Monday, July 28, 2008
Wall system
Well, reading all those masonry and construction books has paid off a little. I've finally come up with a standard wall system that is readily available and will fit the bill as far as DIY construction is concerned, and created a representation in my trusty Sketchup. It uses standard CMUs and foamboard insulation. To attach the rubble wall, a truss-type anchor system is employed that allows flexibility to prevent cracking of either wall due to different expansion rates. The cores of the CMUs will be reinforced laterally and vertically when/if required, insulation will be in the remainder of the cores.
The interior is the only remaining question. Due to the standard system, it could easily be wallboard and 2x4s or stone facade. The question is about the second or third floor, how would a heavy stone facade be applied and supported by the wall or floor? Still more research to do.
If interested, click on the picture and it will take you to the 3dwarehouse download.
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How about corbels?
ReplyDeleteFor each floor where you want to have interior stonework, place corbels at the floor joist level. Make the corbels by turning a cinder block 90 degrees with one end sticking out. They make the ones shaped like a "U" for lintels, use those, add rebar, and fill them with concrete, and you have a corbel. Place the corbels between each joist, the joists support the floor, the corbels support the interior stonework.
Just an idea...
Check this out:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/07/abandoned-castles-of-russian.html
Those are some neat castles rotting away... Leftovers from the monied elite of yesteryear. These look to be relics of Cold War wealth, no? Too bad, maybe someone will pick them up and turn them into a B&B/Pension.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the corbels, that is a possibility. I know that older arches, turrets, etc... were supported by corbeled stone, but I had no idea that same name and technique for that type of mounting system was used in modern CMU masonry. It would seem to place a bending moment on the wall with the slightly cantilevered extension supporting the weight of the wall and floor joists. I wonder what reinforcement would be necessary to support it, if any...
Thanks for the suggestion and castle link!
I guess it's getting close to the point where the design needs to be polished and presented to someone with more knowledge. I should see if I can find a retired architect/engineer to put some generic and basic plans together for a fair price.
You keep finding these neat Russian castle sites; you wouldn't be the chap who moved to Russia and built a castle home, would you?
Normally you would simply use a ledger plate of appropriately heavy gauge angle iron to support the interior stone/brick work. The plate is secured to the super structure and is used to support the weight of the interior veneer surface.
ReplyDeleteYou see this type of work done in many of the hip lofts and condos that are designed to look like old warehouses with recycled brick walls. Same principle would be used in the construction of a stone veneer wall.
More traditional work would leave a pocket for each joist/beam in the stone wall (with a fire cut on the joist itself) and you would run the veneer from bottom to top supported by the stonework below it. You will find that in most the old brown stones and brick buildings built in the 19th and 20th centuries. Nowadays you can use masonry joist hangers ( http://www.strongtie.com/products/categories/hangers_masonry.html ) to avoid the pocket issues as well as the fire cuts. They would allow you to build a CMU structure with a veneer and joists easily enough. You then only have to deal with trimming out around the irregular wall surface (either with molding or cutting your flooring to match).
Another option (possibly a bit taboo for some) would be the use of urethane stones as opposed to real stone. They are light enough and can actually be held in place with caulk/adhesive. Newer artificial stone is quite realistic - as long as you don't actually touch it (completely different feel). They nice thing is that you get a bit of extra insulation to boot.
The least complicated method from an engineering standpoint would be to simply taper your walls thickness as you go up in floors. First floor would be 2 standard CMUs thick (16"). The next floor would be one standard CMU and one half thickness CMU (12" thick). The next floor would be a single CMU thick (8" thick). At each level you would be left with a ledge 4" wide in order to support the floor joists as well as any interior stone work. However since all relevant forces are acting in compression you don't have to worry about the sheer forces working on a corbel nor the ledger - and you would not be limited to any form of light weight stone alternative.
BTW - take a poke around at the rest of the Simpson catalog for solutions to other problems that you may not have even thought of yet.
Joe, thanks for the information!
ReplyDeleteAll of the information you've left warrants further study on my part, I appreciate the extra information on CMU support of interior veneer walls. I was trying to avoid wooden joists directly supporting any stonework due to moisture and sagging over time, so it's nice to know there are ways around it!