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Memorandum
To: Professor Karen Thompson
From: Terrence Stevenson
Date: 5/3/2014
Re: Writing to define and describe
I have included below the extended technical definition and the developed technical
description detailing masonry and the process of installing masonry materials
specifically for residential uses. Typically in commercial applications the owner will
hire some type of general contractor, engineer or architect who can explain these
things to them and protect them. Homeowners generally do not have this luxury.
Audience: The audience I would like to inform is residential homeowners who may
be interested in having some type of masonry done on or around their homes but
might not know much about it. This situation can be dangerous for the homeowner
because it can put them in a position to be taken advantage of very easily. Sadly this
happens all too often; being educated can be a necessary and effective form of
protection.
Problem or Need: Many people would like to have a veneer put across the front of
their house or perhaps a brick mailbox out by the road but they do not know how to
go about having it done. Contractors can be very imposing at times, especially to
people who are unsure how the finished product will look and are trying to shop for
what they want. It is common for homeowners to desire a certain look or function
which can be achieved via some type of masonry but few understand the process
required. This can be dangerous, not only for their wallet but for their physical
safety as well.
Placement: This article would preferably be in a type of flyer or handout that could
be easily available to homeowners or even contractors that are interested in
installing some type of masonry on a home. The purpose of this paper is not an
attempt to sell the homeowner any good or service but to simply inform and educate.

May 3, 2014
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Masonry

Figure 1: fancy brick styles

Masonry is the stone, brick, block or other similar type unit used by masons to build
such structural elements as walls. Masonry is typically performed by a mason who is
skilled in the art of laying the said building materials in such a manner as deemed
appropriate for the chosen style and involves attaching said materials together using
some type of mortar.
History: Masonry is one of the oldest, most durable, and most remarkable building
methods used by mankind. There are many ancient buildings in Europe which are
still standing to be admired today, and with the proper care they will remain for a
very long time. Even the pyramids in Egypt were built using a type of crude
masonry, which was very advanced for the time. These great structures have been
there for centuries and, unless the climate change threatens their existence, they will
be around for centuries to come. Many different styles were developed throughout
the ages, some extremely fancy such as the three dimensional brick wall shown in
Figure 1 while others are very simple.
Benefits: There are many benefits to using masonry as a building material. There
are the obvious ascetic pleasures which can be achieved through the proper
installation of any type of masonry material and the durability. The durability is a
huge benefit when you pencil in the initial cost of installation, the process is difficult
and requires skilled labor to ensure it is done properly and that it looks nice when
the mason walks away. There are other benefits though, lets take brick as an
example because it is the most common residential building material aside from
stone veneer.
May 3, 2014
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Brick: When brick is installed it is laid up against an existing wall and connected to
that existing wall using wall ties. The brick is not pushed up against this wall
however, a gap is left. This gap serves several purposes involving changes in
temperature. Very seldom is the temperature inside your house going to be the same
as the temperature outside, there will usually be a difference. When this temperature
difference gets to be very large, say it is 100 degrees outside so you are running the
AC to keep it at a comfortable 65 degrees inside, the building materials will be
affected by this and change in size. The materials on the inside of the house are cold,
so they will shrink slightly while the materials on the outside of the house will
expand as they heat up. For this reason it is necessary to leave this gap to allow the
brick to expand and the inner materials to contract without doing any damage. The
brick is self-supporting but ties are used to attach the brick to the inner wall so that
in the event of failure, perhaps caused by an earthquake, there would not be huge
panels of brick falling down which could easily kill a person. Below is a picture
showing a brick wall with ties.

Figure 2: wall ties
If you decide you would like to have a brick veneer put around the front of your
house, it is important to make sure the mason leaves this gap and that they use
flexible wall ties installed approximately every sixteen inches vertically and
horizontally. It is ok for them to be attached to wooden wall studs, but a barrier must
May 3, 2014
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be installed between any type of masonry unit and any other building material.
Concrete and clay absorb water, potentially a lot of water which will damage other
types of building materials such as wood in a short amount of time. It is also
important for weep tubes to be placed at intervals through the bottom of the wall,
every 32 to 48 inches should be sufficient. This is to allow water which has been
trapped behind the brick wall to escape.

Rock: This is becoming more common because it can be installed quickly, it looks
nice, and phony stone is cheaper to have installed than real stone but looks very
similar to real stone. There is not much of a trick to doing stone, some people have
an eye for it and some do not. You want to make sure the mason is installing a house
wrap type barrier behind the stone, and then installing wire mesh over top of this.
The wire mesh must be attached very securely and not be allowed to have any
bubbles or ripples in it. This is important because any bulges that exist now will still
exist after the stone is installed and the mortar has dried, except that when the bulge
gets pushed the stone will fall off. Correctly installed stone is very durable, but if
holes are left in the mortar around the stones, water can enter. When this water
freezes it can pop loose these stones and repair is required.

Block: Block is less common for residential uses than the previous two materials but
some areas of the US are becoming partial to block fences around their property.
This is mainly the case in very arid and desert type locations because block fences
are effective at keeping out blowing sand. Having a block fence installed is usually a
less dangerous situation to get into for a homeowner but there can be some risks
involved. Underneath a block fence is a concrete footer which has rebar running
continuously through it. Every ten feet or so there is a pilaster, which requires a
deeper hole, typically three feet deep by eighteen inches wide. These pilasters must
have vertical rebar running from the bottom of this hole to the top of the pilaster and
the pilaster must be completely filled with concrete. If this does not happen, the
fence will blow down in the wind which is not only extremely dangerous for anyone
in the vicinity, but property damage can also occur and a lawsuit is guaranteed to
follow. This is a good situation to avoid and can be easily done so by installing the
materials properly.

Unless an installation is to be structural, meaning that a portion of the building is
dependent upon this installation, then an inspection is not required. However you
can contact your local city or county planning and zoning center and they can direct
you towards appropriate installation specifications and procedures for every building
material in your area. Do not let someone take advantage of you by cutting corners
and then disappearing, make sure your masonry is installed correctly for the safest
and most durable finished product.

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