BUILD WITH
MASONRY
BRICK, STONE, AND MASONRY HAVE BEEN USED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
Brick, stone, and masonry materials have been used to construct shelter and public facilities for thousands of years. Masonry is often thought of as a facade or cladding material, but structurally engineered masonry brings both physical and economic strength to buildings. The availability, thermal mass, fire resistance, durability, sustainability, and timelessness of these materials provide substantial benefits to builders and designers. (1)
SAFETY
Some of the world’s longest standing landmarks were constructed with masonry. Masonry materials are non-combustible, antimicrobial, chemical- free, and resist water damage in the event of flooding. (2)
RESILIENCE
Masonry crafts span a diverse section of the building trades, installing resilient, strong and proven materials including brick, concrete masonry units, tile, marble and terrazzo, stone, and refractory brick. Masonry workers are highly trained and proficient at safeguarding building longevity through cement finishing, the installation of rainscreen, and the maintenance, restoration, preservation, and retrofit of existing masonry structures.
SUSTAINABILITY
Masonry materials increase building performance through thermal mass, airtightness, and moisture tolerance, lowering energy consumption by controlling the internal temperature of a building longer. Masonry materials can be efficiently recycled into new materials or aggregates, and existing masonry buildings and core structures can be reused. (3)
COST&
CONSTRUCTABILITY
Masonry materials are affordable, readily available, and lower insurance costs thanks to low maintenance, energy efficiency, noise dampening, durability, safety, and fire resistance. They also have a proven history of meeting applicable project standards, specifications and requirements, with dependable dimensional tolerances that maintain level and alignment, increasing job site safety and efficiency during installation. (4)
SOURCES
1. Mason Contractors Association of America. "Why Masonry?" https://www.masoncontractors.org/why-masonry/
2. Biggs, David T. "Masonry Resiliency Protects Occupants & Buildings." SMART | dynamics of masonry, v4 (2018).
3. Why Masonry? "Four Reasons Your Next Building Should be Built with Concrete Masonry: Green." https://whymasonry.org/green/
4. National Concrete Masonry Association. "Productivity and Modular Coordination in Concrete Masonry Construction." NCMA TEK 4-1A (2002).