Essential Brick Wall Construction and Shoring Techniques

Brick Wall Construction Techniques

Key Masonry Terminology

• Wall or Beam: Refers to either side of a wall.
• Front and Side Wall: The exterior face of the wall.
• Course: A horizontal series of bricks.
• Bed Joint: The layer of mortar joining two consecutive rows.
• Head Joint: Mortar provided between two consecutive bricks in the same layer.

Classification by Location

• Facade Walls: The exterior and primary walls of a building.
• Party Walls: Construction elements separating adjacent properties.
• Main Walls: Walls located inside the premises, enclosed by facade and party walls.
• Partitions: Non-load-bearing brick walls used solely for interior layout.

Spaces between facade walls are known as spans or crunched gaps.

Classification by Thickness

• Brick Partition: Thickness corresponds to the edge of the brick.
• Half-Foot Wall: Thickness equals the width of a brick.
• Full-Foot Wall: Thickness equals the length of a brick.
• Wall of One and a Half Feet
• Wall of Two Feet

Shoring and Centering Techniques

Shoring is the carpentry work used to assemble temporary supports for construction elements like arches or vaults.

Compositional Elements of Shoring

• Truss: The vertical, load-bearing element.
• Braces: Horizontal elements used for tying or binding trusses.
• Decking: Boards or battens nailed to trusses to support the soffit of an arch or vault.

Types of Centering

• Career
• Solera
• Depth
• Virotillo

Stripping and Falsework

Stripping involves removing the falsework and molds used for hydraulic concrete. Falsework is the structure that supports the molds.

Stripping elements include:

• Wedges: Placed between the centering and the sill.
• Sand or Water Boxes
• Screws or Jacks

Hollows and Openings

Types of Openings

Includes windows, balconies, and doors.

• Masonry Openings: Windows, balconies, or gates built with brick and stone.
• Passage Gaps: Includes the mamperlán, a wooden strip packed against the edge of stair treads.