Masonry Magazine July 2004 Page. 40
New Brick and BLOCK
"We believe that the opportunity to build millions of homes with quality masonry is realistic based on the cost of the home being affordable." John Guy, Verot Oak Building Blocks, Inc.
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Haener's interlocking system has been used for projects ranging from simple walls to huge casinos. This picture shows how these units were used by Habitat for Humanity in Mexico.
Bouchard claims that, "One person can lay up to 13 blocks a minute."
The interlocking features also give mason contractors the ability to use less experienced laborers in laying the block.
"This block self-aligns and self-seats, allowing the mason contractor to use apprentice labor and still be just as accurate or greater than with regular blocks," says Ruggeri. "Being able to use laborers alongside masons allows mason contractors to have a bigger crew and schedule more work."
All of these advantages lead up to two things for mason contractors: overall cost savings and keeping masonry competitive with other types of building systems.
"As an example, total project costs for a poured concrete wall run anywhere from $9 to $13 per square feet," states Bouchard. "Total project costs for a Haener Block wall typically run from $4.50 to $5.50 per square foot. This kind of cost competitiveness alone is a huge advantage for the mason contractor."
Guy sees a bigger picture that goes beyond the cost of one project alone.
"By lowering the cost, the contractors will be more competitive against tilt-ups, ICF, wood and metal buildings," Guy says. "We believe that the opportunity to build millions of homes with quality masonry is realistic based on the cost of the home being affordable.
"VOBB will definitely be able to compete against homes built out of termite food and firewood due to the quality of masonry and the affordable cost of dry stacking. We believe that every person in the USA deserves to live in a quality home built with all exterior and interior walls being built with concrete block."
Brick
AZAR MORTARLESS Building System (AMBS) of Ontario, Canada, has been providing the world with mortarless blocks, like those mentioned earlier, for over 15 years. They have taken this idea a step further with the recent introduction of their brick unit.
"The advantage of the Azar dry-stack block and brick rests within the design," says Tony Azar, President of AMBS. "The blocks can be interlocked both horizontally
38 Masonry
July 2004
www.masoncontractors.org
Photo courtesy of Haener Block