may be subjected to variety of loads like live loads, dead loads, wind
loads, earthquake loads etc.
Almost all the exterior walls of the building are load bearing walls.
The thickness of load bearing wall should be sufficient at all the points to carry loads.
Normally the thickness of load bearing wall will be 230mm or 300mm.
Non load bearing walls or partition walls:
Non load bearing walls are those which does not carry any structural loads.
The main purpose of partition wall is to divide the space within the building into
rooms and areas.
A partition wall should be light.
Types of partition walls:
a. Brick partitions
b. Clay block partitions
c. Concrete partitions
d. Glass partitions
e. Asbestos sheet or galvanized iron sheet partitions
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f. Timber partitions
Cavity walls:
A cavity wall or hollow wall is one which consists of two separate walls and there is a
gap or cavity between them and these two walls are connected by a metal pins or
bonding bricks at suitable intervals.
The thickness of cavity wall may be 40mm to 100mm.
Advantages of cavity wall:
It provides better thermal insulation
It provides better insulation against sound because of 2 walls
External moisture cannot travel inside the building
Loads on foundation are reduced because of light weight wall.
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