Ledger Board, Brick Veneer

[Archie264]

The 2009 edition of the IRC prohibits anchorage of a ledger board (or any other structural system) to or through brick veneer (Section 703.7.3). That certainly seems reasonable. How about a multi-wythe wall with an internal cavity space? Would that fall into the same category? ACI-530 refers to such walls as multi-wythe, non-composite cavity walls, I believe. Would the same limitations apply? Thanks in advance.

 

[dhengr]

Yes, unless a competent engineer has designed the wall to take the concentrated vertical and lateral loads which might be imposed on the wall.

 

[concretemasonry]

There are 2 different types of brick veneers - attached or multi-wythe cavity walls with a prescribed and controlled void spacing.

In the case of traditional/true veneer, running a lag screw or lag bolt through the veneer is generally not acceptable because of the possibility or collapsing the air space.

Obviously, a true brick veneer is not load-bearing and is not meant to be. The length and supported required length of the bolts and the flexure due to bending precludes any real vertical strength.

In the minor cases of supporting a wood deck or similar, a ledger support is somewhat common with the associated moisture and flashing problems is still being used on some low cost installations. There are approved methods and material to attach a structure to a true multi-wythe cavity wall if they are specified and installed correctly.

Dick

Engineer and international traveler interested in construction techniques, problems and proper design.