Do brick walls need expansion joints?

Expansion joints must be located so that the structural integrity of the brickwork is not compromised. A control joint determines the location of cracks in concrete or concrete masonry construction due to volume changes resulting from shrinkage.

How often do you put expansion joints in brickwork?

In order to avoid the detrimental effects of differential vertical movement between the inner and outer leaves of a wall a horizontal movement joint should be provided at no more than every third storey or 9m, whichever is the less.

What is the purpose of expansion joint?

Expansion Joints are a bellows type device. Expansion joints are used to absorb thermal expansion. They can also be used to absorb contraction in cryogenic lines and to reduce vibration in piping systems. Materials of construction for the bellows can be stainless steel or rubber or even a composite material.

What are expansion joints in walls?

An expansion joint, also known as a movement joint, is an assembly consisting of a separation in a wall and a flexible material such as a sealant or bond breaker. Bond breaker materials might include: liquids, sprays, rods or tape.

What do you fill brick expansion joints with?

Expansion joints must be sealed with a flexible sealant, like QUIKRETE® Self-Leveling Polyurethane Sealant or QUIKRETE® Non-Sag Polyurethane Sealant…or an expansion joint strip, to prevent water from penetrating the joint and deteriorating the sub-base.

How often are expansion joints needed?

Usually, expansion joints should be no farther apart than 2 to 3 times (in feet) the total width of the concrete (in inches).

Does a garden wall need expansion joints?

Expansion joints are required in masonry walls. Typically these are at 6 m centres for concrete blockwork and 12 m centres for brickwork. Suitable materials must be used in expansion joints to allow adequate movement of the masonry. Additional wall ties must be used as part of the expansion joint construction.

What is the difference between movement joint and expansion joint?

In building materials, a control joint is used to control cracking while an expansion joint is designed to handle structural movement. By contrast, an expansion joint (or movement joint) is sized and formed at a width prescribed by the building design team and sealed and bridged later by an expansion joint system.

Are expansion joints necessary?

Expansion joints are virtually never needed with interior slabs, because the concrete doesn’t expand that much—it never gets that hot. Expansion joints in concrete pavement are also seldom needed, since the contraction joints open enough (from drying shrinkage) to account for temperature expansion.

What is an expansion joint in brickwork and blockwork?

Contraction joints are opening joints to cater for shrinkage of the wall. Expansion joints are closing joints. They are usually built into clay masonry to cater for brick growth and find application in concrete masonry only when there is the possibility of high thermal movement.

Should expansion joints be filled?

The key is to use the proper sealer or filler depending on the intended purpose and what type of joint it is. Just remember that expansion joints should always be sealed and filled with a flexible joint sealer and never be epoxied or coated over.

What is the difference between expansion joint and movement joint?

When do you need an expansion joint in brickwork?

When to use expansion joints in brickwork . In the UK clay brickwork experiences thermal expansion for up to 20 years after the bricks have been moved from the kiln. Typically, most expansion occurs within 6 months, but as the process is irreversible, this movement needs to be accommodated by using movement joint fillers, or expansion joint foams.

What spacing should be used for brick expansion joints?

Expansion Joint Details. Leave a gap of 20 millimeters in long lengths,such as in compound walls.

What do expansion joints do?

An expansion joint or movement joint is an assembly designed to safely absorb the temperature-induced expansion and contraction of construction materials, to absorb vibration, to hold parts together, or to allow movement due to ground settlement or earthquakes.

What is an expansion joint in building construction?

In building construction, an expansion joint is a mid-structure separation designed to relieve stress on building materials caused by building movement induced by: