vertical reinforcing for an 8" thick solid brick parapet

[samdamon]

I am designing an 8" wide brick parapet to resist wind load, and for architectural reasons the parapet width is constrained to 8". (This is a renovation). The parapet needs to be vertically reinforced. The only way to get the necessary grout clearance for vertical reinforcing bars appears to be to chip or grind the interior faces of the bricks to provide a vertical chase. This seems like an undesireable thing to do, since it introduces a notch and potential plane of weakness into the finished wall, and its probably also a lot of work. I have seen in the literature that there are hollow brick units available but have no experience with them. It is possible to use these nollow units and stagger bars in each wythe of the parapet to get the necessary flexural strength, but if anyone has dealt with a similar situation please comment, thanks.

 

[sdz]

You could try clay blocks but the appearance will be different.

http://www.qcbricks.com.au/Full Booklet.pdf

 

[shobroco]

How high is the parapet?

 

[samdamon]

Parapet height varies from 3' to 6'

 

[concretemasonry]

Since the project is a renovation with architectural controls, it is probable that the exposed surface be compatible with the rest of the brick.

From this position it may be best to cut out the the buried face of the brick (for reuse) since you will have to remove brick the entire height. When relaid, "cheat" on the outside wall thickness a bit to get more than the usual 3/8" wythe spacing. Fill the collar joint and grout around the rebar with a flowable fine grout (similar to the 8" to 11" slump used for engineered masonry).

If this wall is to be a cantilevered wall, you will have to find a way the attach the new vertical bars to to develop the strength. I would also use 8" horizontal joint reinforcement since parapet walls are subjected to weather and temperature differentials with both sides are expose on the top of a building.

All part of the cost of architecturally controlled renovations.

Dick

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

 

[samdamon]

Dick- Thanks for the very useful comments. Using a slightly wider collar joint will give the minimum grout space for fine grout per the ACI 530 table. If the wall is slightly wider by such a small amount, it probably wont matter architecturally.

Regards

 

[apsix]

I would be tempted to use galvanised (or stainless) rebar.

 

[doka1]

Could you use 6" cmu with thin brick as a face?