Walls Structure

Introduction
• A wall is a vertical load-bearing member – it is one of the most
essential components of a building.

• External walls help to provide shelter from our environment.

• Internal walls divide building into rooms and space.

• The primary function of the wall includes;

o To enclose and protect a building

o To divide space within a building to make it more
functional and useful
o To provide privacy and security to the occupants
o To provide protection against weather (heat, cold, sun and
rain) and the daily and seasonal variations of outside
temperature for reasonable indoor comfort..
o To provide support for floors and roofs
 Wall Structure and Frame Structure
Load-bearing wall structure Frame structure
Less cost to build Cost is more
Suitable up to three storey high, i.e. Suitable for any number of stories,
low rise i.e. high rise
Walls are thicker and hence floor Walls are thinner and hence more
area (size) is reduced floor area available
Slow construction Speedy construction
Not possible to alter the position of Position of walls may be changed,
walls, after the construction whenever necessary
 Factors in the design for the construction of walls

• Strength
o Walls must be able to bear the loads, resist compression
and tension forces.
o Is dependent on the materials and methods used – the
way in which the materials are put together.
o For examples:
• Timber has long been used to construct a frame of
walls, floors and roofs for houses.
• Bricks, with its durability and fire resistance, has been a
popular walls material for houses and many buildings.
• Concrete and steel are used principally for their
considerable strength as the structural frame members
of large and high rise buildings.
 Factors in the design for the construction of walls

• Stability

o Wall construction must be strong and stable so as not to

collapse.

o Stability of a wall may be affected by foundation

movement, loads from floors and roofs, lateral forces
(wind), and expansion due to changes in temperature and
moisture.

• Resistance to weather

o Walls must be able to withstand temperatures that are too

cold, and hot and can impede rainwater from entering.

o Is dependent on the materials and methods used.

 Factors in the design for the construction of walls

• Fire resistance

o Walls also must be able to resist the fire – depends on the

type and quality of materials used.

o Resistance given by the elements of a structure before it

collapse, spread of flame and heat flow are set in a
specific time period – vary from 30 minutes to 6 hours.

o Resistance times vary depending on the size, condition

and use of the building so that the fire resistance of the
element is sufficient for occupants to escape during a fire.
 Factors in the design for the construction of walls

• Resistance to flow and sound absorption

o Noise from outside will interfere with the comfort and

peace of the occupants in the building.

o Therefore, walls must be able to absorb the sound.

o Selection of materials and construction methods play an

important role in this feature.

o To prevent reversal of this noise – sound absorbing material

shall be provided in walls and floors such as acoustic
element or curtain to absorb the sound waves.
 Walls Materials

• Some of the most popular

materials that are used for
walls are:

o Bricks and blocks –

primarily of clay or
concrete.
Bricks
o Timber – used in walls
frame

o Concrete – used in
walls frame

o Steel – used in wall

frame
Blocks
 Load Bearing Wall

• Load bearing walls is designed to carry super-imposed loads

(dead loads, live loads and wind loads), in addition to own
weight.

• Examples:

o Masonry Bricks Walls

o Concrete Walls

o Cavity Walls

o Timber Walls
 Non--load Bearing Wall
Non

• Non-load bearing walls is designed

to carry their own load only.

• They generally serve as dividing

walls or partition walls.

• In framed structures partition walls

are built to divide floor area for
different utilities.

• They rest on floors – they do not

carry loads from floor and roof.
Hence normally partition walls are
thin.

• Material use includes: soft board,

plywood, glass, aluminium, etc.
Partition Wall
 Masonry Brick Wall

• Is made of brick units and bonded together with mortar.

• Two essential components of brick masonry are:

o Bricks

o Mortar
 Common Bricks

• Common bricks are formed by pressing in molds.

• Then these bricks are dried and fired in a kiln.

• Common burnt clay bricks are used in general work with no

special attractive appearances.

• When these bricks are used in walls, they require plastering or

rendering.

• The typical size of bricks is 215mm x 10.5 mm x 65mm

 Sand Lime Bricks

• Sand lime bricks are made by mixing sand, fly ash and lime
followed by a chemical process during wet mixing.

• The mix is then molded under pressure forming the brick.

• These bricks can offer advantages over clay bricks such as:

o Their color appearance is grey instead

of the regular reddish color.

o Their shape is uniform and presents a

smoother finish that doesn’t require
plastering.

o These bricks offer excellent strength

as a load-bearing member.
 Face/Facing Bricks

• Face brick are bricks that show some esthetic quality to be

used on the exposed surface of a building wall or other
structure

• Face bricks can be used for stairs, fireplaces, chimneys, walls,

facades of homes, etc.
 Engineering Bricks

• Engineering bricks are bricks manufactured at extremely high

temperatures, forming a dense and strong brick, allowing the
brick to limit strength and water absorption.

• Engineering bricks are designed for use where strength and

low levels of water absorption are important – this may be on
applications such as retaining walls or for ground works.

• Engineering bricks offer

excellent load bearing
capacity damp-proof
characteristics and chemical
resisting properties.
 Mortar

• Mortar is a workable paste used to bind bricks together and

fill the gaps between them.

• Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid

aggregate structure.

o Acts as a cementing material and unites the individual

brick units together to act as a homogeneous mass.

• Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a

binder such as cement or lime, and water.

o Cement mortar is the most popular type used in many

construction works.

• Mortar can also be used to fix the original mortar that has
been washed away.
 Bond in Brick Work

• Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks

and mortar.
o Typically, rows of bricks – called courses – are laid one on
top of another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
• Bond is the method of arranging the bricks in courses so that
individual units are tied together and the vertical joints of the
courses do not lie in same vertical line.
• Types of bonds provided in brickwork are;
o Stretcher Bond;
o Header Bond;
o English Bond;
o Flemish Bond;
o American Bond;
 Stretcher Bond

• Is the one in which all the

bricks are laid as stretchers on
the faces of walls.

• This pattern is used only for

those walls which have
thickness of half brick.
 Header Bond

• All the bricks are laid as headers on the faces of walls.

• The pattern is used only when the thickness of the wall is equal to
one brick.
• The overlap is usually kept equal to half the width of brick.
English Bond

• Is the most commonly and widely used bond for all wall thicknesses.

• This bond is considered to be one of the strongest bonds.

• The bond consists of alternate courses of headers and stretcher.

Flemish Bond

• In flemish bond, each courses is comprised of alternate headers and

stretchers.

• Every alternate course starts with a header at the corner.

• Is considered to be most elegant-looking bond.

• It is not as strong as the English bond.

 American Bond

• Also known as Common Bond

• Has courses of stretchers and courses of headers, but the ratio of
stretching courses to heading courses may vary.
• Often the ratio is of one course of headers to five courses of
stretchers, but can sometimes run to a ratio as high as nine courses
of stretchers to one course of headers.
 Concrete Wall – Cast In-
In-situ

• Wall is constructed on site.

• Concrete form is built and used
in constructing the concrete
wall.
• The form size is 4 to 5 cm thick
and 3 to 4 m high.
• Reinforcement steel is placed
inside the concrete form to get
more strength towards the wall
structure.
• Concrete mixture is poured
inside the concrete form in
order to make the concrete wall.
• The form is then taken out when
the concrete is hardened.
Concrete Wall – Pre
Pre--cast
• Wall is pre-constructed in the factory.

• Wall panel available in standard 8

inches width.

• It can be flat or have architectural

features such as window and door
openings.

• The wall panels are installed on-site

to the building structure.

• The most common method of

attachment of precast members is
by use of steel plates either welded
or bolted.
Timber Wall

• Timber material is typically associated with traditional houses

construction.

• Timber wall construction is started with setting up the timber

wall frame.

• Timber wall frame is consists of top plate, header, stud,

nogging, sill plate, lintel and jack stud.

• Timber wall cover is installed to the timber wall frame.

o External wall cover is typically

used timber board strips.

o Internal wall can use timber

panel, gypsum board, plywood
and asbestos strip.
 Cavity Wall

• A cavity wall is the one which consists of two separate walls,

called leaf or skin, with a cavity or gap in between.

• Cavity walls are often constructed for giving better thermal

insulation to the building.

• The size of cavity varies from 4cm to 10 cm.

• The inner and outer skins should not be less than 10 cm each
(half brick thickness)

• This wall is capable of taking load of two storey building.

• However, if heavier loads are to be supported, the thickness

of inner leaf can be increased in multiple of half brick
thickness.
Cavity Wall
 Wall Finishes

• Wall Finishes are finish given to the wall to enhance the interior or
exterior look of the structure.

• Wall finishes used for the interiors are quite delicate and need
maintenance.

• The new contemporary trend has brought about great deal of

increase in the usage of various types of wall finishes for the
aesthetic purpose.

• Tile Cladding

o Different tiles, for example, granite, marble, glazed tiles or vitrified

tiles are used for tile cladding. Tiles are available in a variety of
colours and shapes. The selection of tiles depends on the place
where it is to be applied i.e. interior facade or exterior facade.
 Wall Finishes
• Wood Panelling

o It is a decorative treatment done with wooden panels on the

walls in various designs. The material used can be plywood or
wood covered with veneer or laminate.

• Sand Textured Finish

o Sand Textured finish is used to give fine texture to the wall. This
wall finish is not very commonly used because of its grains coming
out.
Granite Cladding Wooden Panel

Sand Textured Finish