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Chapter 21 — MASONRY

Section 2104

California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) · 2019 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California

Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.

2104.1 Masonry construction.

Masonry construction shall comply with the requirements of Sections 2104.1.1 through 2104.1.3 and with the requirements of either TMS 602 or TMS 604. [OSHPD 1R, 2 & 5] Architectural cast stone con- struction shall be considered as an alternative system.

2104.1.1 Support on wood. Masonry shall not be supported on wood girders or other forms of wood construction except as permitted in Section 2304.12.

2104.1.2 Molded cornices. Unless structural support and anchorage are provided to resist the overturning moment, the center of gravity of projecting masonry or molded cornices shall lie within the middle one-third of the supporting wall. Terra cotta and metal cornices shall be provided with a structural frame of approved noncombustible material anchored in an approved manner.

2104.2 Grouted masonry. [OSHPD 1R, 2 & 5]

2104.2.1 General conditions. Prior to grouting, the grout space shall be clean so that all spaces to be filled with grout do not contain mortar projections greater than 1 /4 inch (6.4 mm), mortar droppings and other foreign material.

All cells shall be solidly filled with grout.

Exception: Reinforced hollow-unit masonry laid in running bond used for freestanding site walls or inte- rior nonbearing nonshear wall partitions may be grouted only in cells containing vertical and horizontal reinforcement.

Reinforcement and embedded items shall be clean, properly positioned and securely anchored against move- ment prior to grouting. Bolts shall be accurately set with templates or by approved equivalent means and held in place to prevent dislocation during grouting. Reinforce- ment, embedded items and bolts shall be solidly embedded in grout. Anchor bolts in the face shells of hollow masonry units shall be positioned to maintain a minimum of 1 /2 inch of grout between the bolt and the face shell.

The grouting of any section of wall shall be completed in one day with no interruptions greater than one hour. At

MASONRY

the time of laying, all masonry units shall be free of dust and dirt.

Grout pours greater than 12 inches (300 mm) in height shall be consolidated by mechanical vibration during placement to fill the grout space before loss of plasticity, and reconsolidated by mechanical vibration to minimize voids due to water loss. Grout pours less than 12 inches in height may be puddled.

Between grout pours or where grouting has been stopped more than an hour, a horizontal construction joint shall be formed by stopping all wythes at the same eleva- tion and with the grout stopping a minimum of 1 1 /2 inches (38 mm) below a mortar joint, except at the top of the wall. Where bond beams occur, the grout pour shall be stopped a minimum of 1 /2 inch (12.7 mm) below the top of the masonry.

The construction documents shall completely describe grouting procedures, subject to approval of OSHPD.

2104.3 Aluminum equipment. [OSHPD 1R, 2 & 5]

Grout shall not be handled nor pumped utilizing aluminum equip- ment unless it can be demonstrated with the materials and equipment to be used that there will be no deleterious effect on the strength of the grout.

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▸Contents — California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
  1. Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
  2. Appendix G — FLOOD-RESISTANT
  3. Appendix L — EARTHQUAKE RECORDING
  4. Appendix M — TSUNAMI-GENERATED
  5. Chapter 1 — SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION
  6. Chapter 3 — OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
  7. Chapter 4 — SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED
  8. Chapter 5 — GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
  9. Chapter 6 — TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
  10. Chapter 7 — FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION FEATURES
  11. Chapter 7A — MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
  12. Chapter 8 — INTERIOR FINISHES
  13. Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS
  14. Chapter 10 — MEANS OF EGRESS
  15. Chapter 11A — HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY
  16. Chapter 11B — ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PUBLIC ACCOMM…
  17. Chapter 12 — INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT
  18. Chapter 14 — EXTERIOR WALLS
  19. Chapter 15 — ROOF ASSEMBLIES AND ROOFTOP STRUCTURES
  20. Chapter 16 — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  21. Chapter 16A — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  22. Chapter 17 — SPECIAL INSPECTIONS AND TESTS
  23. Chapter 18 — SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
  24. Chapter 19 — CONCRETE
  25. Chapter 20 — ALUMINUM
  26. ▸Chapter 21 — MASONRY
    Overview
    1. Section 2102
    2. Section 2101
    3. Section 2103
    4. Section 2104
    5. Section 2105
    6. Section 2106
    7. Section 2107
    8. Section 2108
    9. Section 2109
    10. Section 2110
    11. Section 2111
    12. Section 2112
    13. Section 2113
    14. Section 2114
    15. Section 2115
    16. Section 2102A
    17. Section 2103A
    18. Section 2101A
    19. Section 2104A
    20. Section 2105A
    21. Section 2106A
    22. Section 2107A
    23. Section 2111A
    24. Section 2108A
    25. Section 2109A
    26. Section 2110A
    27. Section 2112A
    28. Section 2113A
    29. Section 2114A
  27. Chapter 22 — STEEL
  28. Chapter 23 — WOOD
  29. Chapter 24 — GLASS AND GLAZING
  30. Chapter 25 — GYPSUM BOARD, GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS AND PLASTER
  31. Chapter 26 — PLASTIC
  32. Chapter 27 — ELECTRICAL
  33. Chapter 28 — MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
  34. Chapter 30 — ELEVATORS AND CONVEYING SYSTEMS
  35. Chapter 31 — SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION
  36. Chapter 31B — PUBLIC POOLS
  37. Chapter 31C — RADIATION
  38. Chapter 31D — FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
  39. Chapter 31F — MARINE OIL TERMINALS
  40. Chapter 32 — ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
  41. Chapter 33 — SAFEGUARDS DURING CONSTRUCTION
  42. Chapter 35 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
  43. Appendix A — EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS
  44. Appendix B — BOARD OF APPEALS
  45. Appendix C — GROUP U – AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
  46. Appendix D — FIRE DISTRICTS
  47. Appendix F — RODENTPROOFING
  48. Appendix H — SIGNS
  49. Appendix I — PATIO COVERS
  50. Appendix J — GRADING
  51. Appendix K — GROUP R-3 AND GROUP R-3.1 OCCUPANCIES
  52. Appendix N — REPLICABLE BUILDINGS
  53. Appendix O — EMERGENCY HOUSING

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