Course Outline

Brick veneer/steel stud wall system is one of the most commonly used wall systems for both low-rise and high-rise buildings. This course provides general guidance on brick veneer/steel stud wall system design to engineers, architects, and contractors. The course materials are based on Tech Note 28B of The Brick Industry Association, which addresses the considerations and recommendations for the design, detailing, materials selection and construction of brick veneer/steel stud panel walls. The information presented pertains to behavior of veneer, differential movement, ties and anchors, air space, detailing, selection of materials and construction techniques.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:

•   Understand the properties of brick veneer/steel stud walls;
•   Understand the importance of moisture and air barriers;
•   Understand the proper detailing of expansion joints;
•   Understand the thermal characteristics of brick veneer/steel stud wall systems;
•   Select proper materials related to brick veneer/steel stud wall construction;
•   Get familiar with the structural design aspects of brick veneer/steel stud wall systems;
•   Identify good detailing and construction practice for brick veneer/steel stud wall systems;
•   Specify proper type of bricks and mortars;
•   Specify adequate air barriers and vapor retarders;
•   Specify steel studs with adequate thickness and protective coating;
•   Specify proper sheathing and screws; and
•   Specify adequate construction details and performance requirements.

Course Content

The brick veneer/steel stud wall system is one of the most common building exteriors for commercial and institutional structures. The system offers many benefits, such as attractive appearance, high resistance to water penetration, low thermal transmission rate and low maintenance.

Although the project architect is responsible for the detailing of brick walls, it is beneficial for structural engineers to have a thorough understanding of the entire brick veneer/steel stud system. Besides, the structural engineer of record is often responsible for establishing the following design criteria for the steel studs supporting brick veneer:

1. Building Code and Year
2. Wind Speed
3. Building Category or Importance Factor
4. Building Exposure
5. Deflection Limitation
6. Minimum Material Thickness

For non-load bearing walls, slide connections are usually required at or near the top of studs. There are several types of slide clips on the market. The innovative Verticlips distributed by The Steel Network offer solutions for many different applications.

For load-bearing studs, the designer shall emphasize the importance of direct bearing between stud and webs of top and bottom tracks. In other words, no gap is permitted at the top and bottom of load-bearing studs.

In this lesson, you will be directed to the website of Brick Industry of America (BIA) to study:

Technical Note 28B - Brick Veneer, Steel Stud Walls (PDF format, 2005 edition, 15 pages).

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. This technical document can be downloaded or printed free of charge.

For more information about steel studs, the reader may refer to PDH online course S101 "An Overview of Cold-Formed Steel Structures".

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

The BIA Tech Note 44B - Wall Ties for Brick Masonry
American Iron and Steel Institute
Steel Stud Manufacturers Association

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.