UPDATE OF MASONRY BUILDING CODE AND SPECIFICATION, 1995 TO 1998 EDITIONS

The Masonry Standards Joint committee (MSJC), sponsored by American Concrete Institute (ACI), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and The Masonry Society (TMS), has finished its work on the 1998 editions of the Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures (ACI 530-98/ASCE 5-98/TMS 402-98) and the Specification for Masonry Structures (ACI 530.1-98/ASCE 6-98/TMS 602-98). The changes made to the 1995 editions of the Code and Specification are expected to increase their usefulness to the design and construction community. The purpose of the code continues to be minimum requirements for the design and construction of masonry. It is to be used as part of legally adopted building codes. Therefore, it contains requirements with respect to the preparation of contract documents, but the Code is not intended to become part of those documents. The Specification continues to set minimum requirements for constructing masonry designed in accordance with the Code. This paper discusses formats and technical changes to the Code.