M

asonry i s strong i n com-

p r e s s i o n b u tw e a k i nt e n-
si on. Steel , i n contrast,
i s s t r o n g i n t e n s i o n b u t , w h e n
formed i nto l ong thi n bars, can
buckl e i n compressi on. I n rei n-
forced masonry, however, grout
enabl es these materi al s to work
i n harmony to resi st wi nd and
sei smi c forces.
Even where codes dont requi re
rei nforced masonry, thi s bui l di ng
method can offer economi c bene-
fi ts because i t al l ows the bui l d-
i ng of tal l er, l onger, and thi nner
wal l s. The movement away from
empi ri cal and toward engi neered
desi gn has l ed to i ncreased speci -
fi cati on of rei nforced masonry
nati onwi de. Several stepsfrom
careful materi al sel ecti on to grout
r e c o n s o l i d a t i o n m u s t b e f o l -
l owed, however, to ensure the op-
ti mal performance of rei nforced
masonry.
Selecting materials
The type and qual i ty of mason-
ry uni ts and grout used on a rei n-
forced masonry job i mpact pro-
d u c t i v i t y, t h e a m o u n t o f s t e e l
n e e d e d f o r r e i n f o r c e m e n t , a n d
t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e g r o u t t o c o m-
pl etel y encase the steel and bond
wi th the uni ts.
Concrete block. Where avai l -
abl e, doubl e or si ngl e open-end,
H- or A-shaped concrete masonry
uni ts may be used. Masons can
easi l y l ay these uni ts around re-
bar al ready i n pl ace; so they dont
have to l i ft the bl ock up hi gh to
t h r e a dt h e r e b a r t h r o u g ht h ec e l l s .
Open-end uni ts permi t the use
of l onger rei nforci ng rods, thus re-
du c i n gt h e a m o u n t o fs t e e l n e e d e d
for l aps. (Where open-end bl ock
are not avai l abl e, rebar posi ti on-
ers can be pl aced i n cl osed-end
bl ock and the rebar dropped i n
pri or to grouti ng.)
Ken Nessl er of Phoeni x-based
Sun Val l ey Masonry recommends
a speci al H-shaped, bond-beam
concrete bl ock wi th ends that i n-
terl ock wi th other uni ts, el i mi -
nati ng the need for mortar at the
head joi nts (see Fi gure 1). The
uni ts center web does not extend
the ful l hei ght of the bl ock; the
space at the bottom and top of the
web provi des room for hori zontal
r e b a r a n d a l l o w s g r o u t t o f l o w
more freel y when ful l y grouted
wal l s are requi red.
Wi th another concrete bl ock
desi gna propri etary si ngl e-cel l ,
o p e n - e n d u n i t m a s o n s d o n t
need speci al posi ti oners to hol d
rebar i n pl ace duri ng grouti ng
(see Speci al Bl ock for Rei nforc-
Reinforced
concrete
masonry
techniques
Consi der these ti ps on sel ecti ng materi al s, i nstal l i ng rebar, and pl aci ng grout
By Carolyn Schierhorn
Figure 1. Special H-shaped block has
ends that interlock with other units,
eliminating the need for mortar at the
head joints. Source: Superlite B lock Inc.
In rei nforced masonry, grout enables ma-
sonry units and steel to work together to re-
sist wind and seismic forces.
i ng, Masonry Construction, June
1991). The cel l i nteri ors fl are i n-
ward at the bottom to hol d verti -
cal steel back from the face shel l s;
mol ded protrusi ons keep the ver-
ti cal steel i n pl ace. Thi s bl ock al -
so has notched webs to recei ve
hori zontal rebar (Ref. 1).
W h e n p r e q u a l i f y i n g h i g h -
s t r e n g t h c o n c r e t e b l o c k f o r h i g h -
ri se jobs, make sure the manufac-
turer produces uni ts wi th some
t e x t u r e i n t h e c e l l s , s u g g e s t s
G e o r g e M a r n e l l o f L a s Ve g a s -
based Marnel l Masonry. Hi gh-
strength concrete bl ock i s dense
and tends to be sl i ck because i t
has a hi gh concentrati on of ce-
ment. I f the cel l s are too sl i ck,
t h e r e m a y b e a p r o b l e m w i t h
grout bondi ng.
Grout. ASTM C 476 (Standard
Speci fi cati on for Grout for Mas o n-
r y ) d e s c r i b e sg r o u t p r o p o r t i o n s by
vol ume for fi ne and coarse grout.
Accordi ng to ASTM C 404 (Stan-
dard Speci fi cati on for Aggregates
for Masonry Grout), grouts are
cl assi fi ed as fi ne or coarse, de-
pendi ng on the maxi mum aggre-
gate si ze. I f the maxi mum aggre-
gate si ze i s
3
8 i nch to
1
2 i nch, the
grout i s coarse. Fi ne grout con-
tai ns onl y sand aggregates.
Grout must be fl ui d enough to
fl ow around rei nforci ng steel and
f i l l c e l l s a n d c a v i t i e s w i t h o u t
l eavi ng voi ds. The grout sl ump
s h o u l d b e 8 t o 1 0 i n c h e s . U s e
about an 8-i nch sl ump for mason-
ry uni ts wi th l ow absorpti on and
about a 10-i nch sl ump for mason-
r y u n i t s w i t h h i g h a b s o r p t i o n
(Ref. 2).
A l t h o u g h i t i s e a s y t o m e e t
mi ni mum standards for grout,
obtai ni ng the best mi x desi gn for
a job i s tri cky. Consi der goi ng to a
t e s t i n g l a b o r a t o r y, w h i c h w i l l
hel p you establ i sh desi gn cri teri a
and make tri al batches to meet
those cri teri a at the l owest mate-
ri al cost (see Desi gni ng Grout
Mi xes, Masonry Construction,
June 1991). But dont use more
than two or three grout mi xes on
a si ngl e job or i t wi l l be too com-
pl i cated to pl ace the ri ght mi x at
the ri ght l ocati on (Ref. 2).
When prequal i fyi ng grout, be
wary of certai n admi xtures. Some
grout manufacturers are more
accustomed to produci ng ready
mi x concrete than grout, Marnel l
observes. They may use water-
reduci ng admi xtures, whi ch work
w e l l i n c o n c r e t e b u t c a u s e t h e
grout not to bond to the concrete
b l o c k . Yo u p o u r i t a t a 1 0 - i n c h
s l u m pa n di tg o e st oa 3 - i n c hs l u m p
i n 30 mi nutes. Grout requi res
suffi ci ent water for absorpti on by
the concrete masonry uni ts and
to fl ow freel y around and under
steel and i nto voi ds.
Installing rebar
Verti cal steel rei nforcement
must be secured i n the proper
posi ti on and suffi ci entl y l apped
where necessary before grouti ng.
Be sure to fol l ow the pl ans and
speci fi cati ons and the l ocal codes
(see How to I nstal l Rei nforci ng
S t e e l , M a s on r y C on s t r u ct i on,
June 1991).
Verti cal steel rei nforcement
may be erected ei ther before l ay-
i ng masonry uni ts or after wal l
erecti on. Open-end uni ts make i t
easy to l ay hol l ow uni ts around
i nstal l ed rebar. When open-end
uni ts are not used, masons thread
the uni ts over shorter l engths of
s t e e l , w h i c h s h o u l d b e c a p p e d
f o r s a f e t y. T h e s e r o d s m u s t b e
a d e q u a t e l y l a p p e d , s o t h a t t h e
stresses are transferred from one
bar to the other. For Grade 60
steel , l ap the spl i ce at l east 36
bar di ameters i n compressi on (i n
col umns) and 48 bar di ameters i n
tensi on (i n wal l s and beams).
The rei nforci ng steel must be
surrounded by grout to functi on
properl y. The di stance between
the surface of a verti cal bar and
any surface of a masonry uni t
must be at l east
1
4 i nch for fi ne
grout and
1
2 i nch for coarse grout
(Ref. 3).
When i nstal l i ng rebar after the
uni ts have been l ai d, use ti e wi re
or speci al posi ti oners to hol d the
rods i n the proper posi ti on duri ng
grouti ng. Thi s al so ensures suffi -
ci ent grout cover. The Uniform
Building Code (UBC) requi res
that rebar posi ti oners be pl aced
i n masonry uni ts at verti cal i n-
terval s of not more than 200 bar
di ameters (Ref. 4). I deal l y, pl ace
a posi ti oner at the fi rst course to
ti e i t to the foundati on dowel s,
and pl ace one at the second course
from the top for stabi l i ty.
As they l ay up the wal l , ma-
sons i nstal l the hori zontal steel
at the appropri ate i nterval s. Then
pri or to grouti ng, they thread the
ful l -l ength verti cal rods through
the posi ti oners i n the masonry
uni ts.
One popul ar type of posi ti oner
for verti cal rebar di vi des the cel l
i nto a ti c-tac-toe pattern, al l ow-
i ng rebar to be pl aced i n any of
n i n e l o c a t i o n s . To s e c u r e i t i n
pl ace, the posi ti oner has l egs that
turn downward i nto the cel l at an
angl e (see Fi gure 2).
Cradl e-type posi ti oners can be
used i n the bond beam course to
posi ti on and hol d both hori zontal
and verti cal rebar si mul taneous-
l y. Suspended across the open cel l
from each face shel l , the cradl e
has di vi ders that separate the
vari ous rei nforci ng bars (see Fi g-
ure 3). These posi ti oners hol d the
hori zontal rebar above the cross
web, al l owi ng for grout to com-
pl etel y surround the steel .
Low-lift grouting
Some contractors favor l ow-l i ft
grouti ng because cl eanouts are
not requi red. However, any mor-
tar droppi ngs or debri s sti l l must
be removed from the bottom of
the space or cel l . The i nspector
c a n l o o k d o w n t h e c e l l s t o s e e
that they are al i gned and free of
excessi ve mortar and that the
steel i s i n the proper l ocati on.
I n l ow-l i ft grouti ng, the wal l i s
bui l t i n i ncrements, and the grout
pours must be 5 feet or l ess i n
hei ght. Be sure to al l ow enough
ti me for the mortar joi nts to set
To create the cleanout holes required in
high-lift grouting, you can cut holes in
the face shells (as shown), remove face
shells, or leave out masonry units.
so they can wi thstand the grout
pressure. Pour grout i nto al l rei n-
forced cel l s to a hei ght at l east 1
1
2
i nches bel ow the l ast mortared
bed joi nt, to create a shear key
or prevent a pl ane of weakness
where mortar and grout joi nts
meet. Pour the l ast segment to
the top of the wal l .
I f the g r o u tp o u r sa r em o r et h a n
1 2 i n c h e s i n h e i g h t , t h e g r o u t
must be consol i dated and recon-
sol i dated by mechani cal vi bra-
ti on; i f the pours are 12 i nches or
l ess, the grout may be consol i dat-
ed by puddl i ng or vi brati on.
High-lift grouting
H i g h - l i f t g r o u t i n gr e q u i r e m e n t s
m u s t b e s a t i s f i e d w h e n g r o u t
pours exceed 5 feet. Thi s method
al l ows wal l s to be bui l t to thei r
ful l hei ght before grouti ngup to
24 feet. Cl eanout hol es are re-
qui red at the bottom of any cel l
w i t h v e r t i c a l r e i n f o r c e m e n t i n
hol l ow grouted constructi on and
every 32 i nches or l ess i n mul ti -
wythe constructi on. These hol es
al l ow easy removal of debri s from
the grout space before grouti ng
and enabl e an i nspector to veri fy
that the grout space i s cl ean and
t h er e i n f o r c e m e n tp r o p e r l yl o c a t e d .
When youre usi ng cl eanouts,
i ts i mportant to put sand i n the
bottom cel l s, so any mortar that
drops to the bottom doesnt sti ck,
says Dave Eatherton of Denver-
based Eatherton Masonry I nc.
Otherwi se, you wi l l have a di ffi -
cul t ti me getti ng the mortar drop-
pi ngs out.
There are several ways to cre-
ate cl eanouts. You can l eave out
m a s o n r yu n i t s ,r e m o v e
f a c es h e l l s ,o r c u t h o l e s
i n t h e f a c e s h e l l s .
Cl eanout hol es should
be at least 3 i nches
long and 3 i nches hi gh
(Ref. 5).
You must remove al l
mortar fi ns that pro-
trude more than
1
2 i nch
from the masonry i nto
the grout space. A l ot
of speci fi cati ons say to
use ei ther pressuri zed
water or ai r, Eather -
ton observes. But i f
you l eave 2000-psi
mortar protrudi ng i nto
the cel l space, i t wi l l be
hard to break off wi th
ai r. We prefer to rod
the cel l out; we bounce
rebar up and down to
di sl odge mortar parti cl es.
To r e m o v et h ed e b r i sf r o mc l e a n-
out hol es, Eatherton uses metal
condui t. We just cut the condui t
i nto 16-i nch-l ong pi eces, fl atten
out the end, and bend i t i nto an
L-shaped scoop. Pressuri zed ai r
or water can be used to bl ow or
wash out l oose debri s.
Pl ace grout i n l i fts of not more
than 6 feet. I n hi gh-l i ft grouti ng,
a g r o u t l i f t i s a l a y e r o f g r o u t
p l a c e d i n a s i n g l ec o n t i n u o u so p e r-
ati on; a pour i s the enti re hei ght
of grout pl aced i n one day and
m a yc o n s i s t o fs e v e r a l l i f t s( R e f . 3 ) .
I n hi gh-l i ft grouti ng jobs, grout
usual l y i s pumped rather than
p o u r e d .R e a d ym i xg r o u ti sb r o u g h t
t o t h e j o b s i t e i n a t r a n s i t m i x
truck, l oaded i nto a grout pump,
and pumped i nto the masonry
cel l s through a l ong hose.
Consolidating grout
Grout must be vibrated twice,
e m p h a s i z e s D o n Wa k e f i e l d o f
Masonry I nformation Servi ce in
S a n d y, Utah. Contr actors some-
times try to take shortcuts i n thi s
step of grouting.
The fi rst vibrati oncal led con-
soli dati ontakes place ri ght aft e r
t h e g r o u t h a s b e e n p l a c e d . C o n-
sol idati on moves the grout around
and fi ll s in all the voids, s u c h a s
a n y u n d e r h o r i z o n t a l steel or
head joi nts that arent completel y
ful l, Wakefiel d expl ai ns.
Then when the grout i s sti l l
pl asti canywhere from 15 to 35
mi nutes l ater, dependi ng on the
temperature and how absorpti ve
the masonry uni ts arei t must
be reconsol i dated. Thi s col l apses
al l the ai r pockets l eft when the
l i qui d i s absorbed by the masonry
uni ts. Reconsol i dati on al so hel ps
prevent settl ement and
shri nkage separati ons from the
rei nforci ng steel and promotes
bondi ng to the masonry uni ts.
For consol i dati on and reconsol -
i dati on, use a l ow-vel oci ty vi bra-
tor wi th a
3
4-i nch head (Ref. 6).
I n hol l ow sol i d-grouted masonry,
pl ace the vi brator i nto the grout-
ed cel l s down to the bottom of the
l i f t , a c t i v a t i n gi tf o r 1 t o 2 s e c o n d s .
We sti ck that vi brator down,
One worker positions rebar in the proper location,
while another pumps grout into cells of this single-
wythe wall.
Figure 2. Positioner for vertical rebar
divides cell in a tic-tac-toe pattern.
Source: R ef. 3
Figure 3. Cradle-type positioners can
hold both vertical and horizontal rebar.
S o u rce: W C R Fabricators.
turn i t on, and pul l i t up, notes
R e n n i e Te j e d a , o w n e r o f R & R
M a s o n r y i n N o r t h H o l l y w o o d ,
Cal i f. I f you l eave i t down there
too l ong, i t vi brates so much that
i t breaks the wal l apart.
Someti mes, i f cel l s are too con-
gested wi th steel , you can pl ace
the vi brator i n adjacent grouted
cel l s. When sol i d-grouti ng a mul -
ti wythe wal l , pl ace the vi brator
i n the grout at poi nts spaced 12
i nches to 16 i nches apart (Ref. 6).
Use inspection
Si nce many cri ti cal steps are
i nvol ved i n rei nforced masonry
constructi on, i t i s i mportant to
have an i nspector make sure that
no shortcuts are taken (Ref. 7).
By speci fyi ng i nspecti on, desi gn-
ers can be sure thei r pl ans and
s p e c i f i c a t i o n s a r ef o l l o w e d .T h eI n-
ternati onal Conference of Bui l d-
i ng Offi ci al s i ncl udes an econom-
i c i n c e n t i v e t o s p e c i f y w h a t i s
known as speci al i nspecti on i n
the UBC (see The Benefi ts of I n-
spected Constructi on, Masonry
Construction, December 1994).
When masonry structures are
rei nforced, they can wi thstand
the extreme l ateral l oadi ng con-
d i t i o n s o f e a r t h q u a k e s , h u r r i -
canes, and tornadoes. I n areas
not i mpacted by such l oads, rei n-
forcement as requi red al l ows for
more effi ci ent, cost-effecti ve con-
structi on.
References
1. Kenneth A. Hooker, Special Block for
Reinforcing, Masonry Construction, June
1991, pages 214-215.
2. Bruce A. Suprenant and Jeffrey L. Groom,
Designing Grout Mixes, Masonry Con-
struction, June 1991, pages 218-220.
3. Reinforced Concrete Masonry Construc-
ti o n I ns p ec to rs H and b o o k, e d i t e d b y
James E. Amrhein and Michael W. Merrigan,
Masonry Institute of America, 2550 Beverly
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057.
4. How to Install Reinforcing Steel, Ma-
sonry Construction, June 1991, pages 225-
227.
5. Brent A. Gabby and J. Gregg Borchelt,
How to Place Grout, Masonry Construc-
tion, June 1991, pages 216-220.
6. ACI 530.1/ASCE 6/TMS 602 Specifica-
tio ns f o r M as o nry S truc tures, M a s o n ry
Standards Joint Committee, 1992, The Ma-
sonry Society, 3775 Iris Ave., Ste. 6, Boul-
der, CO 80301.
7. Carolyn Schierhorn, The Benefits of In-
spected Construction, Masonry Construc-
tion, December 1994, pages 568-571.
Grout must be consolidated right after
the grout has been placed, then recon-
solidated while still plastic.
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