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Dry stone walls
Published in A. M. Sowden, The Maintenance of Brick and Stone Masonry Structures, 2020
Dry stone walls are defined as stone walls over 1.2 m high constructed without mortar; they may be up to 15 m in height and vary in length from a few metres to over a kilometre. A recent census undertaken by the Department of Transport and the Highway Authorities in the United Kingdom has shown that retaining walls are more numerous than previously recognized (Table 24.1), and 50% of these walls are of dry stone construction (Department of Transport, 1987). The maintenance problems of these structures are becoming more apparent and in some districts the maintenance costs of dry stone walls has exceeded the costs required for bridge maintenance (Hayward, 1983).
EAL Unit: QSWC1/01: Starting Work in Construction
Published in Peter Roberts, Electrical Installation Work, 2017
An important consideration of most craft based occupations is that they can be labour intensive. Being a brickie or roofer, for instance, can literally be back breaking work but equally very rewarding as you witness the building being physically assembled. Another potentially arduous job is that of a stonemason, who is involved in repairing stone on old buildings, or working with stone blocks on modern new build houses. A stonemason also erects stone walls on public roads, either by using mortar or through dry stone walling techniques, in which walls are assembled by selecting and meshing various types and size of stones. Lastly, some stonemasons are commissioned to create sculptures and various types of memorials.
Material Characteristics and Stability Analysis of Gravity Stone Walls
Published in Structural Engineering International, 2023
Turgay Cosgun, Cihan Öser, Savaş Erdem, Ali Koçak, Baris Sayin
Natural soils and filled soils consisting of different materials such as earth, sand and crushed stone can suffer shear failure due to lateral forces in the presence of a vertical plane between levels of different elevation. To prevent such undesired occurrences, low-angle terracing or sloping of retaining walls are preferred in the field. A retaining wall is defined as a structure that keeps changes in the soil surface to a near-vertical plane, and is used to prevent soil movement due to the natural angle of repose. The walls can be constructed according to four different designs, namely gravity, reinforced concrete, prestressed, and reinforced earth walls. Similarly, gravity stone walls are structures that are constructed using stones, rocks or concrete, with the intention being to counter the lateral pressure from the soil with its own gravity. These structures are designed to avoid the emergence of low tensile stress.1–3
Evaluation of vernacular architecture of Uzundere District (architectural typology and physical form of building) in relation to ecological sustainable development
Published in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2020
Faris Karahan, Sanaz Davardoust
Building envelope (Walls): In vernacular rural houses in Uzundere region, the walls are of three types: stone walls, bağdadi walls (adobe and timber) and timber wall plates. The main building materials used for constructing the walls is stone since the stone is the most plentiful resource in the region. In these villages, stones are used in two forms of river stones and mountainous stones known as rubble stone. The use of river stones is limited in the walls and they are mostly used in minor spaces or as infilling materials; while mountainous stones are used in constructing stone walls. The space between stone walls is filled with mud and smaller stones. In stone walls, horizontal beams are usually used at vertical intervals of about 1–1.50 meters in order to combine the stone layers and keep the integrity of the masonry construction (Figure 4) (Cobancaoglu 2001). The time lag of storing heat in these walls is high. The use of local materials such as stone and adobe as well as thick walls minimize temperature exchange between the internal and external space because they store heat during the day time and radiate it into the room at night when necessary.