Preface
This is the fifth edition of CSA A371, Masonry construction for buildings. It supersedes the previous editions, published in 2004, 1994, 1984, and 1980. It is based on the requirements of the National Building Code of Canada.
The goal of this Standard is to help ensure construction of safe and serviceable masonry structures consistent with the intent and engineering principles of CSA S304, Design of masonry structures. To enable this Standard to be used with CSA S304 and CSA A370, Connectors for masonry, the Technical Committee has worked closely with the Technical Committees responsible for preparing CSA S304 and CSA A370.
Significant changes in this edition include the following:
a) prescriptive installation requirements for parapets have been withdrawn;
b) requirements for cold weather construction have been updated;
c) installation requirements for self -consolidating grout have been added;
d) prescriptive installation and design requirements for veneer secured by mortar adhesion (Annex A) have been withdrawn;
e) guidance provisions for air, water, thermal, and vapour protection have been withdrawn (Annex B). Some insulation installation provisions have been retained and moved;
f) new requirements for the installation of anchor bolts have been added;
g) new requirements for the construction of arches have been added.
This Standard is prescriptive and is directed largely toward masonry contractors. Users of this Standard should note that it is not intended to assign responsibility to either the designer or the contractor. However, some effort has been made to separate design requirements from construction requirements, to present only construction requirements in the main body of this Standard, and to present related design requirements in the annexes. It is intended that this Standard should contain only requirements that a contractor could reasonably be expected to understand and comply with. To prevent user confusion concerning mandatory versus non-mandatory requirements, information of an advisory or educational nature has been minimized. Non-mandatory material necessary for understanding this Standard, or for the sake of completeness, is located either in notes to the appropriate clause or in an annex.
This Standard has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group.
Scope
1.1
This Standard specifies minimum requirements for masonry materials and masonry construction.
Notes:
1) Requirements for structural design of masonry are specified in CSA S304.
2) If a requirement specified in Part 9 of the National Building Code of Canada differs from a requirement specified in this Standard, the requirement specified in this Standard should be followed.
3) General requirements for environmental separation are specified in Part 5 of the National Building Code of Canada.
1.2
This Standard does not apply to prefabricated panelized unit masonry construction.
1.3
In this Standard, shall is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the standard; should is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and may is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the standard.
Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material.
Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements.
Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (nonmandatory) to define their application.
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