December 03, 2003 4:12 PM CST

TMS & MSJC Hold Annual Meetings

By Rashod R. Johnson, P.E.

The Masonry Society, TMS, held its 2003 Annual Meetings in Portland, OR from November 12-15, 2003. First, TMS held its business meetings. Various committees met and discussed their current agendas. Committees of interest were the Construction Practices Committee, chaired by MCAA member, Paul Hoggatt of Hoggatt Inc. in Houston, TX, the Certification Committee, and the Design Practices Committee. There were also numerous education seminars and general information sessions for both design professionals and contractors.

Some of the topics presented were: On-line Masonry Resources, Self-Consolidating Grout for Masonry, Guidelines for Masonry Fa?ade Condition Assessment, Water repellent Coatings for Masonry, Anchorage Provisions for Masonry, Development and Lap Splice Requirements, Design of Masonry Structures Using the MDG-4, Design of Masonry Building Envelopes, Disaster Investigation Workshop, and many more.

The Masonry Standards Joint Committee, MSJC, is the Code-writing body that writes, changes, and maintains the current Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures (ACI 530-02/ASCE 5-02/TMS 402-02) and the Specification for Masonry Structures (ACI 530.1-02/ASCE 6-02/TMS 602-02). The changes for the 2005 Code are done and most of the meeting was dedicated to addressing ACI and TMS Technical Activities Committees concerns about the document.

Some of the major changes in the 2005 MSJC are the inclusion of Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC) masonry units and the increase of the low lift grouting requirements from 5 feet to 12.67 feet per lift. If there are any questions concerning the MSJC Masonry Code or Spec, contact Rashod R. Johnson, Director of Engineering at rjohnson@masoncontractors.org.

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About the Author

Rashod R. Johnson, P.E., is president of The Roderick Group in Chicago. He is the former Director of Engineering for the Mason Contractors Association of America and currently serves as a technical consultant to the association.