In the construction of lintels in either the wall of brick or stone,
the introduction of either wood or steel is necessary for strength.
Where the openings are less than 4 feet in width, timber lintels are
used at the back of the lintel or arch, which are cut to serve as a
centre for a rowlock or keyed arch. Any face brick may be supported by
using a small steel angle. Where lintels are wider than 4 feet, steel
I-beams, channels, or angles must be used. Where the span is more than
6 feet, it is necessary to build in bearing plates for the support of
the ends of lintels.
_The Ideal Brick Wall_
It would be well to mention here the new type of brick wall which is
being advertised widely by the Common Brick Manufacturers Association.
This wall is claimed to be very suited to the small house, and no doubt
it would be, if it were possible to secure the co-operation of the
local mason.
This type of brick wall is built hollow, and arranged as shown in the
drawings. There are no continuous mortar joints from the exterior
to the interior through which moisture can penetrate. There are
many features of advantage which the following table shows, but,
unfortunately, not all mason contractors will give the owner the
advantage of the reduction in cost which this wall permits.
[Illustration: 8" IDEAL WALL 12" IDEAL WALL COMMON BRICK]
For 100 square feet of wall, 8 inches thick, the following materials
are required:
FOR SOLID BRICK WALL
1,233 bricks.
2.6 sacks of cement.
2.9 bags of hydrated lime.
.7 cubic yards of sand.
9 hours of a bricklayer’s time.
10 hours of a mason’s helper’s time.
FOR IDEAL ALL ROLOK WALL
904 bricks.
1 sack of cement.
1.2 sacks of hydrated lime.
.3 cubic yards of sand.
8 hours of bricklayer’s time.
6 hours of a mason’s helper’s time.
_Hollow-Tile House_
The past decade has seen an increasing use of hollow terra-cotta tile
as a building material for the walls of the small house. It has many
advantages which have made its popularity increase, such as its larger
and lighter construction unit, reducing the labor of setting, its
cellular wall features, and its availability. There is much information
published by the manufacturers describing the correct construction, but
always, of course, with an eye to advertising the material.
However, there has been much conflicting testimony made concerning
the practicability of hollow-tile construction, and some of the
disadvantages should be noted. As a rule, they have proved to be strong
enough to support the weight of the structure imposed upon them, but
in the Southwest, where tornado winds are prevalent, these walls have
been criticised because of their lack of stability and their porosity.
Hollow-tile walls have been thrown down while those constructed of
brick have stood, and driving rain-storms frequently make the inside of
the walls wet.
The stability can be increased by filling them with concrete, but the
allowable strength cannot be considered to have been raised. Tests have
shown that this filling does not increase the strength, because of the
difference in the elasticity of the two materials.