Masonry Veneer

Veneer is a nonstructural facing of brick, stone, concrete masonry or other masonry material securely attached to a wall or backing. Veneers provide the exterior wall finish and transfer out-of-plane loads directly to the backing, but they are not considered to add to the load resisting capacity of the wall system.

For the purposes of design, veneer is assumed to support no load other than its own weight. The backing must be designed to support the vertical and lateral loads imposed by the veneer in addition to the design loads on the wall since it is assumed the veneer does not add to the strength of the wall.

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