Masonry Magazine May 2002 Page. 26
SUBSCRIBE TO
MASONRY
MAGAZINE
TODAY!
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
1 year (U.S.) - $24.00
1 year (Canada) - $30.00
2 years (U.S) - $40.00
2 years Canada $46.00
CALL
(800) 536-2225
Best on the Block
Your Best Choice for Solid Sawn DI-65 Scaffold Plank
Perforsance End Sealer
Clip
✓ Quality
Service
Safety
✓ Availability
Safety Traction Strips
OSHA
CUSTOMER
NAME
Verification
Rod
OSHA Stamp
Supporting the Mason Industry
MD
Mill Direct Lumber
Sales, Inc.
Phone (866) 261-5563
Mill Direct Fax (503) 885-5312
Lumber Sales, Inc. milldirect@msn.com
MEMBER
SIA
Figure C
STANDARD HOOK & EYE
Produced by 2 of 3 manufacturers
10-Length
16
16
16
10
16
Pintles lap welded on
top of the wire
16
lap required for core clearance
Advantages: CMU core clearance
Disadvantages: Extremely difficult to lap and meet standard
Very heavy and bulky bundles are difficult
to lift
Additional shipping and storage space
required
Very difficult to meet CMU heights,
impossible at the laps
Significantly detracts from bricklayer
productivity
ter of 98 to make the initial conversion with Dur-O-Wal following last winter. But many improvements remain before we start back slapping. The 16" o.c. cross rods are optimum for grouting but the 8" distance of the first cross rod off each end makes it difficult to lap the wire to meet the 6" minimum standard and maintain core clearance. The cross rods at the laps are within 8" of each other and this often results in an overlap instead of a side lap. Wire manufactured 10-0" long with cross rods 12" from each end and 16" o.c. would eliminate the risk of overlap by optimizing cross rod spacing on the webs of the CMU (Figure B). The best part about making these changes is that they don't need any approval. In fact, these changes will bring these materials closer to the design intent and installation criteria of architects', engineers' and mason contractors'.
MRCA and Dur-O-Wal produce adjustable hook & eye wire with the side rods starting 8" from each end with 3/16" dia. pintle eyes lap-welded on the top of the wire at the cross rods (Figure C). Hohmann & Barnard produces hook & eye with cross rods spaced approximately 15" o.c. with 3/16" dia. pintles welded 16" o.c. on the outer longitudinal wire. Pintles lap welded on top of the wire compounds the difficulty of installation, making it impossible for the bricklayer to meet the 6" lap standard or to maintain modular wall heights. Flush-welding pintles to the outer face of the proposed 16" o.c. 2-wire will narrow the wire profile (Figure D), overcoming the disadvantages of the present standard and significantly improving bricklayer productivity.
At the time of this writing the three major wire manufacturers have been slow to recognize the changing landscape of CMU construction. The days of truss wire, 15" o.c. ladder, and lap-welded adjustable wire are fading. Although they haven't yet dedicated production capacity to producing these new ladder systems they all claim to have stepped up research and development and plan to meet demand when it reaches a practical volume. There is no doubt that a bold 26 MASONRY MAY, 2002