Growing older, growing taller – Construction Specifier

Figure 1: Cumulative clay brick expansion over the height of this mid-rise apartment building resulted in substantial misalignment of bed joints at an upper floor level. Photo courtesy Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE) Unlike natural stone, concrete masonry, or calcium-silica brick (see “Failures” October 2024), clay masonry units will experience irreversible expansion over time as […]

Designing brick veneer for loadbearing exterior walls – Page 3 of 4

Significantly lifted/shifted coping stones and cracked/open bed joints at parapet wall abutting the main roof bulkhead south-facing wall. Movements in the loadbearing CMU backup wallChanges in moisture content and temperature cause expansion and contraction of concrete masonry walls. The magnitude of volume change depends on two factors—one an intrinsic property of the concrete masonry unit, […]