Walls depending on their functions, what they do in the building, it is made massive (full), slotted and layered. Walls made of stone, bricks, blocks and hollow bricks mainly transfer compressive forces acting axially or with a small eccentricity. In case of, when the brick wall does not have the required load-bearing capacity or it could lose its stability, then it should be reinforced with pilasters of the same material, or steel bars laid in horizontal joints or grooves filled with concrete. Walls reinforced with steel bars and concrete are called composite walls.
Rooms for various purposes are covered with ceilings or vaults based on load-bearing walls or columns. The ceilings are usually flat covers separating individual storeys. Due to the type of structure, the ceilings can be generally divided into two groups:
a) beam ceilings (ribbed),
b) slab ceilings.
In beam ceilings, the main load-bearing element is a beam or a rib. The space between the beams (ribs) is filled with e.g.. ceramic or concrete elements. If the spacing of the beams (ribs) is less than 100 cm, such ceilings are called multi-ribbed ones. In brick buildings, steel and reinforced concrete beams are usually used, however, the use of wooden beams and ceilings is limited.
Slab ceilings are made of reinforced concrete (reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete) in the form of unidirectional solid or multi-hole plates and bidirectionally reinforced plates.
In special purpose buildings, one room may be covered with brick vaults- or bi-curvature.
The ends of the beams of the beam ceilings rest directly on the masonry in the nests, on the other hand, rib and reinforced concrete ceilings rest on the wall by means of ceiling rims. By connecting to the walls, the ceilings reduce the slenderness of the walls and increase the overall stiffness of the building. The beams running in the grooves around the perimeter of the ceilings stiffen the walls of the building to a greater extent than beams resting at several points on two parallel walls. To ensure a better bond between the beam ceilings and the walls, usually every third beam is anchored in the wall.
Buildings are covered with roofs or flat roofs. Steep roofs are then used, when the attic is in use, while flat roofs with a low height then, when there is no human access. A flat roof is also called a flat roof. The figure shows the cross-section of the external wall of a brick building with floors.
Vertical section of the building; 1 - foundation lava, 2 - basement wall, 3 - ground floor wall, 4 - slab ceiling above the basement, 5, 6 - rib-and-slab ceilings above the ground floor and first floor,. 7 - brick wall, 8 — krokiew, 9 - window lintel, 10 - ceiling wreath, 11 - thermal insulation of the wreath, 12 - horizontal damp insulation of walls, 13 - vertical wall insulation, 14 - floor insulation, 15 - floor, 16 - plaster, 17 - floor layers.