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Masonry wall design to SANS 10164

A masonry wall is strong in compression but weak in tension, so the design is about how straight the load path stays. A load that sits off-centre (eccentric), and a tall thin wall that bows out, both reduce the compression the wall can carry. Wind on the face bends the wall like a slab supported on its edges, which the bond of the mortar must resist. Every number below comes from the free STATIX masonry wall calculator with the inputs in step 1.

1. The problem

Input	Value
Design code	SANS 10164-1
Design type	Unreinforced wall
Construction	Single leaf
Thickness t	190 mm
Clear height h	2700 mm
Effective height ρ	0.75 — enhanced (RC floor/roof both ends)
Unit	Standard format brick — Table 3(a)
Unit height for the δ helper	73 mm (standard brick)
Unit width least horizontal size	106 mm (standard brick)
90 × 90 modular brick SANS 10164-1 4.2.2.2(c)	No — standard format (222 × 106 × 73)
Unit strength fu	14.0 MPa
Mortar class	Class II — 7.0
Axial NEd ULS	120 kN/m
Eccentricity ex	7.0 mm
Panel length L	3.6 m
Wind Wk	0.7 kPa

2. Masonry strength f_k

The characteristic strength of the wall depends on the strength of the units (bricks or blocks), their shape and the mortar class. It is read from the code tables and adjusted for small areas or unit format where needed.

units 14 MPa, mortar class II → table 3(a) — standard format bricks base 5.10 MPa f_k = 5.10 MPa, γ_m = 3.50

3. Slenderness and eccentricity

The effective height depends on how the wall is held at top and bottom; the effective thickness on its build-up. Their ratio is the slenderness, which has a limit. The load eccentricity, plus the extra eccentricity from the wall bowing, gives a capacity reduction factor β.

h_ef = 0.75 × 2,700 = 2,025 mm, t_ef = 190 mm slenderness SR = 10.66 eccentricity: load 9.5 mm (the minimum t/20 governs) + slenderness 6.1 mm → e_m = 11.8 mm β = 0.957

4. Vertical load capacity

The design capacity per metre is β × t × f_k / γ_m. It must be at least the design vertical load.

N_Rd = 264.9 kN/m (EN 1996 cross-check 215.6) N_Ed / N_Rd: 120.0 ≤ 264.9 kN/m OK

5. Wind on the face

Wind pushes on the face of the wall; it spans between its supports like a two-way slab. The wall is much stronger bending across the bed joints (perpendicular) than along them (parallel); the ratio μ shares the moment between the two directions, using a bending moment coefficient α.

W_k = 0.70 kPa × γ_f 1.60, α = 0.040, μ = 0.417 f_kx: parallel 0.25, perpendicular 0.60 MPa M perpendicular / M_R: 0.581 ≤ 1.031 kNm/m OK M parallel / M_R: 0.242 ≤ 0.430 kNm/m OK

Cavity walls share the load between the leaves; Eurocode 6 uses a capacity factor Φ instead of β. The calc sheet shows the route chosen.

Run this example yourselfOpen the free STATIX masonry wall calculator and press Load the example (190 mm brick wall, 2,7 m) under "How it is calculated". Change any value and every step updates, with a calc sheet.
Open the masonry wall calculator

A worked example for learning, not a design. Check every value against the current code and your own project, and have the design checked and signed by a registered professional engineer.

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