Monday, March 24, 2014

An Art of the Century- Masonry

There are a lot of things to consider when building a house or any kind of structure. First is the location, the type of structure should blend and adapt to the chosen place. One cannot build a house in Europe with just wood and other light materials since it has a cold climate. Also, one cannot build a house made of thick bricks in some parts of Asia since some countries are located in the tropical part of the globe. However, since the form of construction around the world is almost uniform, they would only vary on the materials they would use. Like in cold continents the brick, blocks and stones they would use is thicker compare to the ones the tropical countries are using.

Though building structures anywhere is similar in terms of how it’s being done the materials and design would differ. In which it should adapt to the climate and location of the building. Hence the most commonly used in constructing walls, retaining walls and buildings is Masonry Northern NJ. This is the building of structures from individual units that are laid and bound together by mortar. And when using this kind of construction the most commonly used materials for the job are brick, stone, marble, granite, concrete block tile and other type of hard stones. These materials can protect the building from fire because it can increase the thermal mass of a building, making it non combustible. Also, it is low maintenance since it does not require paint because it has its own unique design. Though it is consider being generally highly durable form of construction it’s still dependent on the quality of the mortar and workmanship.

Since this type of construction does not lend much to mechanization thus requiring a more skilled laborer to do the job. Even the pattern in which it was assembled can affect the durability of the overall construction. Thus, it is best that the mason should be well experienced and knowledgeable with this type of construction to be able to deliver the best result. Moreover, one can add steel reinforcement in filling the cores with concrete for much greater strength. Strength in a building structure is tantamount to the safety of its occupants. First and foremost the safety of its occupants should be taken into consideration when constructing a house or a building. This will all be dependent on the proper construction of any structure and the proficiency of is masonry. Like all things there are always an advantage and disadvantage in using any type of construction materials and form. Nothing is spared once nature took its course. Even the most durable materials can suffer from degradation due to the ever changing temperature of the environment. And due to this, continuous periodic maintenance is needed to ensure the protection from everyday wear and tear.

Nothing is resilient to anything once nature interferes. One cannot claim having built an indestructible man made structure and just let it degrade thru the years. Whatever is made should always be taken care of even the most durable things around.