boffintech
Civil/Environmental
- Jul 29, 2005
- 469
I hear the phrase “non-load bearing” in reference to CMU walls a lot. This occurs mostly when contractors are trying to weasel out of fixing CMU walls they forgot to place the rebar in, forgot to properly consolidate the grout in, or placed the CMU in 25ºF weather without heating the ingredients of the mortar/grout.
Please correct me if I am wrong but just about any exterior CMU wall is “load bearing” because it resists lateral (wind) loads. Is it accurate to refer to a CMU wall with 0 vertical load but with potential wind/seismic loads as “non-load bearing”?
OK, interior partition walls, I'll give that as non-load bearing, but exterior...?
Please correct me if I am wrong but just about any exterior CMU wall is “load bearing” because it resists lateral (wind) loads. Is it accurate to refer to a CMU wall with 0 vertical load but with potential wind/seismic loads as “non-load bearing”?
OK, interior partition walls, I'll give that as non-load bearing, but exterior...?