THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE

Concrete is a building material looks like a stone that is man made. Combining cement and aggregates with sufficient of water to make concrete. The function of water is allow them to bind it together. Concrete can be reinforced by adding some steel mesh or rods before it poured into mould. In Serbia, remains of a hut dating from 5600 BC have been found, with a floor made of red lime, sand, and gravel. The pyramids of Shaanxi in China, built thousands of years ago, contain a mixture of lime and volcanic ash or clay. The Assyrians and Babylonians used clay as cement in their concrete. The Egyptians used lime and gypsum cement.

The first recorded fact points to the year 1756 when John Smeaton, an engineer made the present day concrete by mixing coarse aggregate (pebbles) and powered brick and mixed it with cement. He built the Eddystone Lighthouse in Cornwall, England with the use of hydraulic cement in 1973. Joseph Aspdin is an investor, invented Portland cement. By burning grounded chalk and finely crushed clay in a limekiln till the carbon dioxide evaporated to made concrete, resulting in strong cement.


The first systematic testing of concrete took place in Germany in 1836. The test measure the compressive strength and tensile of concrete   Another main ingredients are concrete, sand, clay, gravel and so on.  Concrete that uses imbedded metal is called reinforced concrete. Joseph Monier  was a Gardner who made flowerpots and tubs of reinforced concrete with the use of iron mesh. The reinforced concrete combined the tensile power of metal and the compression strength of concrete to support heavy loads.


The first rotary kiln is introduced that made constant production in England.  In 1891, George Bartholomew made the first concrete street in Ohio, USA. Concrete found major usage in construction of roads and buildings of that industry. The first concrete dams were built by  Hoover and Grand Cooley.
More concrete is used than any other man-made material in the world. Concrete, known a strongest building material has found major uses in dams, highways, buildings and many different kinds of building and construction.

PICTURE OF CONCRETE BUILDING

Brick Bonding

Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures as walls. A Bond is the pattern how bricks are laid. Where the bricks are to remain fully exposed, as opposed to being covered up by plaster, this is known as face-work or facing brickwork. As a Quantity surveyor, we have to recognize and understand the pattern in order to calculate the the quantity accurately.

( Click on the Pictures below to get a clearer view ! )

Brickwork Bond

English Bond
1. A traditional bond.
2.  Very strong bond and usually used in factories, stations & retaining walls or is always likely to be found in the wall of bridges.
3. Easy to recognize because it consists of a course of headers followed by a course of of stretchers.
4. One header is placed centrally above each stretcher.

Flemish Bond
1. Also known as dutch bond.
2. Consists of alternate headers & stretchers in every single course.
3. Not as strong as the English bond but is more decorative pattern than English bond especially if the header use a differently coloured brick.
4. Requires fewer than English bond.

English Garden Wall Bond

1. An alternative version of English bond with header courses being inserted at every fourth or sixth courses.

2. There is also a Scottish bond or American bond featuring 5 courses of stretchers between courses of headers.

3. Not as strong as true English bond but was quicker and cheaper to lay because stretchers are easier to lay than headers.

Flemish Garden Wall Bond
1. The number of stretchers is increased.
2. The header bricks are separated by 3 stretchers.
3. The headers of even numbered courses are set to the centre on the middle stretchers of the underlying odd numbered courses.

Header Bond
1. Using only the header (end) of the brick as the facing wall.
2. Not used as often as Stretcher bond, but is equally simple.
3. It is popular for diaper work. When bricks of different colours are used to make a regukar pattern, it is called Diapering.
4. Sometimes used to make a building looks bigger.
5. Not preferable to use for load bearing wall.

Stretcher Bond
1. Easiest bond to lay, minimizes the amount of cutting required.
2. Most common.
3. Consists of all stretchers in every course.
4. Used in half-brick walls.
5. Only possible in case of walls with less thickness.

Evolution of Stone Construction Form

Dry Stone Stacking

Dry stone stacking the earliest form of stone construction. These are free standing structures such as long distance field walls and bridges. Stones with irregular shapes are carefully selected and placed so that they hold each others closely and tightly together without slipping.  Furthermore, as height increases structures which possess wider base are needed. Plus, the support of structure is originated from the weight of the stone which tends to push inwards, and  settling makes the structure lock tightly together and become more stable and stronger. Dry stone structures have high durability. Moreover, dry stone structures do not need frequent maintenance as they allow water to drain through them, without causing damage to the stones. In addition, this form of stone construction do not require any special equipments, only the skill and technique of the craftsman in selecting and placing the stones.

Stone Masonry

Traditional stone masonry is the evolution form of stone construction of dry stone stacking. Stone blocks are placed in rows evenly (courses) or unevenly (uncoursed) height, and hold together tightly with the addition of mortar, a cement or lime mixture between the stones. The building stones are conventionally extracted by surface quarrying, drilled and split using diamond saws or iron wedges, and then shaped and polished according to their requirements. The basic hand equipments used to shape stones are chisels, mallet and a metal straight edge, but modern power tools such as angle grinders and compressed air-chisels are often used to save time and money. Plus, stones are either shaped into a block, known as ashlar masonry, or left rough and cut irregularly, known as rubble masonry. However, mortared stone structures have lower durability than dry stone         structures, because water can easily get trapped between the stones and push them apart.

Stone Cladding

Nowadays, traditional stone masonry is rarely used because stone is rather expensive to quarry, cut and transport, and the building process is labour and skill-intensive. Instead, most modern stonework utilises a veneer of stone (thin, flat pieces) glued against a wall of concrete blocks. This is known as veneered stone or stone cladding.

Slip Form Stone Structure

Slip form stone structures are a combination between veneered masonry and traditional masonry. Short forms (around 2 feet tall) are placed on either side of the wall, to act as a guide for the structure. Stones are placed inside the forms with the flat face out, and concrete is then poured behind the rocks to hold it together. Stone buildings can be constructed swiftly and easily with this method.

via Sustainablebuild~