Different Types Of Masonry Walls & Their Benefits
In building construction, there are different types of masonry walls. The purpose of masonry walls is to offer strength and stability to any building or structure. Besides, masonry walls can easily manage inside & outside temperature.
Mortar is a vital component of masonry walls and it is formed by mixing several types of binding materials like cement, lime, soil etc. with sand.
The longevity & strength of masonry wall construction is based on the type & quality of applicable materials and workmanship.
Categorization of masonry walls in building
Load Bearing Masonry Walls
Load bearing masonry walls are developed with bricks, stones or concrete blocks. These walls can directly transmits loads from the roof to the foundation. These walls belong to both exterior as well as interior walls. The load bearing walls are reinforced or unreinforced masonry walls.
Also read : BRICK MASONRY DEFECTS & BRICK MASONRY REPAIR METHODS
Reinforced Masonry Walls
Reinforced masonry walls are classified as bearing walls or non-load bearing walls. By applying the reinforcement in walls, the tension forces and heavy compressive loads can be resisted easily. The un-reinforced masonry walls are susceptible to cracks and collapsing against extreme compressive loads and through earthquakes. They have less strength to resist lateral forces throughout severe rain and wind. Cracks may form in un-reinforced masonry walls because of earth pressure or differential settlement of foundations.
To get rid of such issues, reinforced masonry walls are provided.
Hollow Masonry Walls
The objective of hollow or cavity masonry walls is to control moisture entering into the inside of the building by arranging hollow space among the interior & exterior face of the wall. These walls are also effective for restraining the temperature inside the building from exterior wall since the hollow space checks heat to move across the wall. These hollow spaces are coated with water repulsive coating or damp-proofing to lessen the entrance of moisture furthermore.
Composite Masonry Walls
These walls are built up with two or more units like stones or bricks as well as hollow bricks. This type of masonry wall construction is inexpensive.
Under composite masonry walls, two wythes of masonry units are built up sticking with each other. One wythe can be brick or stone masonry whereas the other can be hollow bricks. A wythe belongs to a uninterrupted vertical segment of masonry one unit in thickness.
Post-tensioned Masonry Walls
Post-tensioned masonry walls are built up to fortify the masonry walls against the forces which may bring tension in the wall like earthquake forces or wind forces.
These walls are developed from the foundation level and post-tensioning rods are fixed into the foundation. These rods are driven vertically among the wythes or in the core of concrete masonry units.
