What is the purpose of joint reinforcement in masonry walls?
In a previous issue of the Masonry enewsletter, we showed the above drawing with eye-and-pintle ties on a two-wythe wall. These two-piece tie assemblies are designed to connect one wythe to the other while allowing for some adjustment for joints that do not align at the exact same height. A brick expert who read the item, John Bufford of Acme Brick, sent a comment about the ties suggesting that the use of continuous wire reinforcement and anchors was a far more common tie detail as it serves the dual function of connecting the two wythes together while simultaneously providing longitudinal reinforcement in the concrete masonry backup system for crack control purposes. On further investigation with Jason Thompson of the National Concrete Masonry Association, we agreed that the unit ties originally shown, which do not have longitudinal reinforcement as part of the tie assembly, are not an effective means of providing crack control measures for the concrete masonry wall backup. To accommo
