September 8, 2018 - Orlando, FL
The Masonry Association of Florida (MAF) held its annual Masonry Apprentice competition and Fastest Trowel on the Block competition on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the Florida’s Best Block plant in Orlando, Florida.
The following apprentices were found to be the best in the state:
1st Year Apprentice Winners:
·        3rd Place - Dominic Lindsey – MCAF - K & D Construction
·        2nd Place - Tyler Austin - Central FL - Trinity Contractors, Inc.
·        1st Place - Ruddy Alvarez - Central FL - Trinity Contractors, Inc.
2nd Year Apprentice Winners:
·        3rd Place - Wildy Lozandier - SE Chapter - Coastal Masonry
·        2nd Place - Ruben Ramirez - SWFL MAF - Westcoast Structural
·        1st Place - Randall Pepevnik - MCAF - Pardue Masonry
3rd Place Apprentice Winners:
·        3rd Place - Jabari Francis - SE Chapter -Coastal Masonry
·        2nd Place - Jake Franklin - MCAF - E.L. Shearer C & M
·        1st Place - Kenny Tilghman - MCAF - Billy G & L Masonry
In addition to bragging rights, the winners were awarded cash prizes and our generous sponsors donated tool bags full of masonry tools to the winners.  

The MAF's Fastest Trowel on the Block, with six Florida teams competing, was also held on Saturday, September 8 at Florida's Best Block in Orlando.  

The team from Pascal Robertson Masonry, Inc.,  Irvin Willoughby (Mason) and Lawrence Singleton (Tender) took home the grand prize and the opportunity to represent Florida at the MCAA's Fastest Trowel on the Block national competition held in Las Vegas in early 2019.

The other winning teams were:

• 2nd Place - Chris Carlton (Mason) and Germaine Velasquez (Tender) - Capital Concrete & Masonry Solutions, Inc. 
• 3rd Place - Victor Leal (Mason) and Jonathon Smith (Tender) - Victory Masonry, Inc.

All of the winners were honored at the Saturday night MAF Masonry Excellence Banquet.  Congratulations to all who participated and thank you to all of our very generous sponsors!

Understanding the role of each of the team players involved with a masonry project is imperative. That’s why this one-of-a-kind workshop was developed. Unique in its big-picture approach to masonry it offers the latest information on all aspects of Design, Workmanship and Materials. Members from the entire masonry family, from building inspectors and architects to masons and engineers, are in attendance at each class. The course instructors are 5 distinguished members of our industry each with a lifetime of “on the job” experience. Instructors present both basic and up-to-date issues in their field while focusing on how each discipline works with the others to ensure quality masonry.

NEW CODES & STANDARDS
Workshop covers all the new codes and standards used in masonry: 2016 TMS 402/602 (Formally ACI 530/530.1); Updated ASTM Standards referenced by the 6th Edition Florida Building Code; Updated BIA and NCMA Tech Notes; changes to the Florida 6th Edition masonry chapter and much more!

Masonry's Greatest Strength
Long time South Florida residents who have weathered a severe hurricane often express a heartfelt thankfulness that they were in a concrete masonry structure. Structures built of many lesser products have weathered hurricanes but block homes provide the secure comfort of rock solid construction. This is not just antidotal – its common sense. After reading this article perhaps you will have a better understanding of concrete masonry’s built in strength.

It’s all about the “safety factor”. Simply stated the “safety factor” is the difference between what engineers expect will be the largest wind load a structure will ever be exposed to --- and the wind load that they calculate would rip the structure apart. Structural engineers always like a good safety factor – usually around 3 times or 300%. Poor construction and material deficiencies erode safety factors but if you have sufficient safety factor there is some room for error.

Understanding Wood Frame Connection Problems
Wood frame residential structures have performed poorly in every wind event I have had the opportunity to do wind damage assessment on. The problem is not in the wood itself but in the connectors. A tree branch can be very strong – but if you saw it off you will have a real problem on your hands to nail it back on to its original strength.
The lumber industry is extremely sophisticated in their design procedures. Nails and connections are assigned industry accepted load carrying capacities and safety factors based on extensive testing. All of this is proper engineering. There is, however, a number of factors which explain why Hurricane Irma left dozens of modern wood structures in ruins and zero concrete masonry structures in ruins.

These are:

• Product Weight and Stability
• Natural Safety Factors in Design
• Complexity in Design
• Complexity in Connections

Read More: "Brick, Block & Beers" Volume I, Issue IV (December 2017)
​

Have you ever had someone or something encroach on your personal space so badly that you wanted to scream “Back Off!”? So how close is too close?

When my daughters were in high school, they went to a school that had a “Six Inch Rule”. Boys and girls had a 6” rule of separation. Now, as most of you fathers of daughters know, six inches is simply not enough!

A distance that can be critical for a masonry contractor is the distance from which masonry should be viewed to determine its acceptability. If we have reached the point of trying to view the masonry from a certain distance, we already have a problem. 

​Read the whole story here: https://www.masonrymagazine.com/blog/2017/06/01/painters-corner-mcaa-magazine-2/
​

The categories for the 2017 Masonry Excellence Awards Program will follow the same format as last year, as part of our partnership with the AIA of Florida, we are awarding honors in three main categories:

• Brick
• Block and Stucco
• Architectural Units

Each category is represented well in the construction industry in Florida, from traditional Mediterranean stucco and block, exposed ground face and split face architectural units to traditional brick and block cavity wall construction. 

An overall winner from each of the main categories, as well as one Project of the Year will be featured in a supplemental publication going to all 4400 AIA Florida member architects in the state.
​
Deadline for entries is July 1, 2017.  Please submit your entry online at: www.masonryawards.com
​
If you have questions, please contact Masonry Excellence Awards Chairman Chris Bettinger chris.bettinger@oldcastle.com  or MAF Marketing Director, Deb Bartolucci deb@floridamasonry.com.

The Florida Department of Corrections is starting a NEW training program at Sego Re-Entry in Pahokee. The inmates are destined to be released into the Broward County area. A program was just started at Everglades Re-Entry in Dade County. These inmates will have one year of NCCER training when they are released. If YOU know some one who may be interested, we need an instructor. When these individuals are released they will be available to local area mason contractors that need trained workers. Jim Painter, Executive Director of the Florida Concrete Masonry Education Council anticipates that upwards of 250 individuals will be enrolled and successfully complete the program each year and will be available to help close the gap for our Florida masonry contractor's employment needs. 

For more information, or to apply: http://bit.ly/2pDcgIq​

May 4-5 2017 (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - The Masonry Association of Florida held a two-day Masonry Construction & Inspection Certification workshop for the city of Fort Lauderdale Department of Sustainability at the Safety and Training center in downtown Fort Lauderdale.  Attendees included City of Fort Lauderdale and Davie, Florida building inspectors and contractors from Miami and Orange Park, Florida.  Thank you to Robyn Randall, City of Fort Lauderdale Training Manager for coordinating the course with the MAF's Deb Bartolucci and Don Beers.  Special thanks to instructors: Alex Hockman (FLAPB), Chris Bettinger (Oldcastle), Greg Moody (CEMEX), Don Beers (MAF) and Jerry Painter (Painter Masonry) for making themselves available to teach this important class.   Additional Masonry Workshop class dates for 2017 are available by visiting: www.masonryworkshop.com ​

QUESTION: What is the tolerance of a CMU wall? How far out of plumb can a CMU wall be and still be
within code?

As everyone should be aware the “code” in question is the “Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures” (aka, TMS 402/602). The answer to the question is found in TMS Specification Article 3.3F titled “Site Tolerances”,
which gives several construction tolerances.

​Read more>