INTRODUCTION TO WALLS:
Walls are an important element of any type of building. One can not think of a building without walls. Walls not only provide privacy and security to the occupants but also protect them from weather i.e. heat cold, rain, and wind. Walls are made up of materials such as bricks, stone, timber, concrete, RCC, etc.
Definition:
Walls are defined as vertical members, having lengths more than four times their thickness, used to enclose a space or divide a space into a number of smaller units in a building.
Functions of Walls:
Walls are constructed to perform the following functions:
(i) To enclose a given space.
(ii) To divide the space into a number of smaller units.
(iii) To carry the superimposed load i.e., load transferred through roof/floor and transfer this load to the foundation.
(iv) To provide privacy and security to the occupants. (v) To protect the occupants from i.e. heat, cold, rain, and wind.
CLASSIFICATION OF WALLS:
Walls are classified into various types based upon the following criteria:
(a) Load bearing nature
(b) Material of Construction
(c) Function
Classification of walls on the basis of load-bearing criteria:
(1) Load Bearing Walls:
The walls which carry the superimposed load Le, the load transferred through roof/floor, along with their own load (self-weight) are called as load-bearing walls. They transfer this load to the foundation. These are also called as main walls and are generally thick and solid.
(2) Non-Load Bearing Walls:
The walls which do not carry any type of superimposed load except their own load (self-weight) are called as non-load bearing walls. These walls are thinner than the main walls These walls are mainly used for partitioning or dividing the floor area into smaller units.
Non-load bearing walls, known as panels or infill walls, are used in framed or non-load bearing construction (slab-beam-column construction) for filling/covering up the open spaces.
Classification of Walls Based Upon Material of Construction:
Based upon the material of construction, walls are classified into the following types:
(1) Brick Masonry Walls:
The walls made up of brick masonry (bricks + mortar) are called as brick masonry walls. These walls may be load-bearing or non-load bearing. Brick masonry walls can be constructed in varying thicknesses such as I brick-thick, 15 brick thick, etc.
(2) Stone Masonry Walls:
The walls made up of stone masonry (stone + mortar) are called as stone masonry walls. These walls are generally used as load-bearing or main walls. They are stronger than the brick walls. Stonemasonry walls are generally constructed in hilly regions where good-quality stones are cheap and easily available.
(3) Reinforced Brickwalls:
The walls constructed from brick masonry and some type of reinforcement are called as reinforced brick masonry walls. In these walls, reinforcement, in the form of steel bars, hoops, flats, or wire mesh is embedded in between the layers of brickwork. Rich cement mortar is used along with the reinforcement. In reinforced brick walls, the reinforcement may be laid horizontally or vertically as shown in Fig. 1.
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(a) Reinforced Brick Wall. |
These walls have the following advantages over brick masonry walls:
(i) These walls are stronger than brick masonry walls as they can take tensile and shear stones also in addition to compressive stresses.
(ii) Reinforced brick walls can resist lateral loads also, so they are used as retaining walls (explained later) in basements or other retaining structures.
(iii) Reinforced brick construction is used in small beams (lintels) over openings like doors and windows etc.
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| (b) Steel Bars In Brick Wall. |
(4) Reinforced Concrete Walls:
Reinforced concrete walls or RCC walls are made up of reinforced cement concrete i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregate, and water in some definite proportion, along with steel reinforcement.
These walls have very good strength and are used as:
(i) Main load-bearing walls.
(ii) Partition walls
(iii) Retaining walls for basement
(iv) Walls for water retaining structures
(v) Shear walls etc.
(5) Precast Hollow and Solid Concrete Blocks Walls:
Concrete is a versatile material of construction. Concrete blocks are used for a number of civil work including walls. These blocks are precast in factories and placed together at the site along with rich cement mortar. The walls made up of these precast blocks are called as precast concrete block walls. These blocks may be hollow or solid. They come in various shapes and sizes and can be constructed as per the requirement. These are used for both load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls.
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| Figure 3.2 shows precast concrete blocks and precast hollow blocks wall. |
The precast concrete block walls have the following advantages over the ordinary brick or stone masonry walls :
(i) Precast concrete walls are stronger than brick masonry walls.
(ii) Precast concrete block wall construction requires less time and less skilled labor as the blocks are precast.
(iii) Precast concrete blocks can be cast into any shape and size.
(iv) Use of precast concrete hollow blocks results in lightweight and thinner construction.
(v) Precast concrete block walls do not require any plaster or face work.
(6) Composite Masonry Walls:
The walls which are made up of two or more different materials are called as composite masonry walls. These walls are economical and aesthetically better than other walls. Composite walls are classified into the following types on the basis of their material of construction.
(i) Brick stone composite masonry wall.
(ii) Reinforced brick masonry wall.
(i) Brick Stone Composite Masonry Walls:
In this type of wall, the facing is made up of stone masonry, and the backing consists of brick masonry. The two parts, i.e., backing and facing are connected together by metal cramps, to tie them together to act as a single unit. These walls are laid in rich cement mortar and are used as exterior walls of the buildings.
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| Figure 3.3 (a) shows a stone-faced brick masonry wall. |
Sometimes brick facing and stone backing are also used as shown in Fig. 3.3(b).
Reinforced brick, masonry walls have reinforcement embedded in brick masonry as shown in Fig. 3.1. The reinforced cement concrete walls are made up of steel bars embedded in concrete. These walls are very strong and can take heavy loads. R.C.C. walls are used as retaining walls, shear walls, etc.
