mortarless

A masonry wall system specifically developed for load bearing structures.

Substantial savings possible in both time and cost. Completed buildings superior.

200 mortarless product range:

There are only four basic products in the 200 mortarless product range: The stretcher block for the bulk of any wall. The full end block for every course at a corner and for alternate courses at ends of walls. The half end block for alternate courses at ends of walls.

The plastic connector one for every block.

 Stretcher block

Dimensions: 400 long x 200 wide x 200 high

 Full end block

Dimensions: 400 long x 200 wide x 200 high

 Half end block

Dimensions: 200 long x 200 wide x 200 high

 Connector

Secures blocks end to end resists hydrostatic forces when wall is being filled with grout. Helps align blocks in any course. Helps position and align blocks in the overlying course. Secures vertical and horizontal reinforcement in correct location. Helps stabilise walls during construction.

 Mortarless walls are always reinforced and fully grouted with core-fill concrete.

Constructing mortarless walls:

Accurately set out and install vertical starter bars

 Always set first course in a mortar bed to accommodate irregularities in the footings or base slab and to provide full width bearing. Simple packing or wedging may also be used in certain applications.

 When first course is laid, install plastic connectors and and commence laying subsequent courses working from each end and using a string line and spirit level to maintain straightness and plumb.

(Note that laying is a two handed operation. (With lighter blocks this means less strain on the wrists.)

Note horizontal bar snugly fits into notches in connectors and this helps secure blocks in horizontal alignment during construction. By correctly positioning the horizontal bars during construction of the wall, the vertical bars can readily be inserted in their correct position to comply with the structural design requirements.

 Continue constructing the wall to a height of about 1.6 to 2m and then install vertical bars in the specified locations prior to grouting.

Rod grout to remove any trapped air. Finish grout below top of block if wall is to continue on, or finish flush if wall is up to height.

 Proceed with the next lift of wall in the same way. Construct insitu slabs or install precast slabs as per the structural details. Anchor slab reinforcement into walls and vice versa for ductile connections.

 Mortarless masonry is a strong, solid, load bearing wall system

The floor slabs and roof slabs (either pre-cast or cast insitu) are supported directly on the walls.

 Walls can be designed to resist all axial loads and shear loads. Walls can also be designed to resist both transverse and inplane bending moments, hence many lintel beams can simply be incorporated in the design of the walls:

 MEP services can be installed as the work proceeds. This saves much of the chasing in normally required.

Concrete framed buildings:

Masonry construction is widely used throughout the world, however in many parts of the world including India, masonry is merely used as infill for walling. Building are constructed with concrete columns, beams and slabs and the masonry walls are installed as cladding elements.

Residential development with masonry infill walls

Masonry infill walls

Advantages of mortarless:
Substantially reduced construction time and cost. Unskilled labour used for much of the construction effort Not weather dependent mortarless can be laid in the rain Greatly reduced mess on site Certainty of reinforcing bar positioning Proper cover to reinforcement No mortar dags or droppings to clean out of cores No clean-out blocks required, hence no shutters Solid construction - concrete filled walls Reduced thickness of cement plaster finishes Ductile construction readily designed for earthquake loads Walls, footings and slabs fully tied - stronger buildings More even distribution of loads to the foundation

 MEP services can be installed as the wall is being constructed eliminating the need for much of the chasing-in normally required. Design made easy by the tables provided Simplicity of detailing Professional technical support provided to specifiers and users.

Severe damage to villas under construction that could have been avoided with mortarless

Detailing mortarless walls:

When detailing any project for mortarless it is preferable to set the buildings out in 200mm increments both horizontally and vertically.
Preferably set out all openings (doors, windows etc) to also suit the 200mm module. If the builder is unfamiliar with mortarless it is advisable to elevate the walls, or at least some typical walls. This will reduce the possibility of the builder making mistakes on site.

Most walls will have typical reinforcement specified (e.g. N12800 vertical and horizontal bars throughout). On any wall elevations therefore it should only be necessary to show the additional bars trimming openings etc.

Example of plan showing setout of walls and starter bars

Example of wall elevation drawing showing additional bars

 Show typical details for corners, wall intersections etc.

Preferably provide a starter bar set-out plan for each level. This will minimise the risk of bars beings installed in the wrong locations, or bars being omitted.

Adequately detail any mortarless lintels or beams with special reinforcement.

Show any special details for wall/slab junctions etc.

Designing mortarless walls:

Design manuals are provided on the mortarless website www.mortarless.com.au. At present the manuals provide comprehensive design aids for design in accordance with AS 3700 and BS 5628.

BS 5628 Design Manual Part 1 provides a detailed look at the three parts of the Code, establishes the applicability of the Code to the design of mortarless masonry, and provides the background information on the Code rules that were used in the preparation of the design aids in Part 2. Part 2 contains the various design aids for the mortarless products generally available. It is essential to check that any particular mortarless product selected for a project in the design phase is readily available for the project.

Worked example for wall in compression:

Clear height of wall = H = 3200 Length of wall = L = 7000 Design load on wall = 294 kN/m
Concrete slabs top and bottom, therefore enhanced lateral restraint top and bottom, therefore av = 0.75

e = 30mm (eccentricity calculated as shown in Part 2a Section 2)

If in doubt as to whether length or height governs the design of the wall in compression, use the table in Part 2a Section 2 Page 4 to determine. In this case height clearly governs the design.

Select 200 mortarless Grade 20 non-chamfered blocks for the project. From Table CH200-20-1, maximum design load in compression = (375+263)/2 = 314kN (interpolation for 30mm eccentricity), therefore the wall is adequate for the maximum design load of 294kN. The above worked example shows how quick and easy it is to check the adequacy of a load bearing wall in compression.

Designing for earthquake

Ductile construction helps minimise the design requirements. Horizontal and vertical regularity is also an important factor for earthquake design.

Any load bearing masonry structures in excess of 3 storeys generally have to be in reinforced masonry construction. This means that there is an even stronger case for mortarless construction in buildings of 4 or more storeys if they are of load bearing wall construction.

Cost comparison - case study:

This case study is for the Al Ghadeer villa in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Several demonstration villas were constructed for comparison purposes primarily to study the construction process, the construction time, the construction cost, and all aspects of the finished villa. The demonstration villas included several different metal stud framing systems, a plastic framing system, load bearing mortarless, and load bearing precast concrete. Load bearing mortarless was selected by the developer, Sorouh Real Estate, as one of the preferred systems to be used in the development which comprised approximately 4,500 villas.

Mortarless demonstration villa nearing completion (Al Ghadeer project)

 Al Naboudah, one of the major builders in the UAE, prepared a tender for construction of at 500 villas in the Al Ghadeer project. They tendered for construction of the villas in any of three different structural framing systems:
Post and beam (concrete frame) with masonry infill walls Load bearing mortarless Load bearing precast concrete

Their tender prices for the structural shells were as follows:

Post & Beam UAE 403,429 dhs MortarlessUAE 329,940 dhs Precast UAE 400,262 dhs

The load bearing mortarless structure was found to be at least 18% less than the other two framing systems.
The Al Naboudah priced BoQ summary sheet follows:

Photo Gallery
Mortarless projects under construction:

Blocks F to W were constructed with mortarless common walls

Load bearing masonry buildings in Australia:

Thank you