Masonry Veneer Pty Ltd

If you had a school photo taken anywhere during the fifties to the seventies, or maybe even the eighties, chances are that the wall in the background was made of masonry veneer.  If not you, then you would certainly have a parent or other family member who stood in front of a masonry veneer wall.  In the story of the brick makers of Oakleigh, it is easy to overlook a company like this because they don’t fit into the standard format of what we have come to know as brick works.  This story has been mainly about clay bricks, pipes and tiles, but we cannot forget cement tiles, for they were once quite numerous, and made in Oakleigh.

Following the end of World War 2, there was a sudden increase in the natural birth rate, or “baby boom”, in Victoria, as well as a massive increase in immigration. This led to a sharp rise in demand for school places, which the Department of Education, Victoria was struggling to meet. In addition the Department had lowered the age of school admission to five years in 1946, and since the War there had was a substantial increase in students continuing into high school.

A Fresh-Faced young Rameking back in the day in front of a Masonry Veneer wall

A report commissioned in 1949 by the director of the Department of Education, Sir Alan Hollick Ramsay estimated that local high school enrolments would increase by 20,000 students over the next decade.   Simultaneously, due to the Second World War, there was a shortage of building materials and labour in Victoria. In response to this crisis, pre-fabricated buildings were seen as a solution, with ex-military huts pressed into service along with imported buildings.  Several hundred aluminium classrooms manufactured by the Bristol Corporation were imported from England for use throughout the state until the program was ended in the mid-1950s.

Hollick recommended to the State Government that a standardized design for all state schools be adopted, as such a design would reduce the expense in commissioning architects to individually design each school, and would allow school construction to proceed more efficiently whilst using less building resources. In the early 1950s the Public Works Department developed the "Light Timber Construction" (or LTC) design.  A number of initial prototype schools were built in the LTC style, as it was tested and refined.

Much of the concrete veneer wall tiles used by the LTC program were made by “Masonry Veneer Pty Ltd” 1291 North Road Huntingdale, previously a timber yard.    The Company was incorporated on the 5^th of November 1959, (Company No 004 454 237).  Previous names MASONRY VENEER PTY LTD from 26-05-2000 to 04-08-2000 and MASONRY VENEER P/L from 01-11-1999 to 26-05-2000.  The company was begun by Mr Clifford James Mahon, an ex-Australian navy (1943-1946) man who made concrete air-raid shelters prior to joining.  Cliff was stationed at HMAS Lonsdale, a shore based station in Port Melbourne. 

In the early 1950s, output of clay bricks was lagging behind demand. One cause of this was a shortage of experienced labor. Kilns closed during the war were not re-opening because the workers were not returning to this hard, dirty industry.  Employment prospects for these workers had improved and prospects for the cement brick industry were also improved by the limitations of the available clay deposits in the Oakleigh area.  The clay in the Oakleigh brick-making area would not meet demand and the kilns later depended on shale from elsewhere for the clay type of brick. Improvements in techniques helped cement brick and tile making to hold a greater share of the market.

Masonry veneer walls consist of a single non-structural external layer of masonry work, typically cement-brick, backed by an air space. The innermost element is usually structural, and may consist of wood or metal framing or masonry.  Walls constructed in this manner have several advantages over solid masonry, some of which are shared with the Cavity Wall (where inner and outer layers are both structural) while others are distinct to masonry veneer walls:

Unlike clay bricks that are fired in a kiln, concrete bricks set and can be made in greater volume, taking much less time to make.  Basic Concrete used to make stone veneer is a mixture of:

  1. Cement Type 1 or Type 2 Portland Cement

  2. Coarse Aggregate (lightweight Preferably)

  3. Fine Aggregate (sand)

  4. Water

The aggregate comprises 60% to 75% concrete stone mixture, and cement paste (the combination of cement, water, and possibly pozzolan) makes up the difference and clean water at the right temperature. 

The water to cement ratio of a concrete mix is extremely important to creating a high quality concrete mix.  Concrete gets hard as a result of the chemical reaction between cement and water that is known as "hydration".   Any water that is not consumed by the hydration process will eventually leave the concrete as it cures, resulting in small pores that will reduce the strength of the concrete. Cured concrete can be as much as 6% air because too much water was added.

A mix with too much water will experience more shrinkage as the excess water leaves, resulting in internal cracks and external fractures.   The airspace functions as a drainage plane, allowing any water that has penetrated the veneer to drain to the bottom of the cavity, where it encounters flashing (weatherproofing) and is directed to the outside through weep holes

The structural framing or masonry backup can be erected first to allow the rest of the building structure to be completed concurrently with the outer veneer, rather than waiting for the entire wall structure to be completed before proceeding with the roof and upper floors.  A masonry veneer wall can be completed in a shorter time with less labor than a solid masonry wall thus saving in cost.  The weight of a veneer wall can be significantly less than solid masonry, resulting in economies in foundations and structural support.

Because masonry veneer is non-structural, it must be tied back to the building structure to prevent movement under loads.  This is usually accomplished by a means that does not interrupt the drainage plane and does not compromise cavity insulation. Brick ties are used for this purpose, and may take the form of corrugated metal straps nailed or screwed to the structural framing, or as wire extensions to horizontal joint reinforcement in a fully masonry veneer system. Additionally, the veneer is vertically self-supporting over relatively short heights, so shelf angles or relieving supports must be provided, typically at floor edges, to transfer the weight of the veneer to the building structure. In multi-story buildings, such a system is called a curtain wall.

Masonry veneers can be made of any concrete, manufactured clay, artificial stone or natural stone product. Typically, masonry refers to individual units that are placed in a mortar bed, making a distinction with panelized products.  If a masonry veneer is used over a framed wall, sheathing and a moisture barrier are required to assure the weather tightness of the assembly.

Buildings with masonry veneer walls can be better at cooling down during extended periods of hot weather than framed and sided buildings - making conditions more comfortable at night during summer.

Some early examples, still in existence, are the South Oakleigh Primary School, formerly Huntingdale High School in Farm Road and Windsor Avenue Oakleigh South.  Built in 1958 it is an example of the refinement of the LTC design. Parts of Clarinda Primary School and Sussex Heights Primary School. At the end of the 1950s the standardized design had been used for seventeen new schools. 

In the early 1950s, masonry veneer was also advertised as a house cladding.  The leading builder of the time,  A.V. Jennings advertised masonry veneer for homes in Canberra during the 1950s.  Schools in Canberra were also built using masonry veneer. 

These LTC schools were built by a number of contractors: a contract in 1954 for £5,984 gave Swan Hill High School two LTC classrooms, the same year Heywood Consolidated School had six LTC classrooms erected for £9,800.  Electrical works were in separate contracts, the 1955 contract for the electrical installation in six LTC classrooms at Heidelberg West State School was £375.   The LTC design was used for more than general classrooms: the 1957 contract for the erection of a trade annex in light timber construction and masonry veneer at Bairnsdale Technical School was for £16,478; in 1962 a modified Domestic Arts wing was built at Mortlake High School in light timber construction with a concrete veneer for £23,713. 

Light Timber Construction schools, as the name suggests, were constructed using wooden framing. External walls were clad either in timber, sheet metal, brick, or cement tile  (the most common option). Rooftops were always clad with corrugated iron, and supported by zig-zag steel rafters. LTC schools were always built as a single storey. Where multiple school wings were required, buildings were often linked with an iron covered-way in the case of primary schools, or a link corridor in the case of high schools.

LTC school buildings always consist of long central corridors, from which classrooms are constructed on either side. Typically, there will be a continuous span of classrooms on one side, whilst intervals will be left between clusters of classrooms on the alternate side, to allow for additional exits and natural light to penetrate the corridor. Occasionally, classrooms will only be constructed on a single side. Corridors typically have low ceilings (approximately 3 metres), and capacity for bags (primary schools) or lockers (high schools) to be stored along the walls. A long series of windows provides visual contact with classrooms.

Classrooms are typically entered through sliding doors from the corridor. The ceilings of classrooms are elevated above the corridor, and tilt away so that one row of windows connects the room with the corridor, whilst another row above provides natural light from outside. On the external side, either two or three horizontal rows of wooden-framed windows provide light from outside. LTC classrooms were typically furnished in a uniform way, with built-in blackboards and cupboards at the front of the room, fluorescent lighting from above, and venetian blinds on the windows. Most classrooms had polished wooden floorboards, which were later carpeted-over.

Whilst the LTC design provided government with a cheap and efficient method for rapidly constructing schools, the design meant that buildings were hot in summer and cold in winter due to poor insulation, and were often viewed as being "industrial" and "sterile" fitting a "factory model" of schooling.  As methods of education has changed, modern educational specialists criticize the design of long corridors and rows of classrooms as being old-fashioned and uninspiring. 

Until 1976, hundreds of similar LTC school buildings were constructed by the Department of Education across Victoria. Many with masonry veneer panels.  Whilst small design variations existed on different sites, and between Primary and secondary schools, the overall construction method and aesthetic remained the same.  Eventually, the demand for school places fell and the Department of Education resumed constructing state schools with individual designs.

Owing to their cheap construction, and funding cuts that were made to education in the 1980s and 1990s, many LTC school buildings aged poorly, becoming shabby and run-down, becoming extremely expensive to maintain, as they were built to solve a temporary surge in school numbers and not intended to last more than 20 years.  In 2006 the Australian Education Union said that the cost simply replacing LTC schools was $1.9 billion, and would take 30 years at the then rates of Government spending.  The State Government's Victorian Schools Plan released in 2006 committed to rebuild or renew all government schools by 2017, leading to many LTC school buildings being demolished or substantially renovated and modified. Consequently, intact examples of this school design in original condition are becoming very rare.

The Masonry Veneer factory in North road has seen better days.  The walls are gradually being defaced by graffiti and from what I can see from the nearby overpass, the rusted roof appears to be in poor condition.  It is however, the only remaining, intact brick making factory still in Oakleigh.