Within a wall

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Construction of walls is extremely important as it protects from external elements and controls movement of heat, air and moisture through the building envelope. Features Editor Shikha Mishra reports on how the wall has evolved over the years.

Be it the Great Wall of China, Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, or the Berlin Wall – walls have been an integral  part of every society in  written history.

Early walls were made from dry stone construction, also called stone fences or dykes. Then the use of mortar in wall construction came in followed by brick and block.

Walls are now being constructed with concrete and pre-cast concrete which allows the wall to set quicker and leads to faster construction times.

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Structural engineers design walls to be strong enough to resist horizontal and vertical forces imposed upon them, as defined by building codes. Such loads include wind forces, self-weight of the building, the weights of walls and floors from above, the effects of expansion and contraction as generated by temperature and humidity variations as well as the wear and tear of interior occupancy.

Specifically developed wall membranes can make a major contribution towards the environment by improving the energy efficiency of a building.

On the basic structure of a wall, there are a number of products that can be used for cladding on interior and exterior walls. 

“The type of an internal wall depends on whether it is a residential or a commercial building.

Exterior walls are made of concrete blocks while a majority of internal walls are made of gypsum boards. These boards are used in commercial buildings as they can be moved around or adjusted easily for partitions in offices.

In residential buildings, partitions are of concrete,” says Tony Azzam, regional business manager, DuPont building innovations, ME, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.