July 06, 1998 10:00 AM CDT

New Bracing Standard

By Mario Catani, P.E.

The Council for Masonry Wall Bracing has nearly completed its working draft of a new standard and will soon make copies available to the public and industry for comments and review.

The standard is being developed to provide bracing design, construction, and management guidance to mason contractors. It is based on providing an acceptable level of life safety for masons and other workers on the job site. It recognizes that it is impractical to design bracing and masonry to resist all the wind loads that are likely to be imposed on masonry walls during construction.

A "safe zone" is created on each job site. This "safe zone" must be evacuated by all workers when wind velocities, measured at the site:

1. exceed 20 mph during the first 24 hours that masonry is laid, and


2. exceed 35 mph during that period after 24 hours until the masonry is supported by its adjacent structure.

An appendix shows typical bracing design schemes to help contractors select adequate bracing schemes for simple applications and to give guidance on approaches that can be taken for more complex cases.

A public review of the Proposed Masonry Bracing Standard will be available from the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) in August of 1998.

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About the Author

Mario Catani, P.E. is the President of Dur-O-Wal Corporation.