Masonry is the building of structures from individual units usually laid in and bound together by mortar.

Common materials used in masonry include bricks, concrete blocks, building stones, granite, travertine, limestone, cast stone, glass block, and adobe.

Mortar is a mixture of binding material with sand. Binding materials can be cement, lime or soil.

Common Types of Masonry Available

There are many types of masonry available in the market today.

1. Brick masonry: These type of bricks are made of two or more wythes of bricks with the units running horizontally bound together with bricks running transverse to the wall.

2. Concrete block masonry: Concrete blocks of various types are used on this wall including cinder concrete, ordinary concrete, and hollow tiles.

3. Glass block masonry: It is done with blocks made from glass. It provides a translucent or clear vision through the block.

4. Stonework: Stone blocks used in masonry can be dressed or rough. Stone masonry utilizing dressed stones is known as ashlar masonry, while using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry.

Other Types of Masonry Available

5. Veneer masonry: This consists of clay-based bricks, installed on one or both sides of a structurally independent wall usually constructed of wood or masonry. It is mainly done for decorative purposes and structural.

6. Semi-Interlocking masonry: This is a masonry system that has no mortar. This masonry block uses special curvature to allow the masonry block to stabilize through self-weight when constructed as a panel.

7. Serpentine masonry: A wall with this type of masonry follows a serpentine path and not a straight line. It is more resistant to toppling so despite all that, it is more economical than a straight wall.

These walls can also be: load bearing, if they transfer loads from the roof to the foundation; reinforced if they have reinforcement in the walls; hollow if they have a cavity; composite if constructed with two or more units; post-tensioned if post-tensioning rods are fixed into the foundation.

Advantages of Masonry Walls

Masonry walls are very durable. They make your building strong and durable and also help in temperature control within the building through their enduringness and strength of masonry wall construction, however, is also determined by the type and quality of material used and workmanship.

Concrete masonry blocks are usually much larger than ordinary bricks and so are much faster to lay on any wall and have lower water absorption rates.

Concrete masonry can be manipulated to make them more appealing.

Masonry can be done for any type of building, e.g., church, school, residential homes, factories and industries among others.

Why Go for Masonry?

If durability, cost-effectiveness, and strength while still appealing are a major consideration for your building, masonry walls are the best option as compared to other types of walls.

You can choose from the various types readily available in the market to suit your needs and get them done by one of the many available experienced builders within your reach.