HISTORIC MASONRY CLADDING

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
GSAPP - A4124 – BUILDING SYSTEMS AND MATERIALS – DEC. 07, 2016
Chris Gembinski, Assistant Adjunct Professor
HISTORIC MASONRY CLADDING
FUNCTION AND REQUIREMENTS
FUNCTION OF CLADDING

Separate Indoor Environment from Outdoors

•  Major purpose: Separate the
indoor environment of a
building from the outdoors

•  In such a way that indoor

environmental conditions can
be maintained.
FUNCTION OF CLADDING

Keep Water Out

•  Prevent entry of rain, snow, and ice.

•  Complicated by:

•  Wind at high velocities

•  High air pressures

Not just in a downward direction

FUNCTION OF CLADDING

Prevent Air Leakage

•  Air leaks waste conditioned air

•  Carry water and moisture

vapor through the wall

•  Allow moisture vapor to

condense inside the wall

•  Allow noise to penetrate the

building from outside
FUNCTION OF CLADDING

Control Water Vapor

•  Vapor moving through a wall
assembly is likely to
condense inside in cold
weather

•  Problems include: Staining,

lost insulating value,
corrosion, and freeze-thaw
deterioration

•  Designed to drain the

condensate safely to the
outside
FUNCTION OF CLADDING

Control Light Control Sound

•  Controlling radiation of heat •  Noise isolation is best
achieved by walls that are
•  Controlling the conduction of airtight, massive, and resilient
heat and cold
•  The required degree of noise
•  Provide thermal bridges in isolation varies from one
highly conductive materials building to another,
(metal framing) depending on the noise levels
and noise tolerances.
REQUIREMENTS OF CLADDING

Adjusting to Movement – Expansion & Contraction

Thermal Moisture

•  Differential expansion and •  Caused by varying moisture

contraction of inside and content
outside faces
•  Bricks and stone can slightly
•   Relationship to framing expand and concrete shrink
after installation
REQUIREMENTS OF CLADDING

Adjusting to Movement

Structural Movements Resisting Wind Forces

•  Movement of the building •  Adequately strong and stiff

transmitted between frame to sustain pressure and
and cladding suction from wind

•  Movements of cladding Other External Forces

system
•  Earthquake

•  Gravity

Small differences can accumulate to significant problems.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING
A TIMELINE
EARLY AMERICAN MASONRY CLAD BUILDINGS
•  Masonry was the
dominant material for
civic, public and
commercial buildings

•  Stone buildings were

consciously designed to
be formal

•  Thin-stone veneer
cladding begins at the
end of the 19th c.
EARLY AMERICAN MASONRY CLAD BUILDINGS
Veneer Masonry Walls

•  Massive Rubble-Core Walls

•  Thick Ashlar Clad Buildings

•  Thin Brick Masonry Systems

EARLY AMERICAN MASONRY CLAD BUILDINGS
c. 1720 – 1830

•  Colonial brick building used old

timber framing techniques

•  Floors supported on beams

pocketed into the masonry

•  Predominant construction in
Georgian Architecture
Castle Clinton 1811
New York, New York
McComb and Williams
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1850s

•  Architectural terra
cotta

•  For ornament

•  Less expensive than

carved stone

Tontine Building
1853

New York, New York
James Renwick
1870s
•  End of the monolithic
masonry bearing walls

•  Brick jack arches on
iron beams

•  Non-load-bearing stone
with the skeleton-frame
construction

Old Equitable Building

1870

New York, New York
Kendall and Gilman
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1880s – New York

“Brownstones”
•  Nonbearing front facades built after
the party walls and floor joists
completed

•  Lack bracing between floor joists

and elevations

•  Braced entirely on the party walls

•  Likely to move if continuity is lost

THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1880s
•  Tall buildings continued to
follow traditional wall
construction

•  Improvements in methods of
attachment

•  Advances in fabrication
technology

First Leiter Building

1879

Chicago, Illinois
William Le Baron Jenney
US Archive Building 1899
New York, New York
W. J. Edbrooke
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1890s
•  The last major bearing wall
building

•  Ten-story-high brick walls

THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1900s
•  Stone blocks from the quarry
cut into thick slabs and hand
tooled

•  4”-8” thick ashlar construction

integral with a masonry backup
and supported on steel

•  Typical of 1920s and 1930s

Architecture

Empire State Building

1931

New York, New York
Schreve, Lamb and Harmon
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1930s
•  Quarries introduced 1/2-inch-
thick veneer units

•  Laid up with mortared joints on

mortar beds

•  Bent steel rod anchors in

drilled holes at edges

•  Often fully grouted to the

backup wall
RCA Building
1933

New York, New York
Raymond Hood
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1940s
•  First use of thin-stone veneer
for entire building facades

•  Typically, joints were still filled

with mortar

•  Stainless-steel strap anchors

introduced, but inefficient

•  Limited to building interiors,

street-level facades and
storefronts
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1950s
•  New Anchors: The split-tail
anchor developed a method
of properly attaching thin
stone to the steel structure

•  New Tools: Diamond blade

tools improved efficiency of
fabrication

•  1¼” veneer becomes

widespread
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

1960s
•  Defining postmodern
architecture

•  Developed bond-breaker
sheets to separate the different
materials
1970s
•  Diamond-studded cables
used to cut blocks into slabs
increased efficiency of
fabrication
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VENEER CLADDING

Stone Thickness – Progression

Reduced from 4' to 1/16" in last 5000 years with

major change from 4" to 1/16" in last 60 years

•  Pyramids: Many feet thick •  Mid-20th century fabrication:

Typically, 1¼" anchored to backup
•  Parthenon: Approximately 4’-0”
•  1980s: Micro-thin stone
•  Skeleton frame & non-loadbearing 1/16" thick stone adhered to ⅜"
walls: 4” facing with clay masonry honeycomb aluminum core
backup
HISTORIC MASONRY CLADDING
DEFINITIONS AND WALL TYPES
DEFINITIONS

Bearing Wall Type$

“A wall designed to carry its own weight and the
weight of any other structure framed into it to a
foundation or transfer girder.”

All gravity loads carried by walls

down to the foundation

Interior and exterior walls are solid

Interior bearing walls have
multiple openings

Floor construction is standard
“fireproof” on beams Ames Building
supported by the walls 1889
Boston, Massachusetts
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge
DEFINITIONS

Cage Building Type$

“Consist of a frame that carries the weight of the
interior floors and roof and is surrounded by self-
supporting masonry walls.”

Gravity loads are split between the

frame and the wall

Walls provide stability against
lateral wind load

The steel frame eliminates interior
bearing walls and allows for
thinner exterior walls The Ansonia
1899


New York, New York
Paul Duboy
DEFINITIONS

Skeleton Building Type

All loads supported by steel frame

Curtain wall (non-load-bearing
wall) carried on lintels at each floor

Curtain wall can be a constant
thickness the full height of the
building Woolworth Building
1913
New York, New York
Cass Gilbert
DEFINITIONS
Transitional Buildings

•  Built around and onto

skeleton frame

•  Masonry curtain walls

•  No expansion provisions
DEFINITIONS

Curtain Wall$
“A non-bearing wall that encloses the perimeter of a
building.

Exterior wall systems supporting

only their own dead weight

The wall transfers vertical gravity
and horizontal wind loads to the
structure

UN Secretariat
1951

New York, New York
Root and Atwood
DEFINITIONS
Dimension Stone

Stone that has been selected

and fabricated to shape for
use in building

Thin Stone (thin stone

cladding or thin stone veneer)

Dimension stone not

exceeding 2 inches in
thickness that is applied to a
building façade in a non-load
bearing manner
DEFINITIONS
Veneer

•  Decorative facing; could be

any material

•  Before mid-20th century

generally used to refer to
materials applied to a
substrate

•  Example: Decorative outer

facing of terra cotta

DEFINITIONS

Thin Stone Veneer

•  In early installations stone

veneer was set in mortar and
anchored using wire anchors
or heavy steel straps

•  Later installations used thin

steel straps for anchors and
sealant rather than mortar in
the joints
WALL TYPES
•  Composite Masonry Walls

•  Reinforced Masonry Walls

•  Cavity Walls
WALL TYPES
Composite Masonry Walls
Composite Masonry Walls
Entirely one type of masonry vs. a
composite wall

•  Solid masonry walls constructed

with outer wythe of stone or face
brick and a backup of less
expensive masonry

•  Usually the two are bonded

together either by brick headers or
metal ties penetrating backup
Cathedral of St. John the Divine 1892
New York, New York
LaFarge, Heins; Cram
Composite Masonry Walls
•  Load bearing masonry units

•  Bonded with either headers or ties

Composite Masonry Walls
James A. Farley Building 1912, McKim, Mead and White
New York, New York
WALL TYPES
Composite Masonry Walls
James A. Farley Building 1912, McKim, Mead and White
New York, New York
James A. Farley Building 1912, McKim, Mead and White
New York, New York
WALL TYPES
Reinforced Masonry Walls
Reinforced Masonry Walls
Grouted Masonry Walls

•  Interior joints filled with grout as the

work progresses

•  The collar joint varies in width based

on the height of the wall

•  Requires a wider grout space than

masonry ties.
Reinforced Masonry Walls
Reinforced vs. Unreinforced

•  With reinforcing, the

increasing thickness from
the top to the bottom wall
can be reduced

•  Each succeeding story can

carry an increased load
First Battery Armory 1901-1903
New York, New York
Horgan & Slattery
Reinforced Masonry Walls
WALL TYPES
Cavity Walls
Cavity Walls
Solid Masonry vs.
Cavity Wall
Construction

•  Continuous air space

between the inner,
and outer masonry

•  Metal ties span cavity

and hold wythes
together

•  Flashing and weep

holes drain cavity
Cavity Walls
Masonry Veneer

•  A single wythe of masonry as weather

barrier

•  Anchored, but not bonded to a

structural frame.

•  Waterproofing membrane typically

installed
Cavity Walls
Cavity Walls
 Cavity Wall Advantage

1.  Enhances the insulation value of the wall

2.  Protects against water penetration

HISTORIC MASONRY CLADDING
DETAILING CLAD WALLS
DETAILING CLAD WALLS
•  Anchors and Ties

•  Flashings and Weep Holes

•  Expansion and Control Joints

•  Thermal Insulation / Thermal Breaks

Anchors and Ties
•  Dozens of types

•  Prefabricated

•  Custom
Anchors and Ties
Anchors and Ties
Anchors and Ties
Grand Central Terminal 1913, Reed & Stem – Warren & Wetmore
New York, New York
Anchors and Ties
Anchors and Ties
Anchors and Ties
Flashings and Weeps
•  Prevent water penetration

•  Concealed flashings
catch water that did
penetrate the wall

•  Internal base flashings

and where cavity is
interrupted

•  External base flashing

and counterflashing
Flashings and Weeps
Through-Wall Flashing Coping Covers
DETAILING CLAD WALLS
Flashings and Weeps
Base System
DETAILING CLAD WALLS
DETAILING CLAD WALLS
DETAILING CLAD WALLS
Expansion Joints vs. Control Joints

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•  Exxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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DETAILING CLAD WALLS
Thermal Insulation

Three general ways of insulating masonry walls: on the

outside face, within the wall, and on the inside face.

•  Insert slabs of plastic foam insulation against the inside

wythe of masonry

•  Install fill insulation

•  Adhere insulation to the interior wall

HISTORIC MASONRY CLADDING
PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE
CLADDING PERFORMANCE & MAINTENANCE
Compared to preserving traditional masonry preservation

•  Thick masonry walls: most of the preservation effort is related to

the behavior of the material

•  Thin clad masonry walls: almost all deterioration has an effect on

the structural performance of the system

•  Therefore the preservation effort focus on understanding the

causes of stress and preserving/maintaining structural integrity
Mechanisms of Failure

Building Movement

Water Penetration

Deterioration of Anchors and Ties

Materials Failure

Design Variations

H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse 1975
Washington, DC
Helmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
CLADDING PERFORMANCE
Water Penetration

•  Water penetrating the

cladding can cause
corrosion. Rarely is the
source of water leakage
attributable to water
penetrating through the
panel.
CLADDING PERFORMANCE
Deterioration of Anchors and
Ties

Often distress is related to

connections and supports

•  Cracks, spalls and

displacement around anchor
locations

•  Loss of connections transfers

loads

•  Corroded anchors can cause

corrosion jacking
CLADDING PERFORMANCE & MAINTENANCE
Structural and Material Testing

•  Thin-stone veneers do not

behave the same as thick
stone masonry

•  Surface loss from

weathering can decrease
strength

•  Thermal cycling of stone

veneer is a significant
CLADDING PERFORMANCE
Material Properties

•  Many types of marble are

not volume stable, causing
warping and bowing

•  Composition can vary

considerably, and stone
units may behave differently
CLADDING PERFORMANCE
Loss of Material

•  Distress from loss of

material strength

•  All natural building stone

exhibits strength loss with
time as a result of
mechanical and chemical
effects of weathering 
CLADDING PERFORMANCE
Building Movement

Cyclical motions can occurs

on a cyclical basis

•  Warm days

•  Cold night

•  Wet weather
CLADDING PERFORMANCE
Design Variations

•  Insufficiently sized joints

can cause cladding panels
can come in contact

•  Stresses can result in

cracking and spalling near
the edges and corners, as
well as in failed or distorted
joints
CLADDING MAINTENANCE
The main preservation issues for thin-stone veneer revolve
around maintenance

•  Treatment of joints between cladding and elements

•  Mitigation of movement of water into the system

•  Proper design
CLADDING MAINTENANCE
Materials and Systems Behavior: A Changing Perspective

•  Under certain circumstances the only available method of

repair may require removal of the deteriorated stone-
veneer material and replacement.

•  Large-scale replacement of thin-stone veneers may

become more prevalent in the future
Materials and Systems Behavior: A Changing
Perspective
•  Built, 1966

•  Clad in 1,500 2"-thick basalt

panels

•  3000 pounds each

•  installed on a steel framework

anchored to reinforced concrete

•  By 1996, panels were loose and in

danger of falling

Whitney Museum
1966
New York, New York
Marcel Breuer

Materials and Systems Behavior: A Changing
Perspective
•  Distress caused by failure of the
anchoring system
•  Galvanic corrosion resulting from
the use of steel anchors and
zinc-coated stainless steel
dowels.
•  Rust pushed rods outward,
loosening the cladding.
•  Anchoring system was under
designed.
Whitney Museum
1966
New York, New York
Marcel Breuer

Materials and Systems Behavior: A Changing
Perspective
•  All stone panels and supporting
steel members removed

•  New support system was

designed and installed

Whitney Museum
1966
New York, New York
Marcel Breuer

Materials and Systems Behavior: A Changing
Perspective

“When we took off the skin, we found galvanized steel, we found

brass, we found stainless steel, we found regular carbon steel, we
found painted steel, we found unpainted steel. You name it, we
found it. It was crazy.” – Diane Kaese
HISTORIC MASONRY CLADDING
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
GSAPP - A4124 – BUILDING SYSTEMS AND MATERIALS – DEC. 07, 2016
Chris Gembinski, Assistant Adjunct Professor