New concepts to be included in standard on enclosure walls

Masonry work is characterised by the placing by hand of prismatic bricks or blocks side to side in successive horizontal courses or layers taking care to avoid the vertical continuity of the joints between units and achieving a perfect bond between the same by means of a light intermediate material in the form of mortar. In order to solve the difficulty of vertically reinforcing the brickwork, due to the lack of vertical and continuous voids within the same, a new technology for vertically reinforcing masonry walls has been developed using redesigned masonry units and new prefabricated reinforcement in order to allow the reinforcement to be placed through lateral voids in the brick. The combination of universal masonry, so-named as it permits vertical reinforcement, together with traditional prefabricated bed-joint reinforcement, and the new reinforcing ribs embedded in large perforations which are opened out from the universal masonry unit, all serve to broaden the scope of application of masonry. The incorporation of this new method of reinforcement by lateral access of new universal masonry units, together with the latest types of prefabricated rib, all require new terminology and suitable inclusion within the building standards as the will account for substancial changes in building techniques and applications, and have a broad area of scope within Spanish enclosure walls