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Sponsored by ASCE's Structural Engineering Institute and ASCE Continuing Education.

INSTRUCTOR:  Alexander Newman, P.E., F.ASCE

Course Length:  90 minutes

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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.

Primary Topics of Discussion

• Masonry walls
• Steel lintels
• Brick veneer

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• 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
• Explore 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
• Identity the difference between participating and nonparticipating 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

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).

Intended Audience

• Structural engineers
• Civil engineers
• Building owners

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion

To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 1 year of purchasing the course.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]