SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

INTEGRATED ASSIGNMENT:MEASUREMENT I (QSB60104)

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY I (BLD 60104)BUILDING MATERIALS (BLD 62003)

Project Video Report

NAME: Kok Ka Shing

STUDENT ID NO: 0323553

SUBMISSION DATE: 7TH JULY 2016

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Table of Content

Title Page No.

Introduction 3

Video Analysis 4

Construction of Brick Wall 5-7

Brick Bonding 8

Material, tools, equipment and machinery

used

9-13

Conclusion 14

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Introduction

This assignment is an integrated assignment combining 3 different subjects which are

measurement 1, building materials and construction technology 1. Unfortunately we were not

able to go for a site visit, so instead our lecturer gave us 3 videos that are most likely taken by

our lecturer from an actual construction site where the name and location of the site is unknown.

The 3 different videos are related to the construction of a brick wall and we are supposed to

watch and observe the process of building one and to later on write a report on it.

Brick wall

There are a total of 5 types of brick wall and each type has a different way of building it.

These 5 types are solid walls, cavity walls, reinforced brick masonry, faced walls and veneered

walls.

Solid brick wall delivers good loadbearing capacity along with substantial thermal mass

and it made by 2 or more tiers when they are bonded together. Cavity walls are formed by an

inner skin and an outer skin that are connected by ties but separated by a cavity. Reinforced brick

masonry uses steel reinforcement that are place either vertically or horizontally in the wall.

Faced walls are constructed using brick masonry units that are bonded to another wall of another

material. Lastly, veneered walls are securely tied to a structural wall but is not bonded to it.

This report will include the details and the necessary step in order to construct a brick wall.

Besides that, it will also include all the equipment and tools needed to construct a brick wall.

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Video Analysis

Video 1

The first video shows the process of building a brick wall and it is built by a single worker. The

materials used here are mortar and red clay bricks. Although the video is not very detailed, was

able to understand the process of the construction of a brick wall. The following are the steps to

construct a brick wall:

1) Apply a layer of mortar for the brick to lie on

2) Apply a little mortar on the side of the brick before positioning it in place in order to

bond the bricks together

3) After setting the brick in place, gently tap the brick to permanently set the brick in place

4) Scrape away any excess mortar using the trowel

5) Repeat the steps above until the required height of the brick wall has been achieved.

Video 2

The second video shows a few workers making cement in the construction site. In this video, it

shows a machine which is a cement mixer which is required in order to construct a brick wall.

There are also a few tools featured in this video that is the shovel and wheelbarrow which are

common tools found in a construction site. This video also shows how the workers transport the

freshly mixed cement around the construction site and how they do it is by filling the freshly

mixed cement into the wheelbarrow and once its filled they would transport it to the area that

requires the use of cement.

Video 3

The third and final video shows a worker plastering of a finished brick wall. Tools that are used

by the worker in the video are a plastering trowel and a hawk to plaster the brick wall. By my

observation, the plaster that the worker used to plaster the brick wall is cement as it is grey in

colour.

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Construction of a brick wall

1. Preparing the wall

In this situation, we are going to build a brick divider and there are a few precautions

needed to ensure the quality of the finished wall. First and foremost is to ensure a strong

foundation to lay the starting bricks and also to figure out the amount of course needed to

achieve the required height of the wall. Then, mark out the stature of every course on a

piece of wood to use it as a guide to ensure the bricks laid are straight. Place a straight

piece of wood beside the divider with a little spacer in between it, this is to tie the string

line and clip it to the divider. Equip a spirit level to ensure it is straight.

2. Setting up a level line

This is a crucial step as it ensures the bricks are laid evenly levelled. Tie the string line

behind the piece of wood that is braced to the divider at the level of the first course of

bricks. Tie the other end of the string to the next divider tightly and ensure that it is

levelled.

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3. Laying the first course of bricks

Lay a layer of mortar to lay the first brick on and equip the spirit level to ensure it is

levelled. Place a small amount of mortar on the highest point of the main brick and place

another brick on it at a downward angle. After that, pull the string line below the level of

that brick as it act as a guide to lay the first course of bricks evenly and levelled. Butter a

little mortar to the sides of the brick and lay it alongside each other.

4. Cutting bricks to size

In order to cut a brick to size, use the sharp end of the claw hammer to break the bricks.

This can also be done using a trowel but it requires more skill. Before cutting the bricks,

mark an indicator on the brick to know how much of the brick needs to be cut off.

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5. Laying the next course of bricks

Move the string line up to where the next course of bricks will be at. Lay a small amount

of mortar on top of the first course of bricks and lay the first brick of the course. Butter a

little mortar to the side of the brick and lay it alongside each other. Repeat this process

until the desired height is achieved.

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Brick Bonding

In masonry, brick bonds are various styles of laying bricks to create different patterns and

also having different advantages. The bond is the style or method which masons lay bricks that

are interlocked or joined. There are many different types of bonds, examples are, English bond,

Header bond, Flemish bond, common bond and etc.

In the first video, we were able to see the Running bond being used in the building of that

brick wall. Running bond or more commonly known as the Stretcher Bond is one of the most

common types of bond used in the world. Its arrangement consists of a full brick course where

every course is offset by half a brick from the previous course.

Stretcher bond is the simplest bond as it is the simplest repeating pattern and it creates a

wall only about one-half brick thick. This bond is not suitable as a stand-alone structural wall as

it is quite thin and it must have a structural wall built directly behind it, fixed with wall ties if

needed. The Stretcher bond is often used as a façade for the main structure of a modern building.

Stretcher bond

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Material, tools, equipment and machinery used

The construction of a brick wall only requires 2 material which are bricks and mortar.

Bricks are the main material for building a brick wall whereas mortar act as a bonding agent that

attach the bricks together which then forms a layer of bricks.

Bricks Mortar

Types of bricks: Types of Mortar:

-Concrete Bricks - Cement Mortar

-Common Burnt Clay Bricks - Lime Mortar

-Sand Lime Bricks -Gauge Mortar

-Fly Ash Clay Bricks

-Engineering Bricks

Based on the first video, the type of brick used in building that brick wall is common

burnt clay bricks. This type of bricks is the most commonly used bricks in the construction

industry. It is made by pressing clay into moulds and then placed into kiln to be dried. The

mortar used to build that brick wall is most likely cement mortar. Cement mortar is made by

mixing 1.5 part sand, 1 part cement, 1 part aggregate and 0.4 part water together.

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Tools, Equipment’s and Machineries Used

Trowel

A tool that comes in various styles, the picture above shows the London pattern trowel

which is mainly used for brick laying. The function of a trowel is actually mainly used for

spreading mortar, tamping and cutting bricks. It has a handle and a curved shaped blade.

Shovel

It is a tool which has a handle and a curved shaped blade as well. The shovel is a tool use

for digging, lifting and moving bulk materials such as soil, gravel and etc.

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Mason’s Hammer

A moderately heavy hammer that has one flat traditional face and a short or long chisel-

shaped blade at the other end for cutting and dressing stone.

Spirit Level

It is a tools used to indicate if a surface is levelled or uneven. It can be used either

vertically or horizontally.

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Mason’s Line

This tool is used by masons to ensure they are laying the bricks evenly and levelled.

Wheelbarrow

The wheelbarrow act as a courier that helps transport materials around the construction

site with ease and it only requires 1 person to operate it. It has 2 handles, 1 wheel and 2 legs

which help stabilize it when placed on ground. It mainly caries bulk materials like soil,

concrete, sand and etc. in the construction site.

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Cement Mixer

The cement mixer as the name suggest mixes cement which includes sand, gravel and etc,

and water to form concrete. The mixture is placed into the rotating mixer and it spin around so

that it can mix all the materials evenly.

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Conclusion Through this assignment, I have learnt a lot of knowledge about the construction industry

and most of all more about brick work. I manage to understand the basic process and also the procedure of building a brick wall, from the materials used to construct it to the tools that are required to build a brick wall. Even if I did not manage to go to the actual construction site, I manage to learn a lot just by watching the 3 videos that this assignment is based on. This assignment really helped me understand more about the construction industry and the knowledge I gained now will help me as a quantity surveyor in the future.

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