MASONRY

The Systematic arrangement of bricks or stones laid in

mortar to form a wall is known as masonry.

If stone blocks and mortar are used, it is called stone

masonry
If bricks and mortar are used, it is called brick

masonry

Stone Masonry is used in

Foundations

Columns
Walls
Lintels
Floors
Dams and retaining walls with high density stones
Monumental structures and carvings with soft stone

Materials Required for stone masonry

3

Stones:- hard, durable, tough and free from defects

e.g.: granite, sandstone, marbles, limestone, slate etc

Mortar: mixture of binding material like cement or

lime or both and sand along with water to bind stone

blocks

Terms used in Masonry

4

Natural bed:Building stones are obtained from rocks. Rocks

will have distinct plane of division along which stones can be
easily split. This plane is known as natural bed and the direction
of natural bed should be perpendicular to the direction of pressure
or load.

Terms used in Masonry

5

Corbel:- projecting stone from a wall to support roof truss,

beam, shed etc.

Fig. (1)

Terms used in Masonry contd

Course:- layer of stones or6 bricks along with one
thickness of mortar joint.
Cornice:- a projecting course of stones provided at
the top of wall.

Fig. (2)

Coping
7

Fig. (3)

Fig. (4)

Terms used in Masonry contd

8

Coping:- A course of stones which is laid at the top of wall

to protect the wall from rain water. generally provided at
the top of a compound wall or a parapet wall. It is suitable
weathered and throated.

Terms used in Masonry contd

9

Weathering:- surface of stone used for sills, cornice and

coping is dressed in a sloping way for draining water. Dress
surface is called weathering
Throating:-groove provided on underside of coping or
cornice to clear rain water from wall surface.

Fig. (5)

Terms used in Masonry contd

10

String course:The horizontal course provided at suitable

levels between plinth and the cornice. This course is
weathered and throated so as to throw off rain water from
the wall surface.

Terms used in Masonry contd

11
Lacing course:The horizontal course provided to strengthen a wall of
irregular small stones is known as a lacing course. It may
be in the form of either ashlar or coursed rubble masonry or
brick masonry

Fig. (6)

Terms used in Masonry contd

12

Spalls:- the chips of stones used to fill up the empty spaces in

stone masonry.
Through stone:- some stones at regular intervals are placed
right across
the wall. Such stones
are known as through
stones or bond stones.
If the thickness of wall
is high, two through stones
with an overlap is used.

Terms used in Masonry contd

13

Jambs:- the vertical sides of opening such as doors,

windows etc are known as jambs. They may be either plain
or splayed.

Reveals:- the exposed vertical surfaces at right angles to the

door or window frames.

Stooling:- horizontal seating to receive jambs and mullion.

Rubble Masonry

Stone masonry, in which stones of undressed irregular

sizes used with wider joints is called as Rubble
Masonry.

The strength of masonry depends on

i.

quality of mortar

ii.

Use of long through stones at frequent interval

iii.

Proper filling of mortar

Types of Rubble Masonry

Coursed rubble masonry
Uncoursed rubble masonry
Random rubble masonry
Dry stone rubble masonry
Polygonal rubble masonry
Flint rubble masonry

Types of Rubble Masonry

Course Rubble Masonry:-

Coursed Rubble Masonry Contd

Height of stones vary from 50mm to 200mm
stones in a course are of equal height
Used for public buildings, residential buildings etc

Coursed rubble masonry is again divided into three types

Types of Coursed Rubble Masonry

1. Coursed Rubble Masonry Sort 1

Coursed Rubble Masonry Sort 1 Contd

Same height stones used

Courses also same height
Face stones dressed by hammer
Bushings don't project by 40mm
Thickness of mortar joint doesn't exceed 10mm

2. Coursed Rubble Masonry Sort II

Coursed Rubble Masonry Sort II Contd..

Stones of different heights used
Courses need not be of equal heights
Two stones are used to make up the height of the course
Thickness of mortar joint 12mm

3. Coursed Rubble Masonry Sort III

Coursed Rubble Masonry Sort III Contd..

Stones of different heights used (minimum 0f 50mm)

Courses need not be of equal heights
Three stones are used to make up the height of the

course
Thickness of mortar joint 16mm

Un coursed Rubble Masonry

Uncoursed Rubble Masonry Contd..

Stones are not dressed
Used as obtained from quarry
Courses need not be of equal heights
First larger stones are laid and spaces between them are

filled with spalls

Wall is brought to a level at every 30cm to 50cm
Cheap, used for compound wall, godowns etc

Random Rubble Masonry

Random Rubble Masonry contd..

Irregular sizes and shapes are used
Stones arranged to give good appearance
Skill is required for masonry
If face stones are chisel dressed and
Thickness of mortar joint is 6mm-sort I RRM
If face stones are hammer dressed and joint is 12mm thick, it

is sort II RRM.
Construction of residential buildings, compound buildings etc

Dry Rubble Masonry

30

Dry Rubble Masonry

31

Dry Rubble Masonry

32

Coursed rubble masonry sort III without mortar joint

Used for compound wall, pitching on road approach,

retaining walls

Polygonal Rubble Masonry

33

Fig. (3)

Polygonal Rubble Masonry

34

Stones are hammer dressed

Stones for face work dressed in an irregular polygonal

shape with hammer

Face joints run in an irregular pattern

Skill is required for getting stability in the masonry

Flint Rubble Masonry

35

Flint Rubble Masonry

36

Flint stones which are irregularly shaped modules of silica

Width and thickness vary from 80mm to 150mm, length

varies from 150mm to 300mm

Stones are hard but brittle
Face arrangements either coursed or uncoursed
Strength increased by introducing lacing course

Ashlar Masonry
37

Square or rectangular blocks of stones used

Courses are not necessary of same height
Height of stones varies from 25cm to 30cm
Length of stone shouldn't exceed three times the height
Depth of stone into the wall should be equal to half the height

11

Types of Ashlar Masonry

38

Following are the types of Ashlar masonry

Ashlar fine masonry
Ashlar rough tooled masonry
Ashlar rock or quarry faced masonry
Ashlar chamfered masonry
Ashlar block in course masonry
Ashlar facing

Ashlar Fine Masonry

39

Fig. (5)

Ashlar Fine Masonry

40

Beds, sides and faces are finely chisel dressed

Stones are properly bonded
Thickness of mortar joint 3mm
This masonry gives perfectly smooth appearance but costly

Ashlar Fine Masonry

41

Ashlar Rough Tooled Masonry

42

The beds and sides are finely chisel-dressed

Face is made rough by means of tools
25mm wide strip is provided around the perimeter by

chisel of every exposed stone for view

Thickness of mortar joint 6mm
It is also known as the bastered ashlar

Ashlar Rock (or) Quarry Faced Masonry

43

25mm wide strip is provided around the perimeter by chisel

of every exposed stone for view

Remaining left as obtained from quarry
Bushings exceeding 80mm removed by hammer
Gives massive appearance

Ashlar Chamfered Masonry

44

Ashlar Chamfered Masonry

45

25mm wide strip is provided around the perimeter

The strip is chamfered or beveled at an angle of 45 o . by chisel

for a depth of 25mm

Another strip 12mm wide provided on remaining exposed

portion
Remaining portion kept as received from quarry
Large bushings removed by hammer

Brick Masonry
46
Construction carried out using
bricks and mortar is known as

brick masonry.
Mud mortar, lime mortar and cement mortar may be used in

brick masonry and its choice depends on the importance of

wall required
Size of brick is 19cm x 9cm x 9cm for modular bricks and

traditional bricks also available with various other sizes

depending on local requirement or usage

Advantages of Brick Masonry

Bricks are of uniform size and can be used in proper bond
Like stones, they do not need any dressing
Due to light weight they can be easily handled
They do not require lifting devices
They can be manufactured at any site
Transportation is easy
47

TECHNICAL TERMS
48

Fig. (1)

49

Stretcher and stretcher course:-

Longer face of the brick is known as stretcher. A course of

bricks in which all the bricks are laid with stretchers on facing,
is known as stretcher course

Fig. (2)

50

Fig.(3)

Header and header course:51 and height is known as header

Face of the brick showing breadth

and course containing headers on the exposed face is known as

header course

Fig.(4)

Arrises:52

The edges formed by the intersection of plane surfaces

of the brick are called the Arrises.

Fig. (5)

Bed:-

53

The lower surface of the brick in each course when laid

flat is known as bed
Bed joint:-

The horizontal layer of the mortar upon which bricks

are laid is known as bed joint

Perpends:-

54

vertical joint separating the bricks in either length or cross

section direction are known as the Perpends. For good bond,
the Perpend in alternative face should be vertical one above
that other

Lap:The horizontal distance between the vertical joints in

successive courses is termed as lap and for a good bond, which
should not be less than 1/4th of the length of the brick

55

Fig. (6)

Closer:-

56

It is a piece of brick, used to close up the bond at the end of the

course
It helps in preventing the joints of successive courses to come

in a vertical line
It is not moulded, but it is obtained by cutting a full brick.

Queen closer:-

This is obtained by cutting

the brick longitudinally in
57
two equal parts. A queen closer is generally placed next to quoin
header to obtain the necessary cap

Fig. (7)

King closer:-

58

It is obtained by cutting a triangular portion of the

brick such that half a header and half a stretcher are obtained on
the adjoining cut surface. It is used near door and window
openings to get proper mortar joints

Fig. (8)

King & Queen closures

59

Fig.9

60

Bat:-

This is a piece of brick usually considered in relation to

the length of a brick and accordingly known as half bat or three
quarter bat.

Fig. (10)

61

Course:-

A complete layer of bricks laid on the same

bed is known as course and its thickness is equal to
the thickness of a brick plus thickness of a mortar

Frog:62

A frog is an indentation made on the face of a

brick of depth about 10mm to 20mm . It is to form a
key for holding the mortar. Beside, the name of
manufacturer of bricks is written on the frog area.

Fig. 11

BRICK COMPONENTS
63

Fig. 12

64

Bonding:- The systematic arrangement of bricks with

mortar to tie them together in a mass of brick work is

known as bonding.
Good bonding should have a minimum of vertical
joints and should not be continuous in two successive
courses.

Bonding (contd.)
65 imposed load upon any
Bond distributes the super
individual brick in wall, to an increasing numbering
of bricks forming the wall below and there by
reducing the tendency to settlement.

Fig. (1)

Bonding (contd.)
66
A wall having continuous vertical
joints will act as

independent column and not as one compact unit.

Therefore the superimposed load is not well
distributed throughout the wall and local settlements
occurs

Fig. (2)

Rules for Bonding

67

The lap should be 1/4th of the brick along the length of

wall.
The lap should be one-half brick across the thickness

of the wall.
Brick should be of uniform size to get uniform lap.

Rules for Bonding (contd)

68

Stretcher should be used in the facing. The hearting

should be carried out with headers only

Use of brick bats should be avoided
Vertical joints should lie vertically above each other

in the alternate courses

TYPES OF BONDS
69

Stretcher bond
Header bond
English bond
Flemish bond
Garden wall bond
Raking bond
Dutch bond
Brick on edge bond
English cross bond
Racing bond