Switching Gears: Masonry For The Full House?

bnentrup

I am getting ready to build a home, and have been looking into the final stage of veneer bricking my house. I have a great rate quoted for the labor and materials, but in the process 'discovered' Quik Brick. I suppose that I did not realize that there was an affordable structural brick for residential (even though this is designed for commercial primarily). Well, I have a CRAZY price for the right number of block I need: They have 4" tall 12" deep x 16" wide in stock.

EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TO CHANGE???? I say that as a question because I know NOTHING about masonry. I am a framer and have always chosen wood in the past. There are a few hurdles that I must overcome (such as attaching joists to the masonry) but other than that, I am flexible. I am asking these questions in a masonry forum, but generally, I 'think' that masonry is probably a great way to go. Any problems doing a full frame of masonry?

The brief thoughts as of now:
-12" thick walls : I will want to minimize vertical reinforcement but still keep above standard... the reasoning is to be able to put sufficient insulation in the cavities. See question below
-2 story house with basement... in essence qty 3 9' walls.
-Dormer sides will be masonry to top of peak
-many many windows in the home (25 or so is likely)

Questions as of now:
-standards on vertical vs horizontal reinforcement. Is there any education on the web for these standards. I realize that my engineer will have insight (The mason simply said talk to the engineer), but I also want to know options vs opinion. If it is possible to have all horizontal reinforcement on this size of structure (40'x28' square and about 30' tall from grade to side gable peak (about 6' additional under grade). Is there any example/standard that allows horizontal reinforcement over rebar and grout/vertical?

-lintels: again, I am not a mason... Since I am using Quik Brick-- should I look at steel lintels vs precast? I want it to look uniform, therefore assume that a precast will throw that off with the different coloring/style. Also, being that I am re-pricing this project considering going full masonry here... are lintels a big expense? I have 25 or so windows that are about 36" wide plus a few doors.

-Mortar: With that size of block (again the 12" deep are very affordable) the cost of mortar goes UP! Is mixing mortar onsite with bulk materials (making your own mix) something I can trust my mason to do? I know most in the past have always asked me to buy the bagged versions. Will I save substantially by buying bulk materials (I can figure out how to keep them dry)!

-Attaching those joists.. I have 20" floor trusses that I will be using. I will be able to communicate with the engineer/manufacturer what my needs are, but just so I can have some pre-knowledge of how to handle this.. what are some of the best ways of attaching floor trusses to masonry? These will be 28' clearspan trusses. My initial thought was a girder/ledger around the permiter, and attach with masonry screws per code (not knowing what the code is yet).

-Is there a website that states code requirements (International Building Code is what my local office claim has the only jurisdiction for them) for wall heights/reinforcement requirements?

-Expenses: Here are the expenses as I See it.. am i forgetting anything?
1.) mason labor
2.) block material
3.) dura-wire horizontal reinforcement (if I can just do horizontal reinforcement on these walls)
4.) mortar material (s) (sand, lime, portland or bag mixed)
5.) lintels for windows and door openings
----

anything else I need to consider? This is a great-unknown for me, but I am willing to pass the construction baton to my mason if this is the best route. Of course he says it is (3-times the work for him!).... the obstacles may be small, or I may be overlooking expenses.

NJ Brickie

Here is a good place to start. If you have any more questions come back here. There are alot of people here with a wealth of knowledge.

http://www.northvirginiahomes.com/hu...te-masonry.pdf

Also those "quik brick" are not brick at all. They are a colored half high CMU. I have layed them on large commercial buildings but I'm not sure how good they would look on something as small a house.