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Residential Concrete Masonry Building
Systems
Concrete masonry has a long history of use in New Zealand
as a domestic building material. Many notable homes
have been designed and built using this versatile product.
Construction of masonry homes can be very economical,
particularly when the designer uses the modular sizes
of the masonry units to full advantage in an effort
to minimise wastage.
Masonry serves as a type of permanent formwork for concrete.
The grout fill works in conjunction with the steel reinforcing
to provide structural strength.
Masonry is available in a wide range of shapes, textures
and colours; and in units suited for a variety of building
surfaces and elements. The range of block products is
expanding as blocks with special finishes, sizes and
thermal properties emerge in the market. |
©Portland
Cement Association |
The construction of masonry homes has been
simplified with NZS 4229:1999 Concrete Masonry Buildings
Not Requiring Specific Engineering Design. This document
makes it possible to design a masonry home without a structural
engineer, in a similar manner to the application of NZS
3604 to the design and construction of light timber framed
houses.
Masonry for high mass
Concrete masonry presents a number of options for use in a
high mass home. These options allow insulation to be incorporated
in the construction in several ways, helping to ensure effective
storage of heat.
Walls insulated on the inside face (using
sheets of polystyrene, for instance) isolate the mass of the
wall from internally reflected and radiated heat. This can
reduce some of the benefits of the high mass system, but can
make the location and alteration of services very easy, as
they are usually located in rebates cut in the polystyrene.
Wallboard cladding systems are then easily fixed to this and
decorated accordingly.
Walls can be insulated on the outside face using either polystyrene
or an insulating plaster system. The insulating plaster systems
enable the designer to select a variety of finishes and textures
that can be applied to the surface. One block manufacturer
supplies a polystyrene biscuit in the core of the block as
the insulating medium. The thickness of this insulation is
able to be increased for use in the lower temperature areas
of the South Island and higher altitudes of the North Island.
A double skin construction system, where a structural masonry
wall is clad with a masonry wall veneer, allows an internal
cavity which can be insulated. The use of a cavity is also
a very effective method of waterproofing.
For more information:
For New Zealand residents only: The CCANZ
has an information pack that we can send you, please email
admin@cca.org.nz
for a pack.
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