CONCRETE HOLLOW BLOCKS

Have you seen walls of beautiful buildings and monuments? How are they made attractive and structurally durable?
Those are just some works in masonry. Masonry can be defined in so many ways depending on uses or purposes.
Therefore, let’s define it on the structural context according to the purpose of this lesson.

Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the
term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick,
building stone such as marble, granite, and limestone, cast stone, concrete block, glass block, and adobe.

Concrete Hollow Blocks (CHB), are one of the most extensively used walling materials in the Philippines. Some of
the reasons for this is their relative low cost when compared to other materials and speed of installation by semi-
skilled labourers. CHB walls are very weak against lateral loads (pushing or pulling forces from typhoon or
earthquake). Adding steel reinforcing bars vertically and horizontally inside the CHBs can increase their resistance to
lateral loads.

Background information
Advantages Standard product size in the Length – 40cm, Height – 20cm,
Philippines Depth 10cm (4”) and 15 cm (6”)
 Readily available product Product and material quality Crushed coarse sand or gravel is
 Good thermal and sound resistance optimal for the manufacture of

 High fire resistance CHBs. Avoid sand sourced from

 Can be reinforced to increase rivers and coastal areas (sea sand).

lateral resistance against earthquakes The quality of CHBs varies

and typhoons significantly from one supplier to the

next.
 20+ years lifespan

Existing standards for CHBs and CHB wall construction in the Philippines:
National Building Code of the Philippines and National Structural Code of the Philippines, NSCP.
Load bearing walls 6” CHBs
CHBs used must be Type I, Class A or B unit,
confirming with ASTM C-90- 70
Minimum compressive strength 5.41 Mpa (800
psi) - For individual CHBs 6.89Mpa (1000psi) - Based
on the average gross area of 5 units
Non-load bearing walls 4” CHBs
Applications include: walls, partitions, fences, dividers

Proportioning of concrete for the manufacture of CHBs

This is done in two different ways By weight or volume. The most common method is by volume (e.g.
using a bucket)
Mixture For CHBs: Mix Proportion 1:7, as per structural engineer’s
specification
Water Clean water should be used. Shall not exceed 28 litres per 40
kilograms per bag of cement, slump test (as per AMERICAN
SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIAL-ASTM C-143) shall
not exceed 10cm, unless specified by a structural engineer.

Slump Test- This test method is intended to provide the user with a
procedure to determine slump of plastic hydraulic-cement concretes.

NOTE 1: This test method was originally developed to provide a

technique to monitor the consistency of unhardened concrete. Under
laboratory conditions, with strict control of all concrete materials, the
slump is generally found to increase proportionally with the water
content of a given concrete mixture, and thus to be inversely related
to concrete strength

Common CHB mix:

Common mortar mix:

Mixing time If batch mixer is used, use accurate timing and measuring devices to
operate as per manufacturer’s instructions. Revolutions should be
between 14 and 20 per minute.
Curing After being removed from the mould, the CHBs should be covered
with a plastic sheet or tarpaulin and kept damp and shaded for at
least 7 days in order to effectively cure. This can be achieved by
continually spraying them with water or keeping them under water in
tanks. A good curing process leads to less cracking and a stronger,
harder, denser and more durable concrete.

CHB tips
Selection of raw materials for the manufacture of CHBs: It is recommended to use good quality, clean
ingredients. Avoid using beach sand as it contains salt which significantly compromises the quality of concrete.
Proportions of materials in mixture: Mix concrete well, using the proportions specified by a structural engineer.
Ensure that an adequate amount of cement is added and avoid adding excessive water as it weakens the mixture.
Concrete should stand up when mixed, not flow away due to excessive water.
Mixing: Use a mixing board otherwise water used for mixing will percolate into the ground and impurities such as
dirt and grass could become incorporated into the mixture. If concrete is mixed in batches, maintain consistent
proportions for all batches.
Pouring and compaction: Ensure the formwork is clean before pouring and vibrate uniformly. The concrete
should be well compacted in order to make sure that any air which is trapped in the concrete (weak points) is
removed.
Curing: Avoid using freshly made, uncured CHBs as they are still in a state of shrinkage.

Life of a building using standardized CHB with Vertical and horizontal steel reinforcing bars

The average life-span of a project that has been built on quality construction parameters is around 80 years.
After this period, a project will usually come up for reconstruction.

MORTAR MIXER

CHB MACHINE MOULDER

 CHB MANUAL MOULDER

SHOVEL SPADE

CONSTRUCTION BUCKET

MASONRY 7 TEST QUESTION

1. In Masonry what does CHB stand for?
A. cement, hall, block C. concrete hollow block
B. code, housing, building D. none of the above

2. How many days is needed to properly cure a Concrete Hollow Blocks (CHB)?
A. 12 days C. 6 days
B. 14 days D. 7 days

3. In producing a CHB’s what is the mix proportion as per structural engineer’s specification?
A. 1:2 C. 1:7
B. 1:6 D. 1:8

4. If a bucket can carry 9 kg of cement, how many buckets do you need if you have 45 kg cement?
A. 5 C. 6
B. 4 D. 4.4

5. Which of the following is NOT a Standard sized CHB in the Philippines?

A. 40x20x15 C. 40x20x12
B. 40x20x10 D. none of the above

6. Which of the following is the components or mixture of Concrete Hallow Blocks??

A. cement, black sand, water C. cement, limestone, water
B. cement, coarse sand, water D. cement, stone, water

7. In Masonry what does NBCP stand for?

A. National Bureau of Code of the Philippines C. National Building Construction of the Philippines
B. National Bureau of Construction Philippines D. National Building Code of the Philippines

8. Which of the following term is NOT an advantage of Concrete Hallow Blocks??

A. Readily available product C. 20+ year’s lifespan
B. High fire resistance D. doesn’t need to be reinforced

9. What type of sand can produced high quality CHB?

A. black sand C. sea sand
B. coarse sand D. Crushed stone

10. If 7 bucket of sand is equal to 1.48 cubic foot, how many cubic foot is in 21 buckets?
A. 5.55 C. 4.44
B. 4.48 D. 4.46