Masonry Construction Techniques and Standards
Masonry Fundamentals
Typical Installation Thicknesses
- Rope: 15 cm thickness.
- Wall: 30 cm thick.
- Tambourine: 6 to 7 cm.
- Wall (alternative): 30 cm thick with 15 cm spun joint.
Key Masonry Concepts & Terms
- Confined Masonry: Masonry built between reinforced concrete columns (pillars) and beams (chains).
- Reinforced Masonry (Armed Masonry): Masonry incorporating steel reinforcement (e.g., turnbuckles) within hollow bricks or joints.
- Spun Joint (Vertical Mortar Bed): The thickness of the vertical mortar joint, typically applied thicker or stickier.
- Wound Joint (Vertical Mortar Paste): The thick paste of vertical mortar applied between one brick and another.
- Story Pole (Fixture or Descantillón): A vertical rule marked with the exact course heights for a wall, guiding the mason.
- Essential Tools: Level, plumb bob (lead), trowel (spatula), and mortar pan.
Masonry Construction Steps
Reinforced Masonry (Armada) Procedures
Foundation and Reinforcement
The foundation surface contacting the masonry must be clean, rough, level, and moist. Verify the proper location of tensors (reinforcing bars) with respect to the hollows of the units. If any are misplaced, they must be cut, and new bars installed according to the responsible professional’s specifications. The distance between tensors should typically be 6 times the wall thickness but not exceed 120 cm. These reinforcing elements must be clean and free of any material that prevents an optimal bond.
For reinforced masonry, the length of a wall section (cloth) should not exceed 10 meters.
For confined masonry, the distance between columns (pillars) should not be more than 6 meters.
Brick Preparation and Laying
Units: Bricks, at the time of placement, must have been submerged in clean water for several minutes and then allowed to drain. This condition is commonly known as Saturated Surface Dry (SSD).
Placing Units: Mortar paste is placed across the entire width of the wall. The brick must be installed while the mortar paste is fresh and plastic to ensure good adhesion. Once placed, the brick must be pressed down and slightly forward onto the mortar to achieve a compact bed joint. Then, you must completely fill the vertical joint (wound or spun joint) using the trowel – NEVER use your hand.
Mortar Joints and Finishing
The thickness of the mortar joints (bed and vertical) should be a maximum of 15 mm. Do not use mortars that have begun to set or are more than 2 hours past preparation. The speed of construction height should not exceed 1.2 meters (120 cm) per working day; allow at least 8 hours before continuing with the rest of the wall.
The mason should continuously check the leveling of the courses and ensure the wall sections (cloths) are plumb. Once a section is complete, remove all excess mortar from both sides of the wall. Do not leave the latest course (spun) without a superimposed run of bricks when interrupting or finishing the job.
The mortar joints should be tooled (‘worked’) with a suitable tool while the mortar is still deformable under finger pressure (thumbprint hard). The depth of this tooling should be limited to 5 mm relative to the edge of the lower brick unit.
Brick Selection Recommendations by Thermal Zone
- Thermal Zones 1 and 2 (and higher altitudes):
- Princess Titan Reinforced Structural Ceramics (29 x 14 x 7.1 cm) or equivalent.
- Thermal Zone 3:
- Princess Titan Extra Structural Reinforcement (29 x 14 x 9.4 cm)
- Enhanced Structural Grand Titan (29 x 14 x 11.3 cm)
- Super Titan Reinforced Structural (29 x 14 x 14.2 cm) or equivalent.
- Thermal Zone 4:
- Princess Thermoacoustic Great Titan Structural (29 x 15.4 x 11.3 cm) or equivalent.
- Thermal Zone 5:
- Titan Extra Medianero Structural Princess (29 x 17.5 x 9.4 cm) or equivalent.
- Thermal Zones 6 and 7:
- Additional material (such as plaster or insulation) will need to be incorporated to meet the thermal requirements of these zones.