Masonry
Materials: Masonry
Masonry includes both traditional sand lime and clay bricks, and concrete masonry unit (CMU) blocks. CMU blocks are made from modern concrete mixes and may be used as a load-bearing material in conjunction with other structural systems. Clay bricks today are predominantly designed by Jablonsky engineers as a cladding element on a building's façade as they offer high resistance to weather elements.
masonry
CMU Blocks
As a structural, load-bearing material, CMU blocks are best suited for buildings up to 10-12 storeys with a consistent layout on each floor, such as hotels, schools, and long-term care facilities. Structural block walls are reinforced with rebar and combined with flooring systems that may include concrete, steel, or wood.
The durability of CMU blocks in various heat and moisture conditions makes them a useful material for firewalls and partition walls, in spaces like pools and hockey arenas.
masonry
Clay Bricks
Clay bricks were historically used as load-bearing material, though today their main use is for masonry veneer (a brick façade), which the internal structure must be designed to support.
Many new building projects incorporate the existing façades of on-site heritage buildings. These retained façades are not load-bearing, but they must be inspected by a structural engineer to determine if the façade can be safely supported in place while the new structure is built behind it.
For more information, see Façade Retention:
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