Masonry Magazine April 1999 Page. 12
The New
The masonry industry has been diligently working on two building codes in an effort to standardize design and construction requirements nationally. For at least the next year or two, the current codes, BOCA National Building Code, Standard Building Code (SBC) or Uniform Building Code (UBC), will govern construction requirements. Beyond that, the International Building Code (IBC) will regulate design and construction requirements. However, there is strong speculation that adoption of the IBC may be another 4 years from now. UBC is the code jurisdiction recognized in the western half of the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Guam while BOCA and SBC are the governing codes for the Northeast and Southeast portions of the country, respectively.
The IBC is on a fast track for publication, however there is still much work to be done. Even though the IBC will be published in the Spring of 2000, there are still approximately 1,100 change proposals to be resolved. In fact, the volume containing the changes is thicker than the latest draft of the Code. Therefore, it is premature to anticipate how the IBC will affect the design and construction process of masonry.
The Code that will have immediate impact is the combination of Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures (ACI 530-99/ASCE 5-99/TMS 402-99) and Specification for Masonry Structures (ACI 530.1 99/ASCE 6-99/TMS 602-99). Soon to be published, it will contain a number of significant changes affecting masonry construction.
The separation of the masonry Code and Specifications (ACI 530 and ACI 530.1) is intended for the benefit of both the designer and contractor. The material content of the Code is directed to the designer and the content of the Specification is specifically for the use of the mason contractor. The focus of this article is on the substantial changes in the Specification which is of interest to the contractor.
Quality Assurance
Perhaps the most significant change in the new edition will be the tables that clarify inspection requirements. Since the mid-1940's, the Uniform Building Code has provided a penalty for masonry constructed without a quality assurance program. Masonry constructed with a special masonry inspector present, or a quality assurance program with periodic special inspection, enjoyed a design using full stresses. When no special inspection was provided, the design suffered a 50% penalty, or design by half stresses. This built in a safety factor of 2 when no verification of quality assurance was provided.
The Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures (AC1 530) did not provide a half stress approach when no quality assurance program was provided, but required and assumed that all work would be constructed under a quality assurance program. In reality, most of the masonry constructed under the ACI 530 Code during the past 10 years has not been built with a complete quality assurance program in place. The work that has been constructed with a quality assurance program in place has been done so without the benefit of consistency provided by the Code. Therefore, the requirement for inspection of masonry is in order for certain types of work, and minimum quality assurance requirements for all masonry is appropriate.
The 1998 edition of ACI 530 defines the services and duties required from the contractor with respect to the qual-