GB2349159A - Brick/block with a false joint for receiving cement - Google Patents

Abstract

A brick or block has at least one false joint in a face of the brick/block for receiving cement or mortar. The joint may be in the form of a vertical channel, or alternatively form a horizontal bed. The false joint can be present on any of the faces of the brick/block and the bricks/blocks can be used to construct a cavity wall. The false joints can be formed during moulding of the brick/block or cut into the brick/block subsequent to moulding.

Description

"BRICKS" This invention relates to the construction of walls using traditional brick bonding patterns. More specifically, the system consists of a series of specially designed bricks or blocks which can be used in the construction of walls to provide an aesthetically equivalent and structurally improved cavity wall.

Cavity wall construction using bricks or blocks wherein the bricks or blocks are laid in a stretcher bond formation is a standard form of construction which is commonly used.

Until the early 1900's the design and construction of load bearing brickwork was based on the principle of solid wall construction-there was no cavity in the brickwork. Buildings were typically constructed using rule of thumb structural calculations and/or regulations imposed by government such as the Greater London bye-laws which stipulated measured thicknesses of load bearing brickwork walls.

The design principle of cavity brickwork came into force about this period and remains the standard form of external walling to buildings throughout the United Kingdom. Cavity brickwork is based on the principle of having two"leafs"of masonry with a cavity in between them. It is common practice to fill, either partially or fully, this cavity with insulating material.

Current building regulations stress this in"deemed to satisfy" (Scottish) and Approved Documents (England and Wales) sections accompanying the building regulations where design parameters for cavity brick and blockwork are laid down along with other performance criteria such as maximum"U" values.

Cavity construction allows designers to meet performance criteria including structural stability, protection against penetrating dampness, thermal insulation targets and the like, but the nature of cavity construction requires stretcher bonding and leaves little or no scope for any form of alternative bonding patterns. Stretcher bond brickwork can be found throughout all major forms of buildings with the primary applications being: -New build housing constructed using brick/block load bearing masonry -New build timber frame housing where the brickwork is a non load bearing outer leaf -Commercial/industrial framed structures where the brickwork forms a non load bearing outer leaf -Rehabilitation works to all sectors where solid brickwork buildings are extended/altered using cavity construction brickwork Stretcher bond brickwork meets criteria such as structural stability, protection against rain penetration, fire resistance etc.

Any form of external skin to a building will be required to meet defined performance criteria. For the purpose of this document the relevant criteria can be summarised as: CRITERIA MEASURE/REFERENCE Structural Stability BS 5628 Weathertightness BS 5628 Fire Resistance BS 476 Durability BS 3921, BS 5628 Ease of Use Field Trials Cost Cost comparison tests Critics have argued that as a form of brick bonding stretcher bond singularly fails to meet any form of aesthetic test.

A wide range of brick bonding patterns have been used by brick layers over the ages. The most commonly encountered products are: -English-alternate layers of header and stretchers -Flemish-headers and stretchers alternately in the same course -English Garden Wall-one header to three stretchers in each course -English Cross Bond-header placed next to end stretcher in every other stretcher course It is clear that traditional bonding patterns provide a far greater contribution to the architectural quality and townscape of brick built buildings. The scope for imaginative design and detailing is almost non-existent in the case of stretcher bonding while traditional bonding patterns open the door for designers to maximise the visual contribution which brickwork can make to any building.

To replicate a traditional bond (i. e. based on solid wall construction) at the moment requires manual cutting of every brick which is not laid stretcher bond. Thus in an English bond, the bricklayer would need to cut every brick used at each second course of brickwork. The disadvantage of currently attempting to replicate traditional bonds includes: -Laborious process resulting in a high wastage rate due to inaccurate cutting and sizing of bricks -Loss of time as well as manual cutting severely impacting on the time taken to construct the wall -Lack of quality control (sizing/dimensions, appearance, thicknesses of joints etc) over finished wall -Lack of guarantee of structural stability of wall due to differing thicknesses of cut bricks, damage of bricks etc The increase in the production of vernacular and traditionally manufactured bricks has provided an excellent opportunity for designers to rediscover the design rewards which can be attained through the use of traditional bonding patterns. Clearly however, the cavity form of construction is here to stay and represents the industry satndard-the concept described in this document therefore is to introduce traditional bonding patterns while simultaneously making use of cavity forms of wall construction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a series of brick or blocks for use in the construction of walls, which exhibits traditional and other brick bonding patterns, wherein the use of such brick or block types results in the redundancy of the requirement to cut bricks so that they can be incorporated into the wall to obtain the desired aesthetic effect.

According to the present invention there is provided a brick or block comprising at least one mock cement receiving joint, defined in a face of the brick/ block.

Preferably the mock cement receiving joint comprises a cement receiving channel.

More preferably, the cement receiving channel is a mortar receiving channel.

Preferably the mock cement receiving joint comprises a perpend like mock cement receiving joint.

Alternatively the mock cement receiving joint comprises a bed like mock cement receiving joint.

Preferably the face comprises the front or rear face of the brick or block.

Alternatively the face comprises the end face of the brick or block.

Alternatively the outward face may comprises a top or bottom face.

The invention further provides a method of forming a brick or block comprising defining a mock cement receiving joint in the brick or block.

Preferably the mock cement receiving joint is defined in the brick or block during moulding.

Alternatively the mock cement receiving joint is defined in the brick or block following moulding.

The terminology mock cement receiving joint means a cement receiving channel.

The invention further comprises the use of a recess in a brick or a block to form a mock cement receiving joint.

Further, the invention also provides a wall comprising a brick or block as defined above.

The invention therefore provides a series of brick or block like components of several defined dimensions which have a superficial vertical channel or channels, cut into their side.

The cement receiving channel should be of a shape such that it will maintain the aesthetic characteristics of a normal vertical maintain joint perpend but may also exhibit improved mortar retaining characteristics over the aforementioned standard type mock perpend.

The width of the proximal end of the cement receiving channel at the surface of the brick or block is constant, whereas the distal portion of the mock perpend, situated deep into the body of the brick, may be cut into different shapes. Preferably the cement receiving channel may be in the shape of a dovetail joint.

Alternatively the cement receiving channel may be cut into the brick in the shape of an oval joint, a serrated joint, or similar.

The system is facilitated through the use of bricks which have at least one"mock"perpend cut into them at specific points on their faces. These mock perpends can subsequently be filled with cement or mortar to mimic the vertical mortar joints (perpends) which join neighbouring bricks in a course. One such preferred embodiment of a mock perpend would be the formation of a 10mm vertical perpend which is traditionally seen between standard metric sized bricks in a course.

Alternatively, where the mortar receiving channel is defined in a horizontal orientation on the brick or block, this channel, when filled with cement or mortar forms a mock mortar bed joint which is traditionally used to separate courses of bricks.

The shape of the mock perpend cut into the brick or block can take several alternative forms. Such variations in the shape of the channel are designed to aid the retention of cement or mortar in the channel. In instances where such a variation in the shape of the cement receiving channel occurs, the difference in the shape of the mock perpend cut into the brick or block does not alter the dimensions of the perpend at the surface of the brick, rather. the differences in shape are seen in the body of the brick, deep to the surface incision.

The differences in the cut will be particularly apparent when the brick is viewed from a plan perspective, because from an elevated view it appears that the perpend is of standard dimensions which will tie it in with the other perpends seen between bricks or blocks.

The differences in the shape of the cut mortar joint can take several forms, preferably such as that of a dove tail joint shape cut into the brick or block or also preferably as other shapes forming joints such as an oval, semi-circular or a serrated edge cut groove.

To give the impression of the traditional or other desired brick bonding patterns, the perpends of each course must be positioned with respect to those of the courses both above and below.

To allow suitable arrangement of the perpends to be made, bricks of various sizes are used. These brick sizes are the equivalent sizes of; headers, standard stretcher length and bricks which are three quarters the length of bricks in the stretched orientation.

It should be noted that it is not appropriate to cut mock perpends into all bricks which contribute to a specific aesthetic effect or bonding pattern. For example mock perpends will not normally be required in header sized bricks and are usually only cut into three quarter length bricks on occasion. There may be situations though where a mock perpend is cut into the end face of the brick or block, though again this will depend on the pattern of the wall which the brick is being used to construct. Examples of bricks of this nature are shown as Brick types 7 and 8 in Figure 1. Further, there are occasions when multiple perpends may be cut into the faces of the bricks or blocks. Examples of such bricks can be seen in Figures 1 (Brick type 6) and also in Figures 3 and 4.

The examples set out herein are further defined in the accompanying drawings wherein; Figure 1 shows examples of brick and block types for use with the present invention along with examples of specific positions where a mock vertical perpend may be cut on these bricks or blocks, Figure 2 shows examples of bonding patterns which can be achieved using the selection of brick types shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 shows examples of solid concrete block embodiments of the invention, and Figure 4 shows examples of hollow concrete block embodiments of the invention.

It should be noted that although the industry standard uses bricks and blocks of metric dimensions, there is still a requirement for the production of bricks and blocks to Imperial measurement specifications. These would be used for example in the repair or refurbishment of older buildings where the brick or blocks would have to tie in with, or replace, existing bricks of Imperial dimensions. In such instances the metric dimensions shown in Table 1 would be replaced by the equivalent standard Imperial dimensions, with any perpend being inserted at respectively the same position in the brick or block.

The result of the use of the brick types described above and shown in Figure 1, is that there is formed a system based on the use of a number of brick or block types, into which appropriately, but not essentially mock perpends can be cut. When the perpends are filled with cement or mortar they give the impression of being actual mortar joints (perpends), thus changing the aesthetic appearance of the brickwork course that it is incorporated in.

This gives the impression of a traditional or other brick bonding pattern, while in fact using the same structural principle used in constructing a wall with a stretched course of brickwork. Thus this method produces a structurally improved and aesthetically superior course of brickwork.

Thus through the use of the above technique, the matching of traditional bonding patterns with cavity construction is made possible.

Figure 2 shows examples of bonding patterns which can result from construction of walls using this brick and block system. In these examples, the brick or block types which contribute to the overall pattern are labelled according to the brick type from Figure 1 which is used, thus a brick labelled T1 relates to the use of a type 1 brick, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2 (i) shows 8 courses of brickwork in a stretcher bond configuration, which requires a brick to be cut to provide header shaped bricks for either side of every second row. Figure 2 (ii) shows the implementation of the present system, in this case to produce an English bond system where out of the 8 courses seen, every second course has the traditional formation, identifie by the apparent absence of stretch type bricks in replacement of a complete row of apparent headed bricks. The use of the bricks of the present invention are to construct the alternate headed courses, means that no brick cutting is required. Instead through specific arrangement of the bricks from the present system, the headed course can be constructed. Through selection of the appropriate brick sizes, with the appropriate cut of mock perpends, the traditional brick bonding pattern effect can be achieved, and the wall will have improved structural properties as no cut bricks, which may have resultant decrease in structural characteristics will not have been used.

The bricks which combine to give this particular effect are seen labelled in course 7 of Figure 2 (ii).

Through varying the combination of the bricks which form the courses, other bonding patterns can also be produced which again retain this principle of having the structural advantages of stretcher bond construction, while also having improved aesthetic characteristics. Further examples of such bonding patterns are shown in Figure 2 (iii).

As mentioned previously, another principle which can be adopted to produce aesthetic effects is the addition of a second or subsequent number of mock perpends into the face of the brick or block.

Multiple perpends will generally, but not essentially be used on bricks or blocks of stretched type. Brick type 6 of Figure 1 illustrates such preferred brick or block types. Table 1 provides metric dimensions of the brick types illustrated in Figure 1, though this type of multiple mock perpend confirmation can be adapted to other brick or block types and sizes.

Such examples are shown in Figures 3 and 4 also show bricks with multiple perpends in their face.

To take this concept further, investigative work based primarily around the production of prototypes and construction of sample panels of masonry based around a typical modular section of 1000mm is envisaged.

This product development and development of prototypes would enable: -Basic performance criteria testing to be carried out-e. g. crushing strength -Production economies to be predicted -Time/handling considerations to be determined.

Further embodiments of this invention relates to the use of bricks or blocks for use in the construction of facing, non-facing, load bearing, non-load bearing, solid and hollow concrete blockwork masonry walls. In such instances, the fundamental building unit may be a solid concrete block or a hollow concrete block, but the presence of a mock cement receiving joint would also be of use in such building units.

Examples of the present invention being adapted to solid concrete blocks or hollow concrete blocks for use in such walls are shown in Figure 3 (solid concrete block embodiments) and Figure 4 showing hollow concrete embodiments of the invention.

Table 1: Example of work sizes of the bricks and blocks of Figure 1

Brick Type Length-L Height-H Width-W Comments (mm) (mm) (mm) 1 215 65 102.5 10mm mock perpend cuit into full brick at length on one side only 2 215 65 102.5 10m mock perpend cut into full brick at of length on one side only 3 158.75 65 102.5 10mm mock perpend cut into three-quarter brick at 1/3 of length on one side only 4 158.75 65 102.5 Three-quarter brick 5 102.5 65 102.5 Half brick 6 215 65 102.5 Two 10mm mock perpends cut into threequarter brick at 1/3 length on two sides 7 215 65 102.5 One 10mm mock perpend cut on the side of a brick at of width on one side only 8 215 65 102.5 Two 10mm mock perpends cut on the side of a brick at of width on two sides Note: All dimensions are approximate ans subject to modifications based on manufacture and field measurements Table 2: Dimensions of solid concrete block examples given in Figure 3

BlockType Thickness Lengh Height T L H (mrn) (non) (MM) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 90 390 190 140 390 190 190 390 190 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8100 440 215 140 440 215 190 440 215 215 440 215 9,10,11,12 90 287. 5 190 140 287. 5 190 190 287. 5 190 9,10,11,12 100 325 215 140 325 215 190 325 215 215 325 215 13,14 90 190 190 140 190 190 190 190 190 13,14 100 215 215 140 215 215 190 215 215 215 215 215 Note: All dimensions are approximate and subject to modifications based on manufacturer and field measurements Table 3 : Dimensions of hollow concrete block examples given in Figure 4

Block Type Thickness Length Height T L H (mm) (mm) (mm) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 90 390 190 140 390 190 190 390 190 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 100 440 215 140 440 215 190 440 215 215 440 215 9,10 90 190 190 140 190 190 190 190 190 9,10 100 215 215 140 215 215 190 215 215 215 215 215 Note: All dimensions are approximate and subject to modifications based on manufacture and field measurements

Claims (15)

1. Claims 1. A brick or block comprising at least one mock cement receiving joint, defined in a face of the brick or block.
2. 2. The brick or block of claim 1 wherein the mock cement joint comprises a cement receiving channel.
3. 3. The brick or block of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the cement receiving channel is a mortar receiving channel.
4. 4. A brick or block as described in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the mock cement receiving joint comprises a perpend like mock cement receiving joint.
5. 5. A brick or block as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the mock cement receiving joint comprises a bed like mock cement receiving joint.
6. 6. The brick or block of claims 1 to 5, wherein the face comprises the front or rear face of the brick or block.
7. 7. The brick or block of claims 1 to 6, wherein the face comprises the end face of the brick or block.
8. 8. The brick or block of claims 1 to 7, wherein the outward face comprises a top or bottom face.
9. 9. A method of forming a brick or block comprising defining a mock cement receiving joint in the brick or block.
10. 10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the mock cement receiving joint is defined in the brick or block during moulding.
11. 11. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the mock cement receiving joint is defined in the brick or block following moulding.
12. 12. The mock cement receiving joint as claimed in claims 9,10 or 11 wherein it is a cement receiving channel.
13. 13. The use of a recess in a brick or a block to form a mock cement receiving joint.
14. 14. A wall comprising a brick or block as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13.
15. 15. The use of a brick or block as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 in the construction of a cavity wall.