Building stone arch bridge with attractive architecture
There are different architecture for building the bridge made of stone, especially arch with attractive view.
building stone walls
The building of a bridge with stone arches is a common and popular request.
Construction of this kind is stunning, and it naturally lends an attractive air to the surrounding landscape.
The question is, how do you do it?
This quick guide serves as a very general rule of thumb, and we have included it for your convenience.
The particulars of your construction will be different.
We did this by building it on a number of smaller bridges, including the lessons that we subsequently gained from the process.
Although we cannot be held liable for any use or misuse of the information provided here, it is our sincere wish that those who are interested will find this information to be helpful.
Trying to Pin Down a Spot
The very first thing that must be done, of course, is to ascertain the location of the bridge and the volume of traffic that will pass over it at any given time.
During times of severe flooding, it is important to try and get an estimate of how much water there is.
If the ditch is only a few feet wide, the water can safely flow around or over the bridge without causing any problems.
This could, however, prove to be quite inconvenient because not only will it have a tendency to muddy up any paths and the bridge itself, but the times when a bridge is the most helpful are when there is a heavy flow of water.
A calculation can be made to determine how much total open surface area the arch(is) needs to have in order to handle maximum flows if it is possible to approximately determine the area of water in the ditch at a given point.
In most cases, it is preferable to have the underside of the top of the arch be at or higher than the same level as the banks; nonetheless, this can generate a steep grade.
Long spans are something that should be avoided by novices at all costs, even if they have a fair amount of determination and are capable of accomplishing the task with a little bit of effort.
When standing on long spans, greater precision is required.
Building bridges of ever-increasing size will, of course, become progressively less difficult with experience and training.
Making a Selection Regarding the Arch Form and Design
After locating where the bridge will be built, the following stage is to construct a design for it, which includes deciding how many arches it will have and what shape those arches will be in.
building stone price
After this has been determined, a bit of geometry will be all that is needed to figure out the shape of the temporary formwork that will be necessary in order to construct the arch.
You can make a wooden form by cutting it out of plywood and nailing slats to the top of it.
Alternatively, if you have a lot of scrap plywood, you can construct the form by affixing together a number of plywood pieces that have been cut to the appropriate shape and are spaced a few inches apart from one another.
Alternately, rebar or even PVC pipe can be bent and held into an arch shape, which eliminates the need to cut wood.
However, the resulting shape will be more parabolic in nature until it is somehow coerced into the appropriate shape.
There are two primary arch forms: the Roman arch, which is merely half of a circle, and the segmental arch, which is an arc that is flatter than a Roman arch.
Both of these arch types are referred to as arches.
The two fundamental types of arches can be adapted in a variety of ways to create a variety of other arch forms.
It is necessary to have "skewbacks" of some kind in order to construct segmental arches.
Skewbacks are triangular stones that serve as the base for segmental arches.
An additional viable option is to arrange the stones in such a way that they produce a sloped face against which the arch might rest.
In any case, we would suggest constructing a template of the angle that is required for this reason in order to ensure that the stones that are utilized are nearly the correct form.
Creating a Strong Foundation
The next step is to begin laying the foundations for the structure.
If you are fortunate enough to have bedrock that is only a few feet or so below the surface of the ground, you can simply lay the foundations on this.
If you are not, however, the foundations must be put below the frost line, at least for mortared work, in order to avoid damage.
As long as there isn't a significant risk of erosion, mortarless construction of the arch can be accomplished by simply laying it on the hard subsoil located below the streambed.
Regardless of whether a structure is built on rock or dirt, the dirt will eventually seep between the joints and will cause it to hold water.
This will result in frost heaving of the building.
The masonry, assuming it was laid correctly, should be able to withstand this.
It is strongly recommended that, when laying the foundations for the bridge on soil as opposed to rock, the foundations under the arch be wider at the base than they are at the top so that they present the soil with a larger surface area.
This will allow the soil to better support the arch.
In certain circumstances, we also like to pack gravel into the soil to assist in the formation of a firm and compact resting surface for the foundations.
building stone for sale
Please keep in mind that practicing mortaring is required before you begin.
If you care about how it looks, you should avoid globing it on.
Once it has dried, it is nearly impossible to remove, and, well, sometimes the structure would be more attractive if it did not have it.
Also, use mortar — not cement! Stones that have been cemented with hard cement can be damaged because the stone will have more give than the mortar when it is frozen and thawed.
For the mortar portion of our structure, we used type N mortar, but even that appears to have been a little too tough for the soft limestone we used.
One thing that has been noticed about concrete is that the manner in which it is utilized and the location in which it is placed appear to have a significant impact on the ability of concrete to cause damage to stonework.
For example, the concrete scour aprons that are frequently utilized around stone arch bridges appear to be a cause of damage to the bridge very infrequently, if ever at all.
Additionally, we constructed a trial version of a stone arch bridge using cement that was poured in between the stones to create angles.
This bridge appears to be in excellent condition so far.
On the other hand, it would appear that smearing cement all over the surface of stonework in an indiscriminate manner greatly accelerates the process of the stones deteriorating.
In the long run, it is widely thought to be a poor idea to stuff concrete into a large gap in a masonry structure.
This practice is likewise considered to be a bad idea.
We have not spent a significant amount of time cutting the stones to suit any stone bridge that we have constructed; instead, we select and lay the stones in such a way that they will naturally curve the arch on their own whenever it is possible.
After that, we utilize a substantial quantity of stone chips to assist in stabilizing them.
Having said that, there will periodically be a need to perform some moderate trimming of the ends of the stones to ensure that everything fits together correctly.
If you are going to be using mortar, we suggest that you make a batch that is thin (but not liquid), that you place it on the arch stones, and that you stuff stone chips into the joints after the following course of masonry has been set.
Use gloves that are not only thick and durable but also waterproof to protect yourself from chemical burns.
Even better would be to use gloves together with some kind of tool to drive the chips in.
Be aware that as you reach to the top of the arch, the mortar will try to fall out the bottom; therefore, you will need some means to prevent it from seeping through any gaps or cracks in the formwork.
Even if it was the method that was used to construct the majority of stone bridges in the past, the practice of pouring the mortar into the arch after it was completed is probably not the most practical alternative.
The ultimate product has a propensity to be sloppy, and the joints that are more horizontal are, of course, somewhat challenging to pour into.
How useful is this article to you?
Average Score
5
/
Number of votes:
1
