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

Purpose and Background

For various reasons, masonry and wood structures often present significant evaluation challenges. Existing masonry might consist of one or more of several unrelated materials: clay, stone, concrete, even glass. These materials behave differently under load and sometimes require different investigative approaches. A common problem of old masonry is a lack of proper interconnection between the layers, or even an effective mortar. Wood structures present their own challenges. Being a natural material, wood exhibits a wide range of structural properties that are difficult to evaluate without large-scale destructive testing. In addition, many typical archaic construction practices, such as heavy notching at supports, are no longer allowed by today’s codes. Is the structure built in this fashion code-compliant? What can realistically be discovered in the field? Which evaluation techniques should be used? What to do if the design budget is insufficient for an in-depth evaluation? These and similar questions inevitably arise during condition assessments of masonry and wood structures.

This webinar provides the answers to these and many other questions. It is a concise primer on the topic of condition evaluation of existing masonry and wood structures. The instructor explains which common problems could be present in these materials and how to find them using a variety of destructive and nondestructive evaluation techniques. Real-life examples of dealing with the challenges involved illustrate the discussion.

Benefits and Learning Outcomes

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

• Explain cost-effective methods of condition evaluation of existing masonry and wood structures
• Explore typical masonry problems, their symptoms, and techniques for identifying them
• Recognize causes and signs of wood deterioration
• Explain structural properties of archaic masonry
• Explain common masonry problems
• Recognize the circumstances when full-scale load testing can help determine the load capacities of wood-framed floors
• Determine compressive and shear strength of existing masonry walls
• Examine common problems of existing wood framing

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

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

Who Should Attend?

Structural and civil engineers, architects, contractors, and building officials seeking to broaden their knowledge of condition evaluation of existing masonry and wood structures will benefit from this course.

Outline

• Introduction
• Condition evaluation of masonry structures
• Condition evaluation of wood structures

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs

This course is worth 0.2 CEUs / 2 PDHs. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 30 days of the course.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

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