The benefit of keeping the insulation inside the wall is that the masonry faces are quite durable. Insulation may be added to interior or exterior faces, between wythes, or inside special unit cavities. This helps walls to carry loads and resist other forces acting on them. Reinforcement is placed into horizontal and vertical cavities as needed, with grout placed around it. When wythes are separated by a continuous vertical space, the assembly is known as a cavity wall. It is most common to build single- or double-wythe walls. Walls that contain one vertical layer of units are called single wythe and two layers are double wythe. Door and window openings are positioned to minimize cutting of units. The most common size is a nominal 8-by-8-by-16- inches. Sizes, Components, Configurations, SystemsĬMU are modular. It may be more labor intensive than some other concrete construction, but materials are literally available off the shelf and this is advantageous because there is less chance for time delays waiting for special orders. On constricted sites or between buildings, this is helpful. They are durable and long lasting, can provide an attractive finish, can be reinforced as needed to meet demanding structural applications, can contain recycled materials, do not require painting or other treatment, contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other potentially harmful offgassing materials, and provide thermal mass to maintain uniform temperatures.įrom a construction perspective, a nice feature of masonry is that it can be built without much space for staging the construction. Certainly, the fact that these are non-combustible is very important. It’s hard to determine which attribute of CMU is its best. They are manufactured throughout the country, adding to local economies and meeting sustainable criteria for availability.
Afterwards, they are palletized and readied for shipping. Units are stiff enough to hold their shape as they enter the curing chamber. The “no-slump” or “low-slump” material is placed into molds, vibrated and compacted, and demolded quickly. These changes have also led to excellent quality control and uniformity of units.Ĭoncrete masonry units are manufactured from very dry, stiff concrete mixtures. Single molds compacted by hand gave way to ganged molds that travel on assembly lines in high-tech manufacturing facilities. Overview and Historyĭuring the past 100 years, manufacture of concrete masonry units (CMU) transitioned from a hand cast process to a highly automated one. Factories through the country manufactured concrete masonry units, adding to local economies and meeting sustainable criteria for availability.
And architects often prefer the aesthetic appeal of masonry to many other finishes.Ĭoncrete masonry units are manufactured from very dry, stiff concrete mixtures. The tough exterior of exposed units provides a durable finish in demanding environments. All types of low-rise buildings are made with these materials, from residential to educational to commercial and industrial. Concrete masonry systems (CMS) are familiar to most people because they have been used for such a long time.
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