Understanding the fundamentals of masonry

There are different materials that are used in masonry work. The most common ones are brick, cob, tile, granite, marble, stone, concrete and block.

As a key contributor to building and construction, masonry has many advantages and benefits. First, most of the forms of masonry have long-term cost benefits because they do not require painting. Second, a great many of masonry walls are resistant to impacts and debris.

 

Third, masonry structures do last longer, compared to other structures  such as steel .For instance, an average masonry structure that is well done will last for hundreds and even thousands of years. Another benefit and advantage of masonry work is that it is highly resistant to fire.

 

Masonry has a wide scope of application. It is used in constructing buildings and walls. Masonry can also be used in concrete bricks.

 

Stonework is one of the oldest forms of masonry because stones are readily available. Stones can be used either in their crude irregular form or in a dressed form. But with the increase of technology, manufactured stones are becoming a popular alternative to natural stones.

 

Masonry has its limitations, which can be overcome. One of them is the cracking of building walls when buildings move due to expansion or contraction. Good masonry plans for such occurrences by improving the tensile strength of the walls. One such way is through the use of control joints and a good professional contractor should be able to show you all this in the contract documents before they begin any masonry work especially the one involving walls.