Masonry Magazine January 1970 Page. 41
Data MC AA
Sheet
No. 2
Cold Weather Construction of
Bearing Wall Buildings
By JAMES G. GROSS, P.E.
Director, Engineering and Technology
Structural Clay Products Institute
INTRODUCTION
With the acceptance and use of the Contemporary Bearing Wall concept by designers and builders, many contractors have found it necessary to build such buildings during the winter. The brick masonry walls of these buildings are major structural elements which are required to carry all applied loads to the foundations. Because the walls are major structural elements, it is of utmost importance that high quality workmanship be maintained during their construction.
At first glance it may appear that high-rise bearing wall buildings are more difficult to construct during cold weather than structural frame buildings. However, a number of imaginative contractors have found that buildings utilizing the bearing wall system are easier to build through the winter than their structural frame counterparts.
UNENCLOSED CONSTRUCTION
There is considerable construction of outdoor masonry in the United States during winter months. The amount of winter masonry construction varies not only with temperature, but also with wind velocity and precipitation. It is quite common, however, for winter masonry construction to continue in open air in most areas where the normal January temperature is approximately 30 F or higher (see Fig. 1).
Park Mayfair East, Denver, Colorado. Construction of Park Mayfair East, a 17-story loadbearing building was started December 1, 1965, and the building was topped out July 15, 1966. Most of the bearing walls were built during the winter. This presented no serious problem to Harold Simpson, the general contractor. He reported, "An important part of the brick bearing wall system is that after the bricklayers had finished the walls for one story and the slabs had been placed, it is a simple thing to close in the windows with plastic and heat the entire floor. Then the brick walls may be grouted and the slab topping poured during subfreezing weather with little or no delay. We were able to continue construction during a rather severe winter and this provides us with considerable savings in interim financing."
Figure 2 shows the windbreaks which were provided for the masons and the plastic enclosure of the openings, 1 and 2 stories below, so that concrete topping for the precast concrete floor system could be placed and cured in a controlled atmosphere.