CEE 467 MASONRY STRUCTURES Fall 2017

Problem Assignment No. 2

Brick and Block Properties
due Wednesday, September 6

Refer to the following BIA TEK notes (BIA.org) to answer the following questions.
3A Brick Masonry Material Properties
3B Brick Masonry Section Properties
9A Specifications for and Classification of Brick
9B Manufacturing, Classification and Selection of Brick
10 Dimensioning and Estimating Brick Masonry

1. What are the nominal and specified dimensions of a standard modular brick?

2. Sketch the orientation of a brick placed as a stretcher, a soldier, a sailor and a header.

3. How many courses high and units long will be necessary for a brick wall 8 high and 16 long?

4. What is the cross-sectional area and section modulus (about its weak axis) of a two-wythe solid
brick wall?

5. What ASTM specification covers building brick and what durability classifications are there for
such brick?

6. What is the minimum compressive strength (average of 5 bricks) for a SW building brick?

7. What is the maximum void area (in percent) for a standard building brick?

8. What durability grades of face brick would you use for a building to be constructed in San Diego,
Dallas or Chicago?
Refer to the following NCMA TEK notes (NCMA.org) to answer the following questions.
1-1E ASTM Specifications for CMUs
2-1A Typical Sizes and Shapes for CMUs
3-2A Grouting Concrete Masonry Walls
10-1A Crack Control in Concrete Masonry Walls
10-2B Control Joints for Concrete Masonry Walls Empirical Method
10-3 Control Joints for Concrete Masonry Walls Alternative Engineered Method
14-1B Section Properties for Concrete Masonry Walls

1. What ASTM specification do you use for load-bearing concrete masonry walls?

2. What is the minimum face shell thickness for 8 block?

3. What is the minimum compressive strength for typical concrete blocks?

4. What are the actual dimensions of an 8 block?

5. What is the difference between high lift grouting and low lift grouting?

6. What is a cleanout and when is it used?

7. What should the maximum spacing of control joints be?

8. What is the area and section modulus (about the weak axis) per running foot for an 8 block wall
with face-shell bedding?