I've used concrete tie beams to strap isolated footings together in the past, but never at the top of the CMU wall. What the contractor was suggesting wasn't a beam per se, as he just wanted to keep the wall vertical reinforcing in the grout (essentially a very fluid concrete mix with pea...
I've had a contractor request forming and pouring grout in place of cutting block at the top of a CMU shear wall where the roof deck slopes. The contractor would like to stop the CMU 8" below the low point of the sloped wall, place the bond beam at that elevation and then pour 8" to 16" of...