The 2011 edition of the national masonry design code and minimum specification is now available from The Masonry Society. It represents a major update from the 2008 edition both in technical requirements and in layout. This edition will be referenced by the 2012 International Building Code for the design and construction of structural masonry, veneer, and glass unit masonry. It has been updated to be consistent with the requirements in ASCE 7-10, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, which includes a new strength basis for wind loads.

Many revisions and enhancements have been made to the 2011 Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures including:

• a recalibration of allowable stresses,
• the addition of provisions for infill masonry,
• a refinement of the quality assurance/special inspection provisions for masonry that includes references to relevant requirements for each inspection task.

The new edition has been laid out in a Code/Commentary and Specification/Commentary sideby- side format (see sample to the right) so users can quickly review the commentary related to the Code and Specification provisions. Revision bars and deletion arrows that signify major changes and deletions from the 2008 edition have been maintained in the 2011 edition, and "bleed tabs" along the page edges allow the user to easily identify which portion of the document they are using.