CE 511

CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TOPIC:

JOISTED OR LOAD BEARING MASONRY

CONSTRUCTION

SUBMITTED BY:

BERNARD B. BARNEDO

SUBMITTED TO:

ENGR. CELSO DESCALZO

JOISTED OR LOAD BEARING MASONRY
CONSTRUCTION

Load bearing masonry construction was the most widely used form of construction for large
buildings from the 1700s to the mid-1900s. It is very rarely used today for large buildings, but
smaller residential-scale structures are being built. It essentially consists of thick, heavy masonry
walls of brick or stone that support the entire structure, including the horizontal floor slabs,
which could be made of reinforced concrete, wood, or steel members.

1
In contrast, most construction today is not load-bearing masonry but frame structures of light but
strong materials that support floor slabs and have very thin and light internal and external walls.

The key idea with this construction is that every wall acts as a load carrying element. In a load
bearing structure, you cannot punch holes in a wall to connect two rooms - you would damage
the structure if you did so. The immense weight of the walls actually helps to hold the building
together and stabilise it against external forces such as wind and earthquake.

In traditional European load bearing masonry structures, the floor slabs were made of horizontal
wooden beams, joists, and planks. A joist is a smaller wooden beam that rests on two larger
beams.

The buildings were covered with sloping wooden roofs that could be finished with clay tile,
wood or stone shingles, or metal plating such as thin sheets of copper. Other such buildings had
flat terraces, which were built by pouring a concrete layer over a wooden floor, and then
finishing with some form of tile or stone to provide a strong, waterproof finish.

Every wall had a simple continuous strip foundation below it. (Below are examples of strip
foundation).

2
Strip footings or foundations are commonly found in load-bearing masonry construction, and act
as a long strip that supports the weight of an entire wall. These are used where the building loads
are carried by entire walls rather than isolated columns, such as in older buildings made of
masonry.

Most classic buildings in Europe are built with load bearing masonry construction.

The American architect Louis Kahn famously used load bearing construction for the Indian
Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (image below). His structures clearly express the
construction system rather than conceal it under decorative skins. In this structure, concrete is
used exclusively for members in tension, which are ties that tie together the two ends of the brick
arches.

3
 THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOAD BEARING
MASONRY BUILDINGS

Load bearing construction has a very long, bright

and interesting history.

To start with, masonry structures were large and

solid, like the pyramids.

With the development of the arch, openings

were created in these structures, and large
structures like the coliseum in Rome were
built. The arch was first developed in
Mesopotamia (modern-day Iran-Iraq-Turkey-
Syria) and was then picked up by the Romans.

In India, builders started using horizontal slabs of stone to

construct floor plates. This is called trabeate construction.
The Taj is built of red sandstone masonry walls faced with
white marble. Its walls are 6ft (1.8m) thick in some places.

Europeans built fine stone walled buildings with floor

slabs made of wood beams and planks. The buildings
had elaborate arched openings and very finely crafted
domes. These buildings have lasted hundreds of years,
with limited repair in many cases, testifying to the
quality of the craftsmanship and the brilliance of the
design.

4
And then, the Americans came in and super-sized things. At right is
the Mondadnock Tower, a 16-storey office building built in 1893 in
Chicago. It was made of brick walls 6 feet thick at the base and about
18" thick at the top. It was built to be the world's largest office
building at the time by architects Burnham & Root. They said their
design was inspired by an Egyptian pylon, which is a kind of
monumental gateway to a temple, built with massive sloping
masonry walls.

TYPES OF LOAD BEARING MASONRY CONSTRUCTION

Masonry is a well-established, old method that is mostly used to construct small buildings. Over
the years, evolution in materials and engineering has made load bearing masonry construction a
reliable technique to build larger structures capable of standing the test of time.

The masonry units are places as layers once at a time and they are held together by a binder
(mortar) which highly affects the mechanical properties of the wall. Cement mortars, lime
mortars or synthetic adhesives can be utilized.

The superstructure loads are transferred from the bearing walls to the foundation of the building
and, subsequently, to the ground. The types of load-bearing masonry construction are the
following:

1. Masonry walls made of stones, bricks or blocks: The masonry units are constructed by
bricks, concrete blocks of stones. This technique can be utilized for either interior or exterior
walls.

2. Masonry walls made of a single or a composite material: In this type of masonry

construction, a single or a composite material bear the applied loads. The composite material
method provides aesthetic quality while being quite economical.

5
3. Reinforced or Non-Reinforced Masonry Construction: To withstand the compressive
and tensile stresses applied, steel reinforcement can be used in the masonry units. Non-reinforced
walls address severe issues with tensile forces. They usually develop cracking and present
serviceability problems.

4. Cavity Masonry Construction: This technique involves the construction of two walls
separated by a cavity. Cavity walls that have reduced weight, act as a reliable sound insulation
and demand lower maintenance.

BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF LOAD-BEARING MASONRY

Advantages of load-bearing masonry:

 All types of load-bearing masonry provide substantial fire resistance.

 Masonry buildings are more aesthetically appealing. The materials used are available in
different colours and textures providing numerous choices.
 The construction procedure is simple and the materials needed are economical.
 The bearing-load structure provides high durability and strength to the building.
 Load-bearing masonry does not require a time-consuming preparation to be implemented.

Disadvantages of load-bearing masonry:

 Load bearing masonry demands more man-hours to be constructed and is a slower

procedure than other construction methods.
 The total weight of the masonry walls is high.
 Masonry units do not provide adequate thermal insulation.
 Load-bearing masonry does not perform well in earthquake loads. In particular, non-
reinforced units cannot withdraw the high tensile and shear stresses and experience a
brittle failure that can prove to be catastrophic.

6
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRAMED STRUCTURE AND LOAD
BEARING STRUCTURE

LOAD BEARING
FRAMED STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE
Slab
Beam Walls
LOAD TRANSFER
Column Foundation
Foundation
Mostly used form of Rarely used form of
USAGE
construction construction

CONSTRUCTION Simple Cumbersome

Constructed after the frame is Columns and beams are not

WALLS CONSTRUCTION
ready
Remains the same with
THICKNESS OF WALL
increase in height
FLEXIBILITY IN Position of wall can be
PLANNING AND DESIGN changed whenever necessary
there
Inreases with increase in
height
Not possible to alter the
position after the construction

Can be constructed on any Can only be constructed on

SOIL CONDITION
types of soil hard strata
EARTHQUAKE
Good Poor
RESISTANCE
Walls are thinner hence more Walls are thicker hence less
FLOOR AREA
floor area is available for use floor area is available for use

EXCAVATION Less More

MATERIAL
Less materials are required More materials are required
REQUIREMENT
CEMENT AND STEE Consumes more cement and Consumes less cement and
QUANTITY steel steel

Less no. Of labours are More no. Of labours are

LABOUR REQUIREMENT
required required
Height is limited and sitable
HEIGHT No restriction on height
for 2 to 3 stories only

SPEED OF
Fast Slow and time consuming
CONSTRUCTION

7
 Flexibility in changing room Not possible to change room
ROOM DIMENSIONS
dimensions dimensions
Difficult and permitted up to
CANTILEVER Can be easily provided
short span only

Life is reduced if not done Life is less affected with the

LIFE
properly technique of work
Economical for multi-storey Economical up to 2 storey
COST
building only

WHY IS LOAD BEARING MASONRY CONSTRUCTION NOT USED TODAY?

Load bearing masonry construction is not used today for a number of reasons:

1. It does not perform very well in earthquakes. Most deaths in earthquakes around the
world have occurred in load bearing masonry buildings. Earthquakes love heavy
buildings, because that is where they can wreak the greatest havoc.

2. It is extremely labour-intensive, as it is built mainly of masonry, which is made by

hand. Humans have still not developed a machine that produces masonry! This also
makes for very slow construction speeds in comparison with modern methods that are
far more mechanised.

3. It is extremely material-intensive. These buildings consume a lot of bricks, and are

very heavy. This means that they are not green, as all this material has to be trucked
around from where it is produced to the site.

8
References:

 Simplified Methods on Building Construction, 2nd Edition by Max B. Fajardo

 http://www.understandconstruction.com/load-bearing-masonry-construction.html
 https://www.slideshare.net/Rishii2i/load-bearing-construction
 http://www.understandconstruction.com/load-bearing-masonry-construction.html
 http://houseunderconstruction.com/foundation/strip-foundation-reasonable-solution-
residential-house.html
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVJSAiaFCpk