Concrete block masonry

[Randy Rooster]

I have my footer poured and am wondering about laying the concrete blocks. How wet or damp can the footer be and still get a good bond to the blocks. ? I have heard of steel "ladder" reinforcement being inserted horizontally between the rows of blocks for extra strength. Does anyone have an opinion on using reinforecing steel in block walls?

[Windy in Kansas]

I am a strong believer in reinforcing for block walls. Decades ago I worked masonry construction while putting my now ex wife through college. All of the contractors used what you call the ladder reinforcement. I seem to recall they used it in every 6th course of block.

It should help stiffen a wall against wind load of tornado or hurricane strength.

[ginnie5]

we just did ours recently and the thing dh was most concerned with was the footer being clean. He did put rebar down in the blocks every so often and filled them with concrete and where there is a vent it is reinforced horizontally. hth!

[tamatik]

Here the ladder is called block lock.I used to lay blocks and its worth its weight in gold.I once had a customer who backfilled ALL the way up and 8ft wall.After a heavy rain he was awakened one nite to his basement wall having moved in about 6 in .He realized then that he backfilled with just dirt and not loose gravel/sand and had not put in weeping tile to wisk the water away..I came back and laid a kneewall in his basement.
Gord

[SolarGary]

You might want to think about using "dry stack" concrete block.

It is claimed to be stronger that mortared joint block walls, and it sure looks a lot easier to put up. It does typically use reinforcement in the cores.
There is a little data on dry stack on my site here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects...onps.htm#Stack
I'm sure Google would turn up more.

Gary

[farminghandyman]

when I laid block I used the "knock out block" and laid rebar into the block it self and filled with concrete, and I ran rebar in some of the cores of the block and filled with concrete,
(knock out block- looks like a regular block with with slots in the cores so one can "knock them out" when laid and lay rebar into, depending on where you are, some use them to build headers with, I don't like the trough block in this instant as there are not holes to run the up right rebar in them, the trough I think make a nicer looking header tho, some place call them bond beam blocks,)
http://www.kingsmaterial.com/pdf/kin...units8inch.pdf
this company calls them "bond beam knock outs".

nice site, interactive,
http://www.blocklayer.com/BlockWalls.aspx

I was never overly impressed with the ladder wire,

this an Australian manual but looks good except for the metric meausrments,
http://www.cmaa.com.au/pdf/MA45.pdf