SESSION 4

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FRAME

Carpentry and Joinery Tutor Resource

Stephen Jones

FRAME
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Timber frame (Heavy timber frame & Wood light frame)

Brick masonry
Stone and concrete
Masonry loadbearing wall construction
Steel frame
Masonry Loadbearing Wall Construction
concrete

3. STONE AND CONCRETE MASONRY

OVERVIEW
TYPES OF ROCKS USED IN STONE MASONRY
QUARRYING AND PRODUCING OF BUILDING STONES
TYPES OF STONE MASONRY WALLS AND THEIR
CONSTRUCTION
PRECAST CONCRETE MASONRY AND CONSTRUCTION OF
WALLS

Stone Masonry:
Building stones obtained by quarrying from the rocky strata of
earth and reducing it to the required shapes and sizes for
construction
Stone vs Brick:
Similarities:
Both stacked
Mortar Joints
Differences:
Shape:
Brick molded - Stone Cut and Carved
Physical Properties:
Brick made/controlled Stone provided by nature

3.2 TYPES OF ROCKS USED IN STONE MASONRY

Types of rock:
Igneous - Formed as a result of cooling of the molten rock to solid
state - It is nonporous, hard, strong and durable
Granite: Consists mainly of quartz, feldspar, mica, and other
colored minerals; colors include black, gray, red, pink, brown, buff,
and green
Serpentine: Main ingredient is serpentine; color ranges from olive
green to greenish black, is fine grained and dense
Basalt: Color ranges from gray to black; used mainly for paving
stones and retaining walls
Sedimentary: Sediments deposited by the action of water or wind
gets consolidated to a rock
Sandstone: Sedimentary rock composed of sand sized grains
made of silica, iron oxide and clay - Colors include gray, brown,
light brown, buff, russet, red, copper, and purple

Granite

Non-porous,
hard, strong,
durable

Color Range

Surface Textures

Sources

Primary Uses

Polished Surface

Rough Texture

Shape
Flat to Round

Shale: Derived from clays and silts; weak along planes and is in
thin laminations - High in limestone and color varies from black
to red, yellow, and blue
Limestone: Sedimentary rock composed of calcite and
dolomite - Three types: oolitic, dolomitic and crystalline - Has
high compressive strength - Used for building stones and for
paneling

Metamorphic: Igneous or sedimentary rock transformed by

heat and pressure into another rock

Marble: Recrystallized limestone, color varies from white

through gray and black, red, violet, pink, yellow, and green Presence of oxides of iron, silica, graphite, carbonaceous,
matter, and mica produce these color variations

Limestone & Sandstone

Porous, relatively weak
Color Range
Surface Textures
Sources
Primary Uses

Metamorphic rocks

Limestone with Granite

Marble

Slate
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Quartzite: It is a variety of and stone composed of mainly

granular quartz cemented by silica, color varies from brown,
buff, tan, ivory, red through gray
Schist: Made of silica with smaller amounts of iron oxide and
magnesium oxide - Color varies from blue, green, brown,
gold, white, gray, and red
Slate: Consists mainly of clays and shales - Major ingredients
are silicon dioxide, iron oxide, potassium oxide, magnesium
oxide, and sometimes titanium, calcium and sulfur - Slate
found in parallel layers, which enables it to be cut into thin
sheets

3.2. QUARRYING AND PRODUCING BUILDING STONES

Produced by blasting or cutting
Irregular-sized stone is produced by blasting the rock, the larger
pieces are cut into smaller units for use as an exterior finish, rest is
crushed and sorted into various sizes as aggregates
Most of the dimensional stones used in building construction are
produced by cutting large blocks in the quarry
Cut with diamond belt saws (12ft wide, 2 to 5 ft thick, and 50 ft
long); rubber air bags inflated in the saw cut to break it away and
then the separated rock is lowered onto prepared stone chips
cushion
Thereafter it is cut into smaller sizes and transported by front-end
loaders to the mill for further processing

Type of stones
Fieldstone
Rubble Stone
Dimension Stone

Stone Masonry Patterns

Laid in Mortar
Rubble (Unsquare
pieces)
Ashlar (Square Pieces)
Coursed or Random
Orientation

11

3.3.

TYPES OF STONE MASONRY WALLS AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION

Types of Stone Masonry Walls:

Solid masonry wall made by laying stone masonry over
a prepared bed of mortar, and proceeding in a similar
manner to increase the height;
Composite wall made of an outer wall of large stone
slabs, attached to a backing of structural frame or
brick/concrete masonry wall; and
Cavity wall made by two different types of masonry
wall separated by a cavity, which is either insulated or
empty and connected together by metal ties

13

3.4.

PRECAST CONCRETE MASONRY AND CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS

Precast Concrete Masonry Blocks/Units (CMU):

Manufactured by vibrating a stiff concrete mixture into metal
molds, immediately turning it out wet onto a rack (so that the
mold can be reused immediately) at a rate of 1000 or more
units per hour
Racks are cured at an accelerated rate by subjecting them to
steam, either at the atmospheric pressure or for faster curing
at higher pressure. After the units are steam cured, the units
are dried to a specific moisture content, and bundled in
wooded crates for shipping to the construction site

Made in varying sizes and shapes:

Basic forms:
bricks, larger hollow units/concrete blocks, larger solid units
Standard hollow blocks:
4x8x16 long or 4x8x8 - 6x8x8 or 8x8x8,
10x8x16, or 10x8x8 , 12x8x16 or 12x8x8
Other shapes:
Channel bond beam, Low-web beam, Solid unit, Capping
unit, A-block, H block, Header unit, Control joint unit, Single
Bullnose, etc.

Concrete Masonry Units

Manufacturing
Process

Configurations

Testing Standards

Typical Shape

Combination

Bond Beam

Corner Round & Square

16

Spanning Concrete
Block Openings
Steel Lintels

Block Lintels Reinforced Bond

Beam

Precast Reinforced
Concrete Lintel

Reinforcing & Anchorage

Joint Reinforcing
Ladder
Truss

17

Masonry grades:
N - Grade; For general use above or below grade;
S grade: Above grade use only;
Masonry Types :
Type I - Moisture-controlled units for use where drying shrinkage
of units would cause cracking in concrete masonry;
Type II - Non-moisture-controlled units - weights: Normal,
medium and light weights

Laying of Concrete Blocks in Walls:

Mortar used in stone masonry is identical to the one used earlier
in brick masonry construction
Only the face shells of the block are mortared with the
webs unsupported
Often reinforced with steel to increase its load bearing
capacity and its resistance to cracking
Concrete masonry is often reinforced with horizontal
reinforcement steel, introduced as welded grids of small
diameter steel rods, that are laid onto the bed joints, at the
desired vertical intervals.

CMU Installation

Layout & Lead Blocks

20

Installation of Mortar Bead

Lay CMU

Control
Joint
Tooled Joints

21

Splitface (colored) and

Brick

Painted CMU

22
Splitface, Brick, & Tile

4. MASONRY LOADBEARING WALL CONSTRUCTION

OVERVIEW
THREE TYPES OF WALL CONSTRUCTION
DETAILING OF MASONRY WALLS
TYPES OF THERMAL INSULATION FOR MASONRY WALLS
MOVEMENT JOINTS IN BUILDINGS
OTHER SPECIAL PROBLEMS

Masonry wall type

Reinforced or Un-reinforced
Reinforcing Increases Load
Carrying Capacity
Uses: Low Rise
Construction, Foundations
One Type or Composite
Masonry Walls
Composite; Two Wythes of
Different Material
Typ. - CMU & Brick
Solid or Cavity Walls

REINFORCED MASONRY WALLS

Cell Reinforcing

Cavity walls:
Common Construction for
Exterior Walls
Insulating Value
Reduced Weight
Drainage

Cavity walls construction:

Inner Wythe or support wall
Air Space (Insulation &
Drainage
Outer Wythe of Masonry
Masonry Ties to hold the
Wythes together

Dampproofing & Flashing

Flashings over Wall Openings

Thermal insulation

Outside Face (typically EIFS)

Within the Wall

In the Cavity or
In the Hollow Cores

On the Inside Face

Insulation being installed in the cavity

Masonry construction
Masonry and Wood
Masonry and Steel
Masonry and Concrete

CMU Masonry with Joist & Metal Decking

CMU with Precast Concrete Decking

4.4. MOVEMENT JOINTS IN BUILDING

Building materials and building experience small
displacements continuously.
Many of these motions are cyclical and never-ending.
All materials shrink as they grow colder and expand as they
grow warmer, each material doing it at its own characteristic
rate.
All these motions or displacements are small in magnitude,
but they occur in every building.
If they are ignored in design, they can tear the building apart,
causing cracking of brittle materials

 These small motions are accommodated by:

Strengthening of structures so as to resist the expansion
stresses
Providing of movement joints
Construction joints
Structure/Enclosure joints - Sealant joints at the top of an
interior partition
Surface divider joints
Control joints
Expansion joints

Types of building joints:

Expansion Joint

Expansion and
contraction
Structure Movement,
Masonry Changes
Expansion Joints
Within Masonry Wall
Two-way Movement
Change in Thickness,
Height, or Openings
Isolation Joints

Weep Holes

Expansion Joint Material

4.5. OTHER SPECIAL PROBLEMS

Expansion and contraction:
Due to temperature and moisture content - Should be
accounted for in the design
Efflorescence:
A fluffy white powder, that sometimes appears on the surface of
a brick, stone, or concrete block wall - Consists of one or more
water soluble salts that migrate to the surface - Can be
prevented by proper choice of masonry units
Mortar joint deterioration:
Water running down a masonry wall tends to accumulate at
mortar joints - Due to freeze and thaw cycles the mortar in the
joints expands and contracts alternatively and deteriorates Weather-resistant mortar must be used to prevent deterioration

 Moisture resistance of masonry:

Moisture resistance of masonry units must be specified to minimize
water absorption - Flashing and weep holes must be provided Exterior wall must be coated with stucco or paint - Below grade
masonry should be parged with two coats of type M mortar, 1/2
thick - The exterior wall must be coated with damp-proofing
compound
Cold and hot weather construction:
Special precautions are necessary to prevent mortar freezing before
curing is complete - Keep masonry units dry - Protect them from
freezing before use - Use type 30 cement (high early strength) and
warm water to produce mortar at a optimum temperature - Mix
mortar in small quantities - Protect the wall from wind, as the mason
builds it - Protect against freezing for at least three days - Try to avoid
chemical accelerators and anti-freeze admixtures since they are
harmful to mortar and reinforcing steel - In hot weather, dampen the
masonry units before laying them in place - Also keep the masonry

Electrical Rough-in

MPE Rough-in
Electrical
Plumbing
HVAC

Fire Damper

Masonry and the codes

Masonry often used as a fire separation wall
Used with Steel and Concrete Decks - Type 1&2
The uniqueness of masonry:
Permanence and solidity
Beautiful appearance: color, texture, patterns
Fire resistance
Easy, often automatic compliance with building code requirements
Economical
High performance and long lasting structure
etc