Masonry Magazine August 1962 Page. 11
Increased Market Potential
Recent probing developments in the larger concrete masonry unit and other timely subjects of vital interest will be featured in coming issues.
Increasing competition from other types of wall materials has prompted the development of a 24" height concrete block by Material Service, Chicago, division of General Dynamics Corporation, a large supplier of masonry materials.
In recent years, serious inroads have been made into the masonry industry by other types of wall construction, such as panels of various types. Leaders in our industry have frequently expressed concern at the loss of business by masonry contractors and suppliers to these competitive methods and materials.
In the face of this curtailing of our industry's market, it is refreshing to note that a giant step in the opposite direction has been taken by Material Service with its new size block-a block that is expected not only to recapture much of the lost business, but also to expand the industry's market.
Material Service does not manufacture the block itself, but does produce the lightweight aggregate used by scores of midwest block manufacturers-specifically, an aggregate which makes the larger block possible. This is "Materialite", an expanded shale aggregate made by the rotary kiln process at the company's plant in Ottawa.
Materialite particles have a smooth-skinned ceramic outer shell, encompassing an inner structure consisting of countless non-connected dead air cells.
8x24 Lightweight Block
Marketed in Chgo. Area
NEW SIZE 24 INCHES
OLD SIZE 16 INCHES
ALL DIMENSIONS MODULAR
The 8" x 24" block requires less time to complete well, lewers cost.
This inner structure gives the material its ability to produce structural concrete or concrete blocks of great strength, with lightness of weight. Thus, an 8" x 24" lightweight concrete block becomes feasible. Prior to the advent of a high quality expanded shale aggregate, no lightweight aggregate existed which could meet the weight requirements of a 24" block.
Ordinary hard-rock aggregates will, of course, produce larger sized block than the usual 8" x 16" unit, but have the obvious disadvantage of being excessively heavy. The new block made with Materialite, on the other hand, are truly light in weight:
Size
4"
6"
8"
Approx. Weight
22 lbs.
29 lbs.
33 lbs.
There are several important advantages with the larger block. First is the fact that its use results in a significantly lower in-the-wall cost. It is 50% larger than the ordinary 8" x 16" unit, but can be laid up in practically the same amount of time as ordinary block. Each time the mason lays an 8" x 24" block, he completes 1½ times the wall area that he would with an ordinary block. This results in the wall being completed in less time and, of course, at lower cost.
Besides the lower in-the-wall cost, and earlier completion, there are other advantages to the larger block:
The more modern and mere attractive appearance of the completed wall, because the longer length block has a 3 to 1 ratio of length to height, instead of only 2 to 1:
The greater flexibility of design permitted the architect, and the opportunity for him to create wall patterns with a product in an entirely new dimension;
The weight reduction of the completed wall: about 3½ lbs. per sq. ft. with 4" block, and 6½ lbs. with 8". On large structures, this can also permit reductions in the amount of foundation required to support the wall.
8" x 24" mode of Materialite. Each time the mason lays on 8" x 24" block, he completes 11½ times the wall area, that he would with an ordinary block.
VRY
August, 1962
11