WALLS

Load Bearing Walls

• Precast Concrete Wall
• Retaining Wall
• Masonry Wall
• Pre Panelized Load Bearing Metal Stud Walls
• Engineering Brick Wall (115mm, 225mm)
• Stone Wall
As the height of the building increased, required thickness of wall and
resulting stress on foundation will also increase and cause it to be
uneconomical.
Precast Concrete Wall
• Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a
reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment,
transported to the construction site and lifted into place. In contrast, standard
concrete is poured into site-specific forms and cured on site. This is lightweight
and has better thermal insulation.
 Masonry Wall
Load Bearing Walls
• Load bearing masonry walls
are constructed with bricks,
stones or concrete blocks.
These walls directly transfer
loads from the roof to the
foundation. These walls can
be exterior as well as interior
walls. The construction
system with load bearing
walls are economical than
the system with framed
structures.
Reinforced Masonry Walls
• Reinforced masonry walls can be load bearing walls or non-load bearing walls. The use of
reinforcement in walls helps it to withstand tension forces and heavy compressive loads. The un-
reinforced masonry walls are prone to cracks and failure under heavy compressive loads and
during earthquakes. They have little ability to withstand lateral forces during heavy rain and wind.
Cracks also develop in un-reinforced masonry walls due to earth pressure or differential
settlement of foundations.
• To overcome such problems, reinforced masonry walls are used. Reinforcement in walls are at
required intervals both horizontally and vertically is used. The size of reinforcement, their
quantity and spacing are determined based on the loads on the walls and structural conditions.
Hollow Masonry Walls
• Hollow or Cavity masonry walls are used to prevent moisture reaching the interior of the building
by providing hollow space between outside and inside face of the wall. These walls also helps in
temperature control inside the building from outside wall as the hollow space restricts heat to
pass through the wall.
• When the wall is exposed to moisture for a sustained period and penetrates through the outer
face, the water reaches the cavity or the hollow space and flows down. Then they are drained
through the weep holes to the exterior of the building. These hollow spaces may be coated with
water repellent coating or damp-proofing to further reduce the ingress of moisture.
Composite Masonry Walls
• These walls are constructed with two or more units such as stones or bricks and hollow bricks.
This type of masonry wall construction is done for better appearance with economy.
• In composite masonry walls, two wythes of masonry units are constructed bonding with each
other. While one wythe can be brick or stone masonry while the other can be hollow bricks. A
wythe is a continuous vertical section of masonry one unit in thickness.
• These wythes are interconnected either by horizontal joint reinforcement or by using steel ties.
Post-Tensioned Masonry Walls
• Post-tensioned masonry walls are constructed to strengthen the masonry walls
against the forces that may induce tension in the wall such as earthquake forces
or wind forces.
• These walls are constructed from the foundation level and post-tensioning rods
are anchored into the foundation. These rods are run vertically between the
wythes or in the core of concrete masonry units.
• After the masonry wall construction is completed and cured, these rods are
tensioned and anchored on the steel place at the top of the wall.
Pre-Panelized Metal Stud Walls
• These are pre fabricated structures that are erected in the construction site.
Engineering Brick Walls
• Engineering bricks are a type of brick used where strength, low water
porosity or acid (flue gas) resistance are needed. Engineering bricks
can be used for damp-proof courses.
Stone Walls
• They are strong and has a state of permanence, it has a good texture
and is water resistant and fire resistant. But it isn’t that used because
of the cost of natural stone. If bought it stays strong for ages.
Non-Bearing Walls
• Non-load bearing walls only carry their own weight and does not
support any structural members such as beams and slabs. These walls
are just used as partition walls or to separate rooms from outside. It
is known as interior wall (doesn’t carry other load than its own load.
• Types of non load bearing wall
• a) Hollow Concrete Block
• b) Façade Bricks
• c) Hollow Bricks
• d) Brick Wall (115mm, 225mm)
Hollow Concrete Walls
Façade Bricks
Cavity Walls
• It is a wall constructed in 2 leaves / skins with a space / cavity between them. A
type of building wall construction consisting of an outer wall fastened to inner
wall separated by an air space. Cavity walls helps to prevent the penetration of
rain to the internal surface of the wall.
Shear Walls
• Shear walls are a framed wall designed to resist lateral forces. It is a vertical
elements of the horizontal force resisting system. It is used to resist wind and
earthquake loading on a building. It is typically a wood frame stud walls covered
with a structural sheathing material like plywood.
Partition Wall
• Partition wall is an
interior non-load
bearing wall to divide
the larger space into
smaller spaces. The
heights of a partition
wall depends on the
use which may be one
storey or part of one
storey. These walls are
made up of glass,
fiber boards or brick
masonry.
Panel Wall
• Panel wall is generally made of wood
and is an exterior non-load bearing
wall in framed construction. It is used
for aesthetics of the buildings both
inside and outside. It remains totally
supported at each storey but
subjected to lateral loads.
Veneer Wall
• Masonry veneer walls is a single non-structural external masonry wall
made of brick, stone or manufactured stone. It has an air space
behind and is called as anchored veneer.
Faced Walls
• Faced walls has the facing and backing of two different materials are
bonded together to ensure common action under load.