SESSION 3

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FRAME

Carpentry and Joinery Tutor Resource

Stephen Jones

FRAME
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Timber frame (Heavy timber frame & Wood light frame)

Brick masonry
Stone and concrete
Steel frame
concrete

1.1. TIMBER FRAME - WOODS

Wood is probably the best loved of all the building materials.
1. Lumber is graded either for appearance or for structural
strength and stiffness.
2. Of the most common structural materials (brick, masonry,
steel and concrete), only wood and steel have useful
tensile strength.
3. Much of the wood used in the construction has been
processed into laminated wood, structural composite
wood, or wood panel products in order to overcome
various of the shortcomings of solid wood structural
members.

CSI/CSC MASTER FORMAT SECTION

NUMBERS FOR WOOD

06050 FASTENERS AND ADHESIVES

06100 ROUGH CARPENTRY

06110

Wood Framing

06115

Sheathing

06120

Structural Panels

06130 HEAVY TIMBER

CONSTRUCTION

06170 PREFABRICATED STRUCTURAL

WOOD

06180
Glued-laminated
Construction

06190

06195
Prefabricated Wood Beams
and Joists

Wood Trussers

06200 FINISH CARPENTRY

06300 WOOD TREATMENT

06310

Preservative Treatment

06320

Fire-retardant Treatment

06330

Insect Treatment

06400 ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORK

1.2. TIMBER FRAME - HEAVY TIMBER FRAME CONSTRUCTION

Wood beams have been used to span roofs and floors of buildings since the
beginning of the civilization.
The first timber-framed buildings were crude pit houses, lean-tos, teepes, and
basketlike assemblages of bent saplings.
In earliest historic times, roof timbers were combined with masonry load-bearing
walls to build houses and public buildings.
In the Middle Ages, braced wall frames of timber were built for the first time.
In the 17th & 18th centuries, knowledge of how to build efficient braced frame was
fully developed (buildings framed with hand-hewn wooden timbers joined by
interlocking wood-to-wood connections - nails were rare and expensive.
Beginning of the 19th century, water-powered sawmills began to take over the
work of transforming tree trunks into lumber, squaring timbers and slicing boards
in a fraction of time.

Heavy timber arch:

Originally cut from bent trees
Today laminated to shape
Heavy timber trusses:
Span distances of over 100ft
Rather then toothed plates joints are made with steel bolts and
welded steel plates connections.

Why use heavy timber:

Fire Resistance
Large timbers absorb a lot of heat
Slower to catch fire and burn

Will continue to support loads long after unprotected steel beams would.

The weakness of heavy timber framing:

1. Cannot span as far or with delicacy as steel
2. Cannot mimic the structural continuity of smooth shell of concrete
3. Expensive
4. Issue with deforestation
The uniqueness of heavy timber framing:
Has beautiful colour, grain figure, and warmer feel of wood that cannot be
replaced by steel and concrete.

1.2. LIGHT FRAME

CONSTRUCTION

HISTORY
Light wood frame construction invented in 1830 in Chicago by
George Washington Snow.
He recognized that closely spaced vertical members used to fill
space in walls of heavy timber was strong enough to carry
weights.
Small boards and framing members became inexpensive due to
new milling practices.
Machine made nails became cheap compared to hand forge nails.
The earliest version of wood light framing called balloon frame
because it seem so thin.
The most recent is the platform frame which is now become
universal standard.

PREFABRICATED FRAMING ASSEMBLIES

Roof trusses and floor trusses

find widespread use in platform
frame buildings because of their
speed of erection, economy of
material usage and long span.
Most are light enough to be
lifted and installed by two
carpenters
Manufactured wall panels have
been adopted more slowly than
roof and floor trusses, except by
large builders who mass market
hundreds or thousands of homes
pre year.

2. BRICK MASONRY:
It is the simplest of all the building techniques - Mason stacks pieces
of material (bricks, stones, concrete blocks, etc.) over the top of one
another to make walls, with mud or mortar as binding material in
between them
2.1 HISTORY

Began as low walls of stones or caked mud

Sun-dried bricks - With the availability of fire became burnt bricks

Invention of kilns made mass production of bricks easy

Limestone turned into lime mortar replaced mud as mortar

In Mesopotamia, palaces and temples were built of stone and sundried bricks in 4000 B.C.

The Egyptians erected their temples and pyramids of stones by

3000 B.C.
By 300 B.C., Greeks perfected their temples of limestone and
marble
Romans made the first large-scale use of masonry arches and
roof vaults in their basilica, baths and aqueducts
Medieval and Islamic civilizations perfected masonry vaulting to
a high degree of development - Islamic craftsmen built palaces,
markets, and mosques of bricks and often faced them with
brightly glazed tiles
Europeans built fortresses and cathedrals using pointed vaults
and flying buttresses
In America and Asia other cultures were building with stones

During industrial revolution, machines were developed to

quarry and cut stones, mould bricks, and speed the
transportation of these materials to site of building
Portland cement came into wide use and this enabled the
construction of masonry building of greater strength and
durability
Late in 19th century tall buildings were built, of steel and
reinforced concrete (pored into simple forms), economically
Development of hollow concrete forms in 19th century averted
the extinction of masonry as a building material - Cavity wall,
developed by the British during the earlier part of the 19th
century also contributed to the survival of masonry as a
building material
This facilitated the introduction of thermal insulation
High strength mortars, high-strength masonry units, and
complex shapes of masonry units extended the use of masonry

Masonry History
Rich History
Through the mid-1800s
Primary Building Materials
Late 1800s
New Products Developed
Ended Masonrys Dominance

20th Century Developments

Steel Reinforced Masonry
High Strength Mortars
High Strength Masonry Units
Variety of Sizes, Colors, Textures & Coatings

Masonry - Primary Uses Today

Concrete Masonry Units (CMU)
Foundation Walls
Structural Support Walls (low rise)
Backup Walls for Exterior Facing
Brick & Stone
Facing Materials - Veneers
Decorative Walls

Brick Masonry - Uniqueness

Fire Resistance
Size
Durability

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CMU Structural Walls on a Low Rise Building

2.2.

USES AND TYPES OF MASONRY MORTAR

Uses and Types of Masonry Mortar

Mortar is as much a part of masonry as masonry units such as
bricks, stones, etc.
Mortar serves as :
A cushion and makes the masonry units to bear against one
another and thus provides strength to the wall;
A seal in between the masonry units, and keeps the water and air
from penetrating it;
A bonding agent to make the individual units to adhere to one
another; and
A surface enhancer , proving beautiful contrast and appearance

2.2. USES AND TYPES OF MASONRY MORTAR

Most characteristics type of masonry mortar is made of

Portland cement, hydrated lime, and aggregates (sand) and
water. Portland cement acts as bonding agent, lime imparts
smoothness and workability, sand provides the bulk around
which lime sets, and water provides workability to set bricks
properly. Setting of hydrated lime with absorption of CO 2 from
air makes the mortar strong

Mortar Functions
Provides for full bearing
Seals between masonry units
Adheres / bonds masonry units
Aesthetics

Mortar:

Pre-packaged

Color range

Testing / Specifications

Curing

Shelf life

20

Mortar types : (a) M-type - High strength mortar - 2,500

psi - Used for buildings subjected to large lateral loads, and
below grade (earth level) masonry; (b) S-type - Medium
high strength mortar - 1600 psi - Used for masonry
structures needing high flexural bond strength and normal
compressive loads: (c ) N-type - Medium strength mortar 750 psi - for general use above grade; and (d) O-type Medium low strength mortar; 350 psi - Used for non-loadbearing walls and partition

2.3 MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS FROM CLAY

Bricks have greater fire resistance than stone or concrete masonry Its size enables easy handling and placement in walls; it can be
easily adapted to small-scale and large-scale structures to give
pleasing appearance and texture
Constituents: Brick clays are produced by blending together
various clays (surface clays, shales, and fire clays) to produce the
desired chemical composition and physical properties - Clays can be
divided into calcareous clays (containing 15% Calcium Carbonate,
which gives yellow color when burnt) or noncalcareous clays
(containing silicate of alumina, feldspar, and iron oxide) - Iron oxide
gives buff, red or salmon color, when burnt

Brick Masonry - Sizes and

Shapes
No standard size
Normal coursing - 3 bricks =
8
Larger sizes
Custom Shapes & Colors

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No single standard size available - Size varies

Brick may be solid, cored, hollow or frogged - This
allows even drying of bricks
Custom-shaped bricks are often required for building
for providing special details
Grades of Building Bricks:
Grade SW: Withstands severe weathering (freezethaw, alternate wetting and drying)
Grade MW: for moderate weathering
Grade NW: for negligible weathering

24

Types of Facing Bricks:

Type FBX: High degree of mechanical perfection, narrow color

variation, minimum size variation per unit
Type FBS: Wide range of colors, greater variation of size per
unit
Type FBA: Non- uniformity in size, color and texture.

Extruded Wire
Cut

Wood Mold

Extruded
Smooth

25

Extruded Raked

Brickwork Strength
Depends on:
Strength of the masonry
unit
Strength of the mortar

Basic Brickwork Terminology

Head
Joint
Bed
Joint
Course - horizontal layer of brick

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2.5. TERMINOLOGY, BONDS AND JOINTS IN BRICK

MASONRY

Terminology used in laying bricks:

Bed joint, Head joint, Collar joint, Wythe, Stretcher, Header,
Soldier, Rowlock
Header - Bonds two wythes
together

Wythe: vertical layer 1 unit thick

Rowlock laid on face,

end visible
Stretcher - long dimension
horizontal
& face parallel to the wall

Soldier - Laid on its end, face

parallel

27

Structural bonds used during brick laying

Running Bond: All courses of brick made of stretchers, with
breaking of joints, from one course to the other
English Bond: made of alternate courses of stretchers and
headers, with breaking of joints
Common Bond or American Bond : Made of stretchers
courses, with every sixth course being made completely of
headers, with breaking of joints
Flemish Bond: In the same layer ( or course) stretchers and
headers are laid alternatively, with breaking of joints

Structural Bond

Running Bond

Stacked Bond

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Joint Tooling:
Required for giving beauty to mortar joints
Weathered Joint: Mortar joint has sloped (downwards)
edge
Concave joint: Joint concave inwards
Vee joint: mortar joint is in the form of a V
Flush Joint: Mortar joint is flush with the brick surfaces
Raked Joint: A large portion of the mortar joint is raked
out - Not a safe, impermeable joint
Struck Joint: Mortar joint has a sloped (upwards) edge
Mortar joints can vary from 1/4 to 1/2 - Usually taken
as 3/8

29

Masonry Joints
Weathered

Size

Joint Tooling

Joint Profiles

Concave
Concave
Vee

Flush

Racked
Concave
Struck

Racked

30

2.6. TYPES OF BRICK MASONRY WALLS AND STRUCTURES

Spanning Openings in Brick Walls
Brick walls must be supported above openings for windows or
doors, using reinforced concrete lintels, reinforced
brick,or steel angles
A corbel is an ancient structural device of limited spanning
capability, that may be used for small openings in brick walls,
for beam brackets, and for ornamental provisions.
Arches can be used instead of lintels to span large openings
in walls- Different forms of arches can be built: Segmental
Arch, Jack Arch, Tudor Arch, Elliptical Arch, Roman Arch
(cylindrical shape), Goethic Arch, Parabolic - Arch
Terminologies: Intados, Extrados, Soffit, Spring line,
Skewback, Crown, Span, Rise

Steel Lintel

Arch

Simulated Precast
Concrete Lintel
(actually a steel lintel
supports the assembly)

32

Reinforced Brick Masonry:

A reinforced brick masonry wall in constructed with two wythes of
brick, 2 to 4 apart, placing the reinforced steel in the cavity and
filling the cavity with grout. Grout is a mixture of Portland cement,
aggregate and water. Grout must be filled enough to flow readily
into the narrow cavity and fill it completely.
Two methods are used in building reinforced brick walls:
Low-lift method: Height of grout filling is not more than 4 feet Wythes are held together by galvanized steel wire ties at 24 c/c
horizontally and 16 c/c vertically High-lift method: Wall is grouted, one story at a time - Clean out
holes are left at the bottom to drive out the debri (from mortar in
brick masonry) down with water through the holes - Finally the
clean out holes are sealed with a brick and mortar joint