brick pier question

huangyhg

brick pier question
i have a question for some of you today. in the nc area, it is a common practice to use the brick curtian wall with piers as a foundation for a residential home. lvl's are used to span the distance serving as the band for the joists. my question is this. what benefit does this method serve? is it quicker for a mason to lay out the locations of the piers than to lay a masonry wall? what about cost? how cost effective is it to buy large quanities of lvl's compared to masonry? i was just trying to get a couple of insights on this one. thanks.
hoolie (visitor)10 sep 02 16:47
visually, the homeowner wants to see a brick masonry foundation wall.  to support the floor system, you either need 8 inches of masonry wall or masonry piers.  economically, the mason does not want to pay for 8 inches thick of brick masonry, or even 4 inch of brick and 4 inch of block.  the use of brick piers with 4 inch wall is the cheapest way to get the brick look and provide the code required support for the floor system.