Introduction
Hollow concrete block masonry wall has been widely used both in developing and developed countries to replace fired clay brick masonry wall and this means it currently plays an important role in the modern building industry (Sathiparan et al., 2014, Yang et al., 2019).
Concrete hollow blocks are innovative building products that are used as substitutes for traditional bricks in building construction. They have an inner void area which is greater than 25% of their gross area and are available in various sizes and shapes. Concrete hollow blocks are machine-made and unaffected by weather conditions unlike the red bricks. They are used extensively in several countries worldwide, but in Africa, the use of hollow blocks is still limited due to lack of awareness about the product.
Application of Hollow Block
Hollow blocks can be used in the construction of commercial and residential buildings, internal partition walls, and boundary walls, for architectural decoration, and on the rooftop for heat protection.Top of Form
Hollow concrete blocks are utilized in all types of masonry construction:
- Such blocks can be found in moderate apartment complexes, office buildings, farmhouses, rural housing shelters, tall buildings, institutional buildings, factories, etc.
- It is found in facilities such as elevated apartment complexes, office houses, market premises, hospitals, and hotels, etc.
- It could be used as ground-level units including roadside walkways, garden walkways, interlocking pavementblocks for road-moving areas close to curbstones, exhibition grounds, petrol pumping stations, bus and train stations, and so forth.
- Often used in particular areas including; tree guard frames for roadside as well as backyard plantations.
Advantages of using hollow concrete block
Concrete hollow blocks are mainly used for their durability, low cost, speed of construction, and eco-friendliness besides others. Here are some of the top advantages of using the concrete hollow block in construction.
Highly durable
One of the major advantages of concrete hollow blocks is their high durability. Concrete hollow blocks are compacted by high pressure and vibration, which make the blocks very strong and able to withstand a high level of loading. They also have high fire resistance and no salinity which reduces their maintenance cost.
Cost-effective
One concrete hollow block replaces five traditional bricks, and thereby reduces the construction cost. It also decreases the cost of the structural design of the building due to its light weight, which shrinks the size of structural members of both the foundation and superstructure. Hollow block construction also requires less mortar and saves labor hours and cost.
Speedy construction
Concrete hollow blocks are easy to install due to their uniform size and shape. They also have less weight which facilitates rapid construction work. Even unskilled laborers can easily work with hollow blocks.
Environment-friendly
Concrete hollow blocks are very environment-friendly. Unlike traditional brick manufacture, which releases harmful fumes, hollow blocks are machine-made, thus saving our environment. These are also energy efficient building materials because of their insulating properties, thereby reducing energy consumption, and helping to build a green city for the future generations.
Greater earthquake resistance
Another major advantage of concrete hollow blocks is that they offer superior earthquake resistance. This is owing to their light weight, which reduces the building load significantly. This provides a stable foundation and makes it resilient to natural hazards like earthquakes. Their uniformity also reduces vulnerability during natural disasters giving you a safe haven.
Comfortable interiors
A building made of concrete hollow blocks provides comfortable interiors due to thermal insulation. The air in the hollow block does not allow outside heat or cold in the building, keeping your home cool in summer and warm in winter. Hollow blocks also make the building soundproof or at least keep the noise at bay due to the hollow nature of the block.
Hollow block with its multitude of advantages is an innovative building product which can also be employed for low-cost housing.
Conclusion
In general, hollow block is a type of concrete clock used for building internal and external walls. Hollow concrete block saves time in building walls due to its large dimensions, also less expensive and every economical.
Due to the load-carrying capacity, the hollow block is playing an important role in the construction industry.