What are the errors in masonry construction?

There are some common mistakes that people make when working with masonry. These include not curing the mortar, using too much water, and not maintaining the masonry properly. By avoiding these mistakes, you can ensure that your masonry project is successful. Efflorescence is the term used to describe a common defect that results from the crystallization of excess salts in bricks.

When the brick contains too many soluble salts and comes into contact with water, those salts dissolve and appear on the surface of the brick in the form of a whitish powder, leaving an opaque appearance that can only be remedied by repeatedly brushing and washing the surface of the wall. First, scrub the white powder with a hard brush and water, then clean the brick surface with a biodegradable detergent. A common mistake in masonry is not planning. Many people wait until the last moment to start their masonry project, which can lead to a lot of problems.

When you plan ahead, you have time to select the right materials and find a qualified masonry contractor. Masonry is masonry produced with mortar and bricks. The masonry provides a natural and pleasant aesthetic to the structure. Brick masonry provides great durability, since during construction, one layer is placed on top of another and a continuous line of joints is avoided to form two or more layers or rows.

In addition, a suitable joint is formed by adhering the bricks to each other, filling the joints with mortar. The standard brick size for modular bricks is 200 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm, including a mortar thickness of 10 mm. A reduction in strength of up to 33% can be observed because the joints of the filling bed are incomplete. However, there is a significant impact on flexural strength rather than compressive strength and, in addition, filling vertical joints is more difficult than filling horizontal joints.

Therefore, a joint that is too thick increases the chances of the member or structure collapsing under workloads. For example, a bed joint from 16 mm to 19 mm thick has up to 30% less compressive strength than a bed joint of only 10 mm. These resulting deviations will result in an additional amount of eccentric loads and, in addition, an effective reduction in strength. For example, a brick wall with a deviation of 12 mm to 20 mm from the required alignment could have up to 15% less strength than walls without this defect.

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