Project Building Plot 224_2016 ARCH., STRUCT.

& CIVIL SPECIFICN

SECTION 04

BLOCKWORK SPECIFICATION
CONTENTS

01.01 SCOPE 2

01.02 SAMPLES OF APPROVAL 2

01.03 MATERIALS 2

01.04 WORKMANSHIP 5

01.05 TESTING 8

01.06 MASONRY ACCESSORIES 9

01.07 APPENDIX A 11

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SECTION 04
BLOCKWORK SPECIFICATION

01.01 SCOPE

This specification covers the requirements, materials, workmanship and testing of block work.

01.02 SAMPLES OF APPROVAL

Samples of all types of blocks to be used shall be submitted to the Engineer for his approval before any of
those are delivered to the site. The approved samples shall be retained on site for use as standards until
completion of the Contract.

The Contractor shall be required to build for approval some panels, minimum 1 meter square, of each type
of block and also of various type and colors of pointing, cavity work and any other special features to be
built into finished work. The number and variations of sample panels to be built shall be agreed with the
Engineer and the sample panels built prior to the permanent works being commenced.

The approved panels shall be retained on site and used as standards until no longer required by the
Engineer.

01.03 MATERIALS

1. Certification

Two copies of certificates verifying that the materials comply with the specification, and containing the test
results of the tests specified in the relevant British Standards, shall be given by the Contractor to the
Engineer at the intervals specified below:

i. Cement: each consignment within four days of delivery.

ii. Water: (from any source other than statutory undertaking) - at commencement of work and then
monthly.
iii. Sand: each 10 cum. or weekly whichever is more frequent, or whenever the pit or area of the pit
is changed.
iv. Blocks: each consignment with four days of delivery.

01.03.02 Storage of Materials

01.03.02.1 General

All materials i.e. blocks, cement, sand, damp proof courses, bituminous felts, thermal insulation materials
etc. shall be stored to the approval of the Engineer and in accordance with the manufacturer's
recommendations and to ensure that they are protected from rain and splashing from passing vehicles.

01.03.02.2 Blocks

A suitable hard standing shall be prepared for storing blocks. They shall not be off-loaded by tipping from
vehicles, but shall either be off-loaded by hand in pallets by means of a fork lift truck, crane or similar lifting
device. They shall not be stacked directly on sulphate bearing ground. They shall be stacked on newly
cast hard standing. Blocks shall be arranged in orderly stacks and used approximately in the order in

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which they were delivered. Broken and rejected blocks shall be stacked separately and removed from site
as soon as possible.

01.03.02.3 Cement

Cement purchased in bulk shall be stored in purpose built containers that are maintained in good
conditions, all to the approval of the Engineer.

Bags of cement shall be stored off the ground in well ventilated, weather tight and damp proof building.
The cement shall be stored in such a manner as to permit easy access for proper inspection and
identification of each consignment or type and shall be used in order of receipt.

01.03.02.4 Metals (Wall ties, reinforcements etc.)

Metals shall be protected by being stored under cover. In handling and storing metals the Contractor shall
ensure that exposure to contamination and moisture is avoided.

01.03.03 Damp Proof Course Material/Bituminous Felt

Bituminous felt shall be stored on a level surface, away from heat, in such a manner as to prevent damage
by squashing.

01.03.04 Thermal Insulation Materials

These materials shall be stored under cover and off the ground to prevent contamination. They shall be
protected from wetting at all times.

01.03.05 Properties of Materials

01.03.05.1 General

Concrete blocks shall be dense concrete masonry to BS 6073 and Appendix A to this specification. Blocks
shall be either solid or hollow as indicated on the drawings. Blocks shall have the following basic
dimensions:

200 mm high x 400 mm long x 200 mm thick, with two cavities 100 x 100 having a void ratio of 25% to
50% with a minimum external sell thickness of 35 mm. Size of block shall be accurate to +/- 2 mm on any
dimension.

200 mm high x 400 mm long x 100 mm thick, with two cavities 50 x 100 having a void ratio of 25% to 50%
with a minimum external sell thickness of 25 mm. Size of block shall be accurate to +/- 2 mm on any
dimension.

The compressive strength of the individual blocks at twenty eight days shall not be less than 10.5 N/mm2
for load bearing structures and 7.5 N/mm2 for partition walls.

Water absorption shall be 20% or less of dry weight. Shrinkage, when measured in accordance with the
method given in BS 1881, shall not exceed 0.05%.

Blocks in contact with the ground shall be solid Ordinary Portland Cement concrete blocks.

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01.03.05.2 Aggregates

The requirements of the specification for the aggregate shall be fully met in all respects. Coarse aggregate
for grout shall be generally rounded in shape to ensure that the mix will be capable of fully penetrating the
cavities to be filled.

01.03.05.3 Water

Water shall be as described in Concrete Specification.

01.03.05.4 Cement

Cement shall be as described in Concrete Specification.

01.03.05.5 Sand

Sand shall be clean, sharp and free from salt and organic matter. Sand for general purpose mortars shall
conform to BS 1200 and shall not contain any harmful materials that will adversely affect the hardening,
strength, durability or appearance of the finished work.

01.03.05.6 Admixtures

Plasticizers shall conform to BS 4887 and shall not be used without the approval of the Engineer. All
admixtures shall be used strictly in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

01.03.05.7 Damp Proof Course

At the ground level the Contractor shall provide a damp proof course consisting of one layer of tropical
quality bituminized elasto-meric felt complying with Type B of BS 743 and weighing not less than 3.3
kg/m2.

The damp proof course shall be well lapped at comers and at joints and bedded in cement sand mortar
and pointed both sides.

01.03.05.8 Wall Ties

Ties for cavity walls shall be of stainless steel to BS 1243 Table 2, double triangle wire diameter 4.5 mm
and minimum tensile strength of 370 N/mm2. Minimum length of ties shall be 100 mm in excess of the
width of the cavity.

Ties from block work to structure shall be stainless steel fish tail anchors 3 mm thick in accordance to BS
5628, Table 8b. Special metal ties or anchors shall be as detailed on the drawings and specifications.

01.03.05.9 Joint Filling Sealant

0Movement joint filling sealants require the approval of the Engineer and shall be from a manufacturer
40approved by the Engineer. Two part polysulphide based sealants shall be to BS 4254. Sealant to match
.4
0.the color of the wall paint.
30
.3Joint filler shall be a compressed wood fiber impregnated bitumen emulsion. The filler may be alternatively
0.a compressed sheet of cork granular bonded with bitumen or synthetic resin. Ordinary insulation board
50dipped in creosote will not be accepted.
.5
4.
9

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01.04 WORKMANSHIP

01.04.01 General

Work shall be carried out in accordance with the recommendations in BS 5628 Part 3.

01.04.02 Mortar

Mortar shall be mixed by approved mechanical mixers. The constituents shall be thoroughly mixed before
adding water so that they are evenly incorporated in the mixture. All mortar shall have mix designation (ii)
to BS 5628 Part 1 i.e. cement and sand mortar (1:3) shall be composed of one part of cement and three
parts of sand by volume. If plasticizer is used mortar designation (ii) proportion shall be (1:4) i.e. one part
of cement to four parts of sand with a mixture of an approved plasticizing agent, added in accordance with
manufacturer’s instructions. Proportions of mix are for dry sand. Allowance for bulking shall be made when
gauging by volume. Mortars containing plasticizers shall not be over mixed. Mortars shall be used within
thirty minutes after mixing. Hardened mortar shall not be used in the work and shall be removed
immediately from the site. The mean compressive strength at 28 days shall conform to BS 5628 part 1 i.e.
4.5 N/mm2 (site tests) or 6.5 N/mm2 (laboratory test).

01.04.03 Laving

Blocks shall not be used until one month after casting. All blocks shall be well soaked before being used
and tops of walls left off shall be wetted before work restarted.

Blocks shall be laid on a full bed of mortar and all joints filled and thoroughly flushed up as the work
proceeds. All joints shall be uniform and shall not exceed 12 mm. the maximum height of block work built
in a day shall be 1.2 m and the Contractor shall be fully responsible for ensuring the stability and strength
of the works as they proceed. Any wall or partition necessarily left at different levels must be raked back.

All perpend, quoins, internal and external angles etc. shall be kept strictly true and square and the whole
properly bonded together and leveled, at each floor. Walls to be left unrendered shall have joints toothed
to give a smooth slightly concave finish.

Block work shall be built to the following tolerances:

01.04.04 Tolerance on line:

Length up to and including 5 m +/- 5mm

Length up to 5m up to and including 10 m +/- 10mm

Length up to 10m +/- 10mm

01.04.05 Tolerance on height and level:

Height up to and including 3 m +/- 3mm

Height up to 3m up to and including 6 m +/- 6mm

Height up to 6m +/- 6mm

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01.04.06 Tolerance on Plumb:

Plumb up to and including 3m +/- 3mm

Plumb above 3 m up to 5 m +/- 5mm

01.04.07 Bond

Partitions shall be bonded to the main walls by toothing every alternate cour se into the main walls to a
depth of not less than 200mm.

01.04.08 Joint finishing

Unless otherwise specified internal work and faces which are not visible in finished work shall be finished
with a neat flush joint while the mortar is still green. When a wall is to receive render or plaster, mortar
joints shall be raked out to provide key to render. Joint filling strip and sealant shall be used strictly in
accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

01.04.09 Cavity Walls

Cavities and ties shall be kept free from mortar and debris with battens or other suitable means. The
bottom of the cavity wall shall be cleared through holes as necessary. Holes shall be made good after the
cleaning operation.

Both leaves of cavity walls shall be carried up together, with neither leaf more than 450 mm above the
other, and aligned properly to accommodate vertical reinforcement. All 100 mm block work require
reinforcement with concrete in fill in the voids by using M20 minimum.

Spacing of ties shall be 800 mm horizontally and 400 mm vertically with minimum of 7 ties per square
meter.

Cavity walls insulation shall be 50 mm UHD extruded polystyrene Board.

The minimum embedment of a tie in the mortar joint shall be 150 mm in each leaf. Wall ties shall be built in
and not pushed in afterwards.

Adjacent to reveals of openings additional ties shall be used in vertical line within 150 mm from the
opening edge and at the rate of one for each 400 mm height.

01.04.10 Damp proof Course

The damp proof course shall be laid on a mortar bed in continuous strips with 150 mm laps in length and
full laps at angles. The first joint shall then be completed to normal thickness with mortar. Damp proof
courses shall finish flush with the wall.

01.04.11 D.P.C. Scanning Cavities

Steel d.p.c.s which span across cavities shall be in the maximum possible un-jointed lengths, end jointed
by welding and/or sealing with suitable adhesive tape or compound. They shall be fixed tightly so that they
do not sag when stepped, and carefully protected from perforation or other damage.

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01.04.12 Reinforced Block Walls

Reinforcement shall be 1 ½ in each void of Block. Vertical bars grouted into cavities shall be all as
reinforcement for reinforced concrete (see Concrete Specification). Bars shall be lapped 40 times bar
diameter (minimum).

Bed joint reinforcement shall be provided in every third course in 190 mm skins. Bed joint reinforcement to
190 mm skins shall be prefabricated ladder type made from galvanized wires of minimum diameter 6 mm.
side wires shall be spaces at 30 mm less than the block width and held apart by wires in either ladder or
truss formation, connecting to each side wire at intervals not greater than 400 mm. at joints between block
work walls, with fabricated 'T' and 'L' sections shall be used to provide continuity, with minimum 150 mm
laps.

01.04.13 Ancillary Works

All timber doors and windows shall be fixed with gun applied foam.

Concrete window sill to be to be provided to all the windows.

On both vertical sides of door or window openings, cavities of blocks are filled with concrete grout and
reinforced or Solid Block Jambs to be provided around openings.

Concrete grout shall be concrete grade OPC/20 as the concrete specification but using rounded aggregate
to improve workability. The mix design shall be to the approval of the Engineer and shall be proven by
building a sample reinforced block work post using the normal site techniques and then breaking open the
next day to check that the cavity was fully filled.

01.04.14 Junction Between Top of Load Bearing Wall and Concrete Structural Element

At the top of the load bearing wall which is to receive cast-in-situ lintels or beams or slabs, open voids
shall be filled for one course down with concrete grout to within 10 mm of the top of the voids before
construction the cast-in-situ concrete element. Concrete grout will be placed over galvanized expanded
metal at the bottom of the top course.

Partition walls shall not be erected prior to respective slab casting.

01.04.15 Junction between Top of Non-Load Bearing Wall and Concrete Structural Element

Unless shown otherwise on the drawings, the allowance shall be made for leaving temporarily, open
courses immediately under all beams and slabs. The block wall shall not be packed up to the soffit of the
beam or slab until after the lull dead weight of the structure has been applied to the beam or slab.

The top of non-load bearing walls shall be finished with a layer of at least 10 mm of easily compressible
material between the top of the wall and the soffit of the load carrying beam. If the joint is exposed it shall
be sealed with a non hardening mastic sealant from an approved manufacturer.

01.04.16 Connecting Infill Blockwall Panels to Reinforced Concrete Column/Posts etc

Unless specified to the contrary on the drawings, all block wall abutting concrete column/posts etc. shall
be fixed every alternate course and to coincide with bed joint reinforcement with stainless steel connectors
to provide a positive shear key.

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01.04.17 Block wall to Receive sanitary Fixings and to Accommodate Service Penetrations

Block walls which are to receive fixings for sanitary ware or shelving shall be filled with concrete or solid
blocks may be used. At service penetrations the block around it shall be filled with concrete or solid blocks
may be used.

01.04.18 Crack Control

Walls shall be fully coursed along lengths and at intersections unless specified shall be made by breaking
courses and sealing.

01.05 TESTING

01.05.01 General

The Contractor shall obtain the Engineer's approval of laboratory in which materials are to be tested. The
laboratory shall not be directly associated with the Contractor's organization. When called for by the
Engineer tests shall be carried out on samples of cement, sand, blocks or water in accordance with the
appropriate British/Omani/MODES Standards and certificates produced.

01.05.02 Testing Mortar on Site

a) Preparation of samples:
The specimen size shall be any one of the following three:
i. 75 mm cubes
ii. 100 mm cubes
iii. 100x25x25 prisms

A set of six specimens shall be prepared for every 150m2 of wall, for each type of mortar, or for every
storey of the building, whichever is more frequent. The specimens shall be made and stored according
to the method given in BS 4551.

b) Testing of samples

At the end of seven days three of the mortar specimens shall be tested for strength in accordance with
BS 4551. Work may proceed if the 7 days strengths are in excess of those specifies. In the event of 7
day sample failing to meet the strength requirements the Contractor may elect to continue work at his
own risk, while waiting for the results of 28 days test. If the 28 days site samples fail to meet the
requirements, the Contractor shall take down and rebuild the work affected.

The required 7 days and 28 days strength of mortar designation (ii) as per BS 5628 are as follows:

Compressive Strength Mean

Mortar Designation 28 days 7 days

(ii) with 1:3 cement/sand 4.5 N/mm2 3 N/mm2

(ii) with 1:4 cement/sand 4.5 N/mm2
3N/mm2
And plasticizer

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The required 7 days strength shown above are for guidance only and are valid for Portland cement without
any additives.

01.06 MASONRY ACCESSORIES

01.06.01 Scope

The type of unit masonry accessories specified in this section include the following:

Stainless steel metal ties for cavity walls in block work.

Stainless steel anchorage devices for tying block work to the concrete structure.
Stainless steel strip ties for contraction joints.

Control and expansion joints are specified in the respective sections.

Contractor to propose method statement with sketch prior to commencement.

01.06.02 Performance and Standards

All materials shall perform as required without deterioration due to dampness or other conditions.

01.06.03 Standards

The structural use of Masonry: BS 5628, part 1.

Cavity Wall Ties, Vertical Twist Type: BS 1243, 1981 Amendment.

Stainless Steel: BS 1449, Part 4:316

Hot Dip Galvanized Coatings: BS 729

01.06.04 Related Items

Pre-cast Concrete Block work

01.06.05 Submittals

01.06.06 Samples

The Contractor shall supply for the Engineer's approval samples of each type of item specified hereunder,
together with manufacturer's data including certificates of compliance with British Standards where
appropriate.

01.06.07 Product Handling

01.06.07.1 Delivery

Materials shall be properly packed and labelled for delivery.

01.06.08 Materials

01.06.08.1 General

All accessories here listed shall be in stainless steel.

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01.06.08.2 Cavity Items

These shall be vertical twist type generally complying with BS 1243, 1981 amendment, of a length suitable
for the width of cavity plus building into each leaf for a distance of 150mm. The width shall be 25mm and
the thickness not less than 2.5mm. Each ties to be spaced at the rate of 800mm horizontally and 400mm
vertically staggered and every 400mm vertically at ends, jambs and quoins.

01.06.08.3 Fishtail Anchors

These shall be of stainless steel of approved quality, 25mm wide not less than 2.5mm thick of lengths
100mm & 200mm.

01.06.08.4 Dovetail Masonry Slot

These shall be galvanized hot-rolled strip, 25mm wide, 150mm long.

01.06.08.5 Head Restraint

The restraint to heads of diaphragm walls shall be achieved by means of a Dovetail Slot 150mm long with
an anchor with dovetail end to fit the slot and downward projection of 270mm x 25mm x 2.5 thick, having a
flat fishtail wall tie welded-across it 50mm from the bottom.

01.06.09 Workmanship

Fixing of Dovetail Slots:- slot shall be securely fixed in the shuttering so that they shall not be dislodged
when concrete is poured, and they shall be accurately set out in relation to block work joints at centers.

01.06.09.1 Anchors and Wall Ties

Ensure that anchors at wall ties are accurately positioned and fully bedded in the mortar joints as the work
proceeds.

01.06.09.2 Embedment of Ties

The minimum embedment of a tie in the mortar joints should be 100mm in each leaf.

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01.07 APPENDIX A

BLOCK MANUFACTURE

01.07.01 Materials for Block Manufacture

01.07.01.1 Cement

Cement shall be as described in Concrete Specification with minimum cement content of 200 kg/cum.

01.07.01.2 Aggregates

Aggregate shall consist naturally occurring crushed or uncrushed materials which shall fully comply with
BS 882/ MODES specifications/ Omani Standards.

The salt contents shall not exceed the following units:

Acid Soluble Chlorides (Cl) 0.06% by wt. of fine

aggregates

0.02% by wt. of coarse

aggregates
Acid Soluble Sulphates (S03) 0.3% by wt. of coarse and
fine aggregates

Coarse aggregates used for the manufacture of concrete blocks shall be 10mm nominal size aggregates
for standard blocks.

01.07.01.3 Water
Water shall be described in Concrete Specification.

01.07.01.4 Pigments
All pigments shall comply with BS 1014.

01.07.01.5 Admixtures
Admixtures shall comply with BS 5075 Part 1. They shall not contain any chlorides.

01.07.01.6 Casting

All blocks shall be hydraulically pressed, steam cured in a fully equipped casting yard with concrete hard
standing, using machinery and techniques to the Engineer's approval.

01.07.01.7 Sampling

Ten blocks shall be drawn at random from every designated 1000 blocks section or part thereof in a
consignment. All samples shall be clearly marked at the time of sampling in such a way that the
designated section or part thereof, and the consignment represented by the sample, are clearly defined.

01.07.01.8 Certificate of Compliance

The certificate is to be provided by the manufacturer at the time of sale as per item No. 12 of BS 6073
where the independent laboratory mentioned therein shall be any laboratory approved by the Engineer.

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