Gray Areas of Responsibility in Masonry Design

• Offered for free to Central Ohio Section ASCE Members
• Seating is limited to the first 25 people
• Bring your own lunch

Purpose and Background

Design of several masonry elements straddles the border between architectural and structural disciplines. Among these are masonry walls, steel lintels, and brick veneer. In a typical project, the architects include these components in their construction documents, drawings, and specifications. By contrast, structural engineers address these elements in various ways, with some fully designing and detailing them, and others only referring to typical notes and details. In some cases, the engineers' input is limited to a review of project specifications. Occasionally, loadbearing masonry walls and shear walls are not even shown in the structural drawings, because the engineers use computer software that designs and draws structural steel but not masonry.

Since architects and engineers deal with different design aspects of these masonry elements, their design details tend to emphasize certain information and omit other. Quite often the same condition is shown slightly differently in the architectural and structural drawings. Some contractors exploit the apparent inconsistencies and submit RFIs and change orders, claiming conflicting or insufficient information. This webinar helps explain how such claims, and even litigation, could be avoided.

RSVP to Carlos.Vazquez@WDPartners.com by Friday, May 13, 2016.

Primary Topics of Discussion

• Masonry walls
• Steel lintels
• Brick veneer

Learning Outcomes

• Become familiar with the variability of design practices for masonry structural elements
• Know how to design glass block walls in accordance with the latest building codes
• Learn how construction tolerances affect the design of steel lintels supporting masonry
• Find out which standards control the design of adhered and anchored veneer and where this work should be shown
• Understand the difference between participating and nonparticipatin’ masonry elements

Webinar Benefits

• Understand what kind of wall joints should be used in exposed concrete masonry units (CMU) walls
• Know when plain (unreinforced) CMU walls are acceptable and when reinforced masonry must be used instead
• Learn about the available design solutions for steel lintels over large wall openings
• Find out whether a hollow wall of CMU can be considered a cavity wall, as some assert

Intended Audience

• Structural engineers
• Civil engineers
• Building owners

Webinar Outline

• Introduction: architects and engineers working together on overlapping issues
• Masonry walls
• Steel lintels
• Brick veneer
• Conclusion and questions

See the ASCE website for more info.

The Central Ohio Section of ASCE sponsors free continuing education webinars as a service to our members. These webinars are produced by ASCE and normally cost $250 or $300 for ASCE members. However, the Central Ohio Section is paying the registration fee and inviting any interested section members to attend for free. Just RSVP by the deadline. Seating is limited, so do not delay.

You can see the complete list of webinars available from ASCE National on their website. If you see one you like, let us know. If you and your company would like to host one, let us know that too. If you open it up to any interested Central Ohio ASCE section members to come, we will pay the registration fee.