Comparison Between Masonry Codes Used in Different Countries

Masonry is one of the first building materials to be used structurally, these designs can be seen all throughout the world and across history. Almost every country has their own masonry code or guidelines that are followed for masonry design. This paper will compare four masonry codes from four different countries to identify the similarities and differences in design aspects and analyze which code may have a stronger design approach than other codes. The codes being analyzed are the United States code TMS 402-16, European code (EC6) EN 1996:2005, the New Zealand code NZS 4230:2004 and the Indian code IS 1905:1987. Strength design and allowable stress design methodologies are both looked at in this paper for reinforced and unreinforced masonry. The code comparison shows many similarities within the country’s codes but also many differences that affect the overall design of masonry. Comparing and analyzing different countries masonry codes can provide useful information for future updating of these countries’ masonry codes.