Name: WILLARD MULENGA. Subject: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. Date of submission: 13/12/2020. Lecturer: WORLD CLASS EDUCATION. Question: EXPLAIN THE PROCESS OF SELECTION OF STONE AND HOW TO BUILD A STONE WALL. Page 1 TABLE of CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION.....................................................................4 Traditional building system of Uttarakhand.................................................................4 Impact of recent earthquakes.......................................................................................4 MAIN BODY............................................................................5 Materials..........................................................................................................................5 Dimensions......................................................................................................................5 Selection of stones for Building Construction..........................................5 Good Construction Stone Selection..............................................................................5 The criteria is based upon the following parameters:...................................5 1.Chemical composition of stones:..............................................................................5 2. Strength and hardness:..............................................................................................6 a) Hardness or softness of the components...............................................................6 b) Proportion of hard and soft materials .....................................................................6 c) Size and shape of the minerals in stones ...............................................................6 d) Cohesion......................................................................................................................7 e) Porosity:.......................................................................................................................7 f) Density:.........................................................................................................................7 g) Cementing materia.....................................................................................................7 3.Resistance to heat ......................................................................................................7 4. Bio-deterioration:........................................................................................................8 5. Appearance.................................................................................................................8 Page 2 How to build a stone wall..........................................................8 1.Set Course of the Wall.................................................................................................8 Types of Building Walls ......................................................................8 Masonry wall...................................................................................................................8 Monolithic wall................................................................................................................9 Frame wal........................................................................................................................9 Membrane wall................................................................................................................9 Factors which will determine the type of wall to be used ................................9 2. Dig Trench with Depth and Width Guide ................................................................10 a. Start Building Foundations by Marking Out a Level Datum Point .......................11 b. Calculate Material to be Removed...........................................................................11 c. Use String Lines to Mark Out Your Building Foundations.......................................11 d. Mark Out the Trenches for Your Building Foundations.........................................12 3. Place and Level Stones.............................................................................................12 4. Saw old level stonec..................................................................................................12 5. Put in drainage with PVC pipe..................................................................................13 CONCLUSION..........................................................................13 REFERENCES........................................................................15 Page 3 BUILD A STONE WALL INTRODUCTION Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction that has been used for thousands of years. The first stone walls were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones into a dry stone wall. Later, mortar and plaster were used, especially in the construction of city walls, castles, and other fortifications before and during the Middle Ages. These stone walls are spread throughout the world in different forms. One of the best example is the Cyclopean Wall in Rajgir, India. Traditional building system of Uttarakhand; People have been constructing stone buildings for their house and other service needs for hundreds of years in the hill areas of Uttarakhand, since stone has been the most abundantly found building material. Not only have they been using the stone for walls, but also for roofing. Timber, being the second most abundantly found material in the area, has also been in use in combination with stone for roof construction. In other words, the construction system based primarily on these two materials has been the backbone of the traditional construction of the region. Impact of recent earthquakes; In the decade of 1990's the state witnessed two destructive earthquakes. Both the earthquakes witnessed severe damage to many stone buildings. As a consequence, peoples' confidence in the traditional construction got badly shaken. This resulted in many house-owners switching over to modern cement, steel and brick based construction which many find expensive. These guidelines will be helpful in designing earthquake resistant buildings with stone as the principal material in all parts of the State of Uttarakhand including those falling in Page 4 the Seismic Zones IV and V. Materials Stone walls are usually made of local materials varying from limestone and flint to granite and sandstone. However, the quality of building stone varies greatly, both in its endurance to weathering, resistance to water penetration and in its ability to be worked into regular shapes before construction. Worked stone is usually known as ashlar, and is often used for corners in stone buildings. Granite is very resistant to weathering, while some limestones are very weak. Other limestones, such as Portland stone, are more weather-resistant. Dimensions Large structures are usually made of very thick walls, so that castles and cathedrals possess walls which may be up to 12 feet thick. They normally consist of a layered stone exterior and rubble infill. Selection of stones for Building Construction: Good Construction Stone Selection; Being cheap, hard, durable and naturally good looking, stones are often used in construction but keeping in view the variable properties of stones of different types, there must be some criteria for the selection of stones for construction. The criteria is based upon the following parameters: The criteria is based upon the following parameters: 1. Chemical composition of stones: Using/selecting a stone for construction, its chemical properties and composition must Page 5 be tested and verified because different elements and compounds in stones have different properties. For instance, Magnesium in Limestone causes it to be more stronger and is called Dolomite. Feldspar, in large quantities in stone is a source of weakness because CO2 dissolves Potassium, Sodium, and even Calcium in the Feldspar leaving pure white clay behind. Presence of Mica, even less than 2-3% makes stone unsuitable for building purposes. Stones with silicates as cementing materials are resistant to weathering. 2. Strength and hardness: The more compact grained and heavier a stone, the more stronger it is. A crystalline stone is superior to a non-crystalline texture. The specific gravity of good stone should be above 2.7. Stones used for road metal, paving blocks, floor slabs and railway ballast have to withstand mainly abrasion or wear and tear. Stone wall subjected to vibrations of machinery and moving loads should necessarily possess toughness. Strength and hardness itself depend on some factors such as: a) Hardness or softness of the components: The composition of the compounds determines its hardness or softness. Stones containing Si, Na, K are poor while that containing Mg, Ca, and Fe are good, as they are harder. If the stone is composed of soft and unhardened materials it will result in a soft materials and vice versa. b) Proportion of hard and soft materials: The amount of soft and hard material in a specific sample of stone also matters. Greater the amount of hard materials more will be the resistance to weathering. c) Size and shape of the minerals in stones: Page 6 Crystalline solids are hard and compact, thus superior to non-crystalline. Finer the crystals, stronger the stones and vice versa, This property i.e fineness reduces the pores in the stone. d) Cohesion: It is the property of atoms or particles to attract each other. The fine grains have more cohesive power