Solid wall A wall constructed of one skin of masonry which can consist of brick or blockwork and does not include a cavity between the interior and exterior. Supported wall A wall to which lateral support is afforded by a combination of buttressing walls, piers or chimneys acting in conjunction with floor (s) or roof.
What is a solid wall?
Solid wall A wall constructed of one skin of masonry which can consist of brick or blockwork and does not include a cavity between the interior and exterior.
What is solid masonry construction?
Solid masonry is a construction technique in which you have a wall or pier, or buttress… made up of masonry without any voids. These walls are usually load bearing and also double as the exterior weather proofing and possibly the interior finish as well. Typical materials used to build solid masonry are stone or brick.
What are the structural walls of a building?
These walls supports structural members such as beams, slabs and walls on above floors above. It can be exterior wall or interior wall. It braces from the roof to the floor. As the height of the building increased, the required thickness of wall and resulting stress on foundation will also increase and cause it to be uneconomical.
What are cavity walls and solid walls?
Solid brick walls and cavity walls. After 1930 houses started being built with cavity walls. This means that the outside walls of a house are built with two layers and a space or cavity between them. From 1985 all new houses built in this way have insulation fitted into the cavity but houses built in the intervening period have unfilled cavities.
What are the advantages of solid wall construction?
Insulating a solid masonry wall helps to provide a thermal barrier, which helps to slow the movement of heat escaping out into the external environment. Less heating is therefore needed to keep the house at the required temperature.
What is meant by solid wall?
Solid wall A wall constructed of one skin of masonry which can consist of brick or blockwork and does not include a cavity between the interior and exterior.
How is a solid wall built?
What is a solid wall? A solid brick wall is exactly like it sounds. Typically two bricks wide, with each row of bricks interlocking to form a completely solid 9 inch brick wall. There is no gap between the bricks to insulate, and so you must either add insulation to the inside of the property, or do so externally.
What is a solid wall made of?
Solid walls are constructed from a single skin of a solid material, such as masonry, concrete, brick, timber, rammed earth, straw bales, etc. They do not include a cavity between the interior and exterior.
What does solid wall look like?
A solid wall's brick pattern is recognisable by having lots of end bricks, which look like half-length bricks, in the middle of walls (i.e. not near ends of walls and not near windows and doors). These are in fact mainly cross bricks, which run from the front to the back of a wall.
What are the two 2 types of walls?
Generally, the walls are differentiated as a two types outer-walls and inner-walls. Outer-walls gives an enclosure to the house for shelter and inner-walls helps to partition the enclosure into the required number of rooms.
Why are solid walls used?
Insulating your solid walls could cut your heating costs considerably, and make your home more comfortable. If your home was built before the 1920s, its external walls are probably solid walls rather than cavity walls. Solid walls have no gap, so they can't be filled with cavity wall insulation.
How thick is a solid wall?
about 22 cm thickA solid brick wall is usually about 22 cm thick, a cavity wall between 27 cm and 30 cm thick, and a solid stone wall could be as much as 50 cm. The age of your home can also be a good indicator.
What is the main difference between a solid wall and a cavity wall?
Cavity walls have bricks laid lengthways with an even staggered pattern, whilst solid walls have a brick pattern where bricks are laid both lengthways and across the width of the wall. There are a number of different forms of insulation that can be used with solid walls.
What is a solid masonry wall?
Solid masonry construction is also called 'Solid Brick', 'Double Brick', and sometimes 'Brick and Block'. In its most common form, a solid masonry wall consists of an outer layer of brick and an inner layer of brick (a layer of brick is called a 'wythe' in masonry circles).
How do you know if a wall is solid or cavity?
Measure your wall Use a tape measure at a door or window to measure the distance between the outside wall and the inside wall. If the wall is more than 260mm thick, it is most likely a cavity wall. If it is thinner than 260mm, it is probably solid. Even if you don't have a cavity wall, you can still get warmer!
How do you build a solid brick wall?
0:026:48Bricklaying 101: How To Build A Brick Wall - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipHere in front of me is all the tools that are required for bricklaying. You can see I put my trowelMoreHere in front of me is all the tools that are required for bricklaying. You can see I put my trowel my hammer my levels I've got a shovel I've got my trusty wheelbarrow lime all cement and sand.
What are the disadvantages of solid structures?
On the one hand, the primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the production of the raw materials are significantly higher than with timber structures.
Do Germans like solid construction?
When it comes to living, Germans love solid construction. At least that's what the figures of the Federal Statistic Office say. According to them, the annual share of new residential structures in solid design was always around 85% between 2000 and 2015.
Do solid structures have pros and cons?
Conclusion. Solid structures therefore have their pros and cons, whereby there are fewer pros than are often assumed. Purely considering the actual advantages, the extremely high number of solid structures in Germany also cannot be explained.
Is wood a good insulation material?
The answer is: Yes and no. Solid structures consists of non-flammable materials, which is definitely an advantage over buildings made from wood, although timber structures are in no way easy fire victims. Due to their thickness, the thick walls also offer better sound protection and in principle have a higher insulating effect than the thin walls of a wooden frame structure. However, as a poor heat-conducting material, wood offers a better insulation capacity so that when used with insulation material in the gaps, thinner walls can be achieved with the same or better insulation performance.
What thickness of wall was needed to support the structure and roof above?
Drywall or plaster was then attached to the wood strips. The 8-inch, or greater, thickness of the walls was necessary to support the structure and roof above. Carpenters were part of the building team and often worked side by side with the masons so floor joists could be fit into the structure as it was being built.
What was the standard way to build in the late 1800s and early 1900s?
Solid masonry construction was the standard way to build in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Brick homes were more substantial and frame homes were considered maintenance nightmares because they had to be painted.
What are some examples of building materials that have changed over time?
Brick and concrete block have remained fairly consistent over time, but other building materials have changed radically. For example, standardized windows and doors have, for the most part, transitioned to a wood framed wall standard.
Can you use 2x4 jambs on a wall?
The common extension jambs for both windows and doors favor a wall framed with 2x4s or one with 2x6s. You can get windows and doors for solid masonry construction, but the jambs and installation details will be different than if your builder was working with wood walls.
Is solid masonry a good insulator?
But solid masonry was popular when heating fuels were cheap and before air conditioning was in widespread use. Solid masonry is a poor insulator and anyone who lives in an older solid masonry building will readily tell you how cold the exterior walls can get in the dead of winter.
Is a masonry wall more expensive than a wood wall?
Building a traditional masonry wall is often more costly than building a wood framed wall system. It often takes more time to build a masonry wall than to do the same thing with wood studs. If you compare traditional wood framed walls to traditional solid masonry walls both of the same finished thickness, you will readily discover ...
Can masonry walls be insulated?
Solid masonry walls can indeed be insulated. There are any number of ways to achieve high insulating values. The outer layer of masonry can be separated from the inner layer by a 2.5 inch space where two-inch thick closed cell foam sheets can be installed. This foam, when combined with additional insulation on the inside of the wall, ...
What is a wall?
A wall providing separation between the internal spaces of a building where the wall is also required to transfer loads from other parts of the structure to the foundations .
What is a wall made of?
A wall constructed from two skins of masonry, the outer skin of which can be brickwork or blockwork and the inner skin of which is generally of blockwork, separated by a cavity to prevent the penetration of moisture and to allow for the installation of thermal insulation .
What is a wall that stands on the lands of 2 or more owners?
A wall that stands on the lands of 2 or more owners or a wall that is on one owner's land but is used by 2 or more owners to separate their buildings .
What is dwarf wall?
A dwarf wall is the term used to refer to a low wall that is often used as a garden wall, fence or as the base of a conservatory or porch structure. Generally, it can be applied to any wall that is less than one- storey in height, but typically they are less than a metre tall. See Dwarf wall for more information .
What does not include a wall?
But a wall does not include: Doors and door frames . Window frames and frames in which glazing is fitted. Architraves, cover moulds, picture rails, skirtings and similar narrow members . Fireplace surrounds, mantle shelves and fitted furniture .
What does a brick wall look like?
A solid brick wall will look like the wall to the left with both the long face of the brick and the short face or 'header' showing in a regular pattern. The thickness of a wall can be measured at a door or window.
What is a cavity wall?
After 1930 houses started being built with cavity walls. This means that the outside walls of a house are built with two layers and a space or cavity between them.
How to check if you have cavity walls?
There are two easy ways to check if you have cavity walls. Either look at the 'bond' or pattern of the brickwork or check the thickness of the wall.
How wide is a solid brick wall?
A solid brick wall is exactly like it sounds. Typically two bricks wide, with each row of bricks interlocking to form a completely solid 9 inch brick wall. There is no gap between the bricks to insulate, and so you must either add insulation to the inside of the property, or do so externally. These sorts of walls can be identified by looking at ...
How thick is a cavity wall?
Very simply, instead of having a 9 inch thick brick wall between the inside and outside of the house, a cavity wall has two layers of brick, with a gap in between. The gap can be anything from 20 to 100mm wide and therefore means that cavity walls tend to be much wider than a solid brick wall.
What type of insulation is used for cavity walls?
There are a few different types of cavity insulation. Modern properties will be built with insulation already in place, usually rigid board insulation. When insulation is retrofitted for an older property, the options are the cheaper fibre glass type insulation, or polystyrene bead insulation, which is more expensive but has a higher performance.
How long does it take to install cavity wall insulation?
Many people get a shock when they hear the cost of solid wall insulation. It is a very labour intensive, material rich job that takes weeks rather than hours to properly install. Cavity wall insulation can be done in a few hours on an equivalent property, and the cost is an order of magnitude lower.
What are the different types of walls?
Types of Walls. Following are various types of walls used in building construction: 1. Load Bearing Wall. It carries loads imposed on it from beams and slabs above including its own weight and transfer it to the foundation. These walls supports structural members such as beams, slabs and walls on above floors above.
What is shear wall?
Shear walls are a framed wall designed to resist lateral forces. It is a vertical elements of the horizontal force resisting system. It is used to resist wind and earthquake loading on a building. It is typically a wood frame stud walls covered with a structural sheathing material like plywood. 5.
What is a partition wall made of?
The heights of a partition wall depends on the use which may be one storey or part of one storey. These walls are made up of glass, fiber boards or brick masonry. 6. Panel Wall. Panel wall is generally made of wood and is an exterior non-load bearing wall in framed construction.
What is a cavity wall?
Cavity Walls. It is a wall constructed in 2 leaves / skins with a space / cavity between them. A type of building wall construction consisting of an outer wall fastened to inner wall separated by an air space. Cavity walls helps to prevent the penetration of rain to the internal surface of the wall. 4.
Why is stone wall uneconomical?
Stone Wall. As the height of the building increased, the required thickness of wall and resulting stress on foundation will also increase and cause it to be uneconomical. Able To Carry Other Structure Weight Beside Its Own Weight.
What is a non load bearing wall?
Non Load Bearing Wall. Non-load bearing walls only carry their own weight and does not support any structural members such as beams and slabs. These walls are just used as partition walls or to separate rooms from outside. It is known as interior wall (doesn’t carry other load than its own load.
Improving Energy Efficiency
Wall Insulation
- Traditional solid-wall construction is probably the most difficult and often the least cost-effective building element to insulate. For listed buildings, any form of wall insulation is likely to require listed building consent and for the majority of buildings external insulation will usually require planning permission. External insulation can be ...
Predicting The Risks and Potential Benefits
- It is necessary to understand from the outset how the proposed changes are likely to alter the behaviour of the building. The biggest area for concern is moisture, both in the wall and in the building as a whole. The addition of insulation material to a wall is likely to alter the way moisture moves through it. For example, if non-breathable materials are added to an older porous wall, it…
Moisture
- Moisture movement and its measurement in walls has been studied for many years. Various measurement methods have been developed and tested but the most reliable seems to be to collect a small sample by drilling a hole and then weighing, drying and re-weighing the sample. This is a good way to determine the moisture content, but to start mapping moisture and to mea…
Thermal Conductivity
- Most thermal performance calculations rely on a series of assumed values, often based on measured values and then extrapolated to cover a wider range of building materials. In the case of natural stone the values used are often based on the density of the material and assume that the wall is solid stone whereas, of course, stone walls are rarely solid and include varying numbers o…
Potential Pitfalls
- Although historic buildings are often too precious to alter by adding solid wall insulation, it is suitable for many unlisted or converted pre-1919 buildings. In these cases it is important to first establish that the alteration will be of significant benefit and then to understand its probable impact. Overall, the recent work on moisture and on thermal values has shown that in order to m…
Acknowledgements
- This article draws on the work of many at BRE and in the wider research community. The author is very grateful for access to their work and their ideas on thermal improvements for solid-wall houses.
Useful Information
- Building Research Establishment www.bre.co.uk Climate Change and Your Home (English Heritage) www.climatechangeandyourhome.org.uk/live The Energy Saving Trust www.energysavingtrust.org.uk Historic Scotland technical papers www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/technicalpapers The National Refurbishment Centre www.rethinkingrefurbishm…