max brick veneer heigh

huangyhg

max brick veneer height?
can someone give some advice on how to figure the maximum height of brick veneer withou providing intermediate lintel support? i am talking about more than 50ft of brick. should it be supported at intermediate floors? (i am not talking about lateral support)
what type of backing?  there are prescriptive requirements for height in aci 530-05 chapter 6.
8" o 12" cmu backing
if it is over 50 feet in height, i would recommend that you support the brick vertically at the floor line. in muli-story construction with low floor to floor heights sometimes you can get away with supporting the brick vertically at every other floor. you want to support the brick vertically at roughly every 18 feet to allow for its vertical growth. you need to detail the shelf angle properly with flashing, a metal drip, a compressible filler below the angle (to accomodate the growth) and notched brick if a small looking joint is desired by the architect.
you cannot just stack up 50' of brick without any soft joints or relief angles.
brick has an long term expansion. steel, concrete and concrete masonry shrink or creep with time or loads.
it is not necessarily a structural problem, but a detailing/application situation.
the brick will go through its long term expansion a cause severe damage at windows or anything else that is rigid.
take a look at the bia (brick instutute of america) or similar for recommendations on the spacing of vertical joints/support.
dick
i think ibc 2003 defers to aci 530, which limits you to 30' without relieving angles etc. (chapter 6?)  here in ma we are limited to 30' as well unless analyzed by a design professional...
oh yeah.. the 30' has to start at a non combustible foundation... i don't think you can start at the first upper floor and go that tall-
.02
based on your answers, i would have to do a brick lintel, every 18' max, vertically to allow for vertical movement of adjacent structure. that means, attaching an angle directly to the backing cmu...the cmu itself will be 50 ft tall...would that be a problem?
we are not talking about a lintel. you need a continuously supported shelf (relief) angle with soft joints. 18 feet is not a magic number, but i would not exceed it. i would try to support the brick at each floor line, if possible.
if the cmu backup runs up continuous past the floors, then you will need to support off of the cmu. don't foget to tie your backup to the structure and account for the eccentric load due to the brick.
if the cmu backup sits on the structure at each floor, then you need to support your brick off of the framing.
got it. yes, i will provide relief angles at each floor level. also, the cmu backup will be braced of the structure, so that should compensate for the eccentric loading from the brick.
thanks
i do not believe the cmu tie to the structure will eliminate the eccentric load on the cmu from the brick.