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Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

twistedsifter.com

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Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#251
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wavy design is probably just as strong as the double layer (possibly stronger depending on the direction of force). The issue with a single layer wall isn't really the strength between bricks, or the bricks themselves - it's that a single layer wall has a very narrow base and is subject to tipping over. The wave in the design makes the base of the wall act is if it were MUCH wider, preventing the tipping action o…

Additionally: you need the wall to be "stable enough", not "equally as stable as a double-layer base". Possibly, double-layer brick walls are over-engineered.

The article also mentions buttresses. I presume you can build a single brick wall and keep that strong with a buttress every x meters. I understood from the article that a wavy wall uses less bricks than that.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this is the case. A wavy wall with a wave amplitude of X has the same toppling resistance as a straight wall with buttresses on both sides of length x/2. Assuming this stackoverflow answer is correct[1], the sine wave has (slightly) less bricks. [1]: https://math.stackexchange.com/a/1500468

> A wavy wall with a wave amplitude of X has the same toppling resistance as a straight wall with buttresses on both sides of length x/2. Where did you get that number from, and how does it change as you vary the distance between buttresses?

Assuming one pair of butresses (ie to prevent the wall toppling in each direction) per sine wave cycle.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#254

This feels a bit like diet clickbait... "use fewer bricks than a straight wall"* *A straight wall of the approximal strength and length of a wavy wall, not just length. My counter would be that from a practical perspective the amount of space wasted by the wavy design seems to negate the usefulness of the design. Probably makes the lawn crew dizzy when mowing it too!

wikipedia says:

"leading to greater strength than a straight wall of the same thickness of bricks without the need for buttresses."

I was trying to figure out how lengthwise it could have fewer bricks.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#255
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is so bad at naming things! A Serpentine Wall sounds better than a Worm Fence or Snake Fence. Crinkle Crankle Wall is a bit more fun than ZigZag Fence. A Ribbon Wall seems like a nice thing to have on your property vs a Battlefield Fence.

I'd much rather have a Battlefield Wall on my property in the US than a Ribbon Wall or Crinkle Crankle Wall. The latter two sound ridiculous. I really like "Serpentine Wall", but it sounds a little too technical for everyday conversation with nontechnical people

It doesn’t sound technical at all. It sounds like you’ve read a book or two beyond the abc and cat in the hat. But then, US education.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is so bad at naming things! A Serpentine Wall sounds better than a Worm Fence or Snake Fence. Crinkle Crankle Wall is a bit more fun than ZigZag Fence. A Ribbon Wall seems like a nice thing to have on your property vs a Battlefield Fence.

I'd've called it a chazzwozzer.

Thats because you're Australian.

Although yours are probably highly venomous too.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#257
post #47

Corrugated cardboard just is a wavy wall, sandwiched in between two straight walls. You can also observe corrugated steel and its use in construction, shipping containers, etc. Because these are steel and stronger than paper, the sandwich layers are not needed

If it wasn’t for fashion it would probably be the most popular building material for roofs. Make your roof out of that and at an angle and you probably never worry about leaks for decades.

Roof tiles are just that, but made of a material that stands water much better than than any metal. In any case, corrugated roofs made of asbestos where really popular until people realized they were not good for their health.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#258
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is so bad at naming things! A Serpentine Wall sounds better than a Worm Fence or Snake Fence. Crinkle Crankle Wall is a bit more fun than ZigZag Fence. A Ribbon Wall seems like a nice thing to have on your property vs a Battlefield Fence.

I'd much rather have a Battlefield Wall on my property in the US than a Ribbon Wall or Crinkle Crankle Wall. The latter two sound ridiculous. I really like "Serpentine Wall", but it sounds a little too technical for everyday conversation with nontechnical people

This is a perfect summation of the differences between USians and British.

You want a BATTLEFIELD wall. I want a Crinkle Crankle

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#259
post #211

There's been a one-brick-thick wavy wall off a busy road in Cambridge for at least fifty years: https://goo.gl/maps/sxTsPW71F317gwK88 It kept getting hit by cars until they finally installed a guard rail.

Does something about this design make it more likely to get hit by cars? I guess the force of impact would be greater relative to scraping a straight wall.

It's at an intersection of a curvy four-lane road which is very busy at rush hour.

Re: Wavy walls use fewer bricks than a straight wall (2020)

#260
post #189

There's been a one-brick-thick wavy wall off a busy road in Cambridge for at least fifty years: https://goo.gl/maps/sxTsPW71F317gwK88 It kept getting hit by cars until they finally installed a guard rail.

It took me way too long to see that the cars are driving on the right, so this is Cambridge MA, not Cambridge UK.

... wait... there's another Cambridge?
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