Multi-Wythe Exterior Loadbearing Walls

In 1995 the Masonry Institute of Michigan established a committee to develop generic masonry wall details. The primary goal of the committee was to create "user friendly" masonry details for the design community. The economy and functionality of these details will compliment masonry's inherent quality as a durable building material.

Generic Wall Design Committee Members

The Masonry Institute of Michigan would like to express our appreciation to all the members who have served on the Generic Wall Design committee since its inception. Special thanks are in order to Ghafari Associates, Giffels Associates, and Dailey Engineering for providing drafting services. In particular, we would like to thank the committee chairperson Todd Dailey.

How to use these details

The masonry details shown in these designs are conceptual. They were developed for and based on a generic building. The actual application of the design details for a real building shall be the responsibility of the user. These designs were developed simply as an aid for designers involved in the decision making process.

For buildings to perform satisfactorily, the building envelope containing the masonry walls shall also be designed for structural, aesthetic and environmental issues. To insure the environmental adequacy of the building, the following should be considered: fire resistance, thermal performance, condensation considerations, rain penetration and sound control.

As a result of the lack of prescriptive code requirements for rain penetration and lack of standardization in many facets of construction, the designer bears a large responsibility in the decision making process. The generic wall designs focus on provisions to minimize and control rain penetration.