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Masonry

Masonry
• Masonry is one of the oldest construction material,
most widely used and most durable material
• Masonry structure – combining masonry units
(stone, blocks or bricks) with mortar.
• Competes favorably with other materials (wood,
steel and concrete) for certain applications

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Types of Masonry Units

• CMU = concrete masonry units – solid or hollow

• Clay bricks – solid
• Structural clay tiles – hollow
• Glass blocks – solid
• Stone – solid

CMU Clay Bricks Structural Clay Tiles

Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs)

• Solid
– concrete bricks
– net cross sectional area > 75% of the gross area
• Hollow
– concrete blocks, hollow blocks, cinder blocks
– net cross sectional area < 75% of the gross area
Manufacturing
– Zero-slump concrete pressure molded into a reusable steel
mold
– Type I cement, aggregates, admixtures, and water
– Low-pressure steam curing
– Controlled storage (continuous curing)

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Concrete Masonry Units (CMUs)

Dimensions
• Nominal – includes
thickness of the mortar
joint (usually 3/8 in.)

• Specified – Expected unit

dimensions (nominal less
joint)

• Actual – Specified
dimensions +/-
tolerances

Weight Classes
CMUs are manufactured in three classes:
• Light-weight
• Medium-weight
• Normal-weight

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Load Bearing Classification

CMUs can be classified as:
• Load Bearing (ASTM C90)
• Non-load Bearing (ASTM C129)
National Concrete Masonry Association – NCMA www.ncma.org

• Net area compressive strength = failure load/net cross-sectional area

• Net cross-sectional area = net volume of the unit*/average height
*determined using the water displacement method (ASTM C140)

CMU
• Example 1. A hollow concrete masonry unit has
actual gross dimensions of 7-5/8 in. x 7-5/8 in. x 15-
5/8 in. (width x height x length).The unit is tested in a
compression machine with the following results:
Failure Load = 250 kips
Net volume = 366.9 in3
a. Calculate the gross area compressive strength
b. Calculate the net area compressive strength

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Water Absorption
• Controlled to reduce the effect of weathering and to
limit the amount of shrinkage due to moisture loss

Solid CMUs (Concrete Bricks)

Exposure Properties
• Concrete building bricks (ASTM C55)
– General use in non-facing applications

• Concrete facing bricks (ASTM C1634)

– Typically one or more faces of the unit is intended to be
exposed
– Strict requirements compare to concrete building bricks
– Maximum allowable water absorption is less and
minimum net area compressive strength is higher than
that of the concrete building bricks

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Specialty
Units

Clay Masonry Units – Clay Bricks

• Brick
– Small, rectangular blocks made of fired clay
– Clay is finely ground, mixed with water and molded
– Green brick enter into an oven
– Firing temperature – 900oC to 1200oC
– Silicates fuse and chemical reaction causes strength
– Different colors, depending on the firing temperature
– Bricks are slowly cooled
– Average density of 125 pcf
– Very high individual strength
– Size - 9.5” X 4.5” X 2.75” (PWD specification)
• Brick Industry Association (BIA) www.bia.org

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Clay Bricks
• Used for different purposes:
• Building • Floor making
• Facing and aesthetics • Paving

Absorption of Clay Bricks

• Absorption determines the durability of bricks
• Highly absorptive bricks can cause efflorescence and other
problems in the masonry

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Bricks
• Example 2. The 5-hour boiling test was performed
on a medium weathering clay brick according to ASTM
C67 and produced the following masses:

Dry mass of specimen = 1.788 kg

Saturated mass after 5-hour submersion in boiling
water = 2.262 kg

Calculate percent absorption by 5-hour boiling and

check whether the brick satisfies the ASTM
requirements

Sampling and Testing of Bricks

• Selection of test specimen – Full size bricks shall be
selected, which are representative (of the complete
range of colors, textures and sizes) of the whole lot
• Number of specimen
-Compressive strength and Absorption: 10 bricks
from each lot of 250,000 bricks. For larger lots, 5
bricks from each 50,00,000 bricks.
• Test specimen – half brick for compressive strength
• Field tests
- Sound – Metallic sound - better
- T-test – form a tee (T) and drop from a height of
6ft on a solid surface. If they remain unbroken,
they are good bricks

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Mortar
• Mixture of cementitious material, aggregate, and water
• Mortar can be classified as: cement-lime mortar, cement
mortar, or masonry cement mortar
• Used for the following functions:
– bonding masonry units together, either non-reinforced or
reinforced
– serving as a seating material for the units
– leveling and seating the units
– providing aesthetic quality of the structure
• Manufactured in four types: M, S, N, and O

Lime
MASON W O R K [type K no longer used]
Cement
Workability
Strength

Mortar

• Type S mortar is a good all-purpose mortar

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Mortar
• ASTM C270
• Proportion Specification – specify ingredient quantities
• Property Specification – specify the compressive
strength, water retention, air content and the
aggregate ratio
• Portland Cement Lime (PCL) Mortar
– Mixing all raw materials
• Sand
• Cement
• Lime
• Water
• Masonry Cement (MC) Mortar
– Pre blended cement and lime is mixed with sand and water

Mortar Mixing
• Mix design by Proportion (cement-lime mortar)

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Mortar Mixing
• Mix design by Proportion (masonry cement mortar)

Mortar Mixing

• Example#3 - You are a structural engineer

supervising field construction. The specification was
for Type S cement-lime mortar and the masons only
have bags of pre-mixed Type N cement-lime mortar.
How would you mix based on proportion and still
make the mortar Type S?
Hint: There happens to be a couple of bags of portland cement that you
can add to the mix. Be specific on what volumes of cement and sand you
would add.

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Fresh Mortar
• Workability
– Measured by flow – (Df-Di)/Di
– Higher workability better product
• Retention (ability to resist drying out)
– Ratio of flow before and after applying suction
– Should retain at least 75% flow
• Air Content – Cement-lime mortar have a
maximum permissible limit of 12%
• Re-tempering – adding water to maintain
workability with proper monitoring. Discard after
1.5 to 2.5 hours.

Fresh Mortar

Flow table test setup

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Grout
• High-slump (8-11”) concrete consisting of PC, sand, fine
gravel, water, and lime (permitted but not required).
• Used to fill the cores or voids in hollow masonry units for the
purpose of:
1. bonding the masonry units
2. bonding the reinforcing steel to the masonry
3. increasing the bearing area
4. increasing fire resistance
5. Improving overturning resistance by increasing weight
• The minimum compressive strength of grout is 2000 psi at 28
days

Grout Specification
• Proportion
– Fine grout
• 1 Cement : 2.25-3 Sand : No coarse
– Coarse grout
• 1 Cement : 2.25-3 Sand : 1-2 Pea Gravel
• Property
– Specified strength > 2000 psi

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Plaster

• Fluid mixture of portland cement, lime, sand, and water

• Used for finishing either masonry walls or framed (wood) walls
• Used for either exterior or interior walls
• Stucco is plaster used to cover exterior walls
• Average compressive strength of plaster is about 13.8 MPa
(2000 psi) at 28 days

Bond Patterns

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