Commercial Masonry: Technical Notes & Details
NCMA
BIA
BIA — an authority in brick detailing and construction
Fire, Energy, and Sound Calculator
Building codes and designers at times will specify
minimum requirements for fire, energy, and sound. The building codes provide for
these requirements to be determined by the calculated method as an alternative to
actual physical testing of an assembly or utilization of a listing service to determine
those properties. This Fire, Energy, and Sound Calculator assists in determining those
requirements by calculated methods in accordance with the International Building Code
and other referenced standards as outlined in various NCMA TEK. Note that calculated
values tend to be more conservative than tested values. The purpose of the calculated
method is for a matter of convenience and flexibility to allow determination of the
literally infinite combinations of masonry unit and finish/filling of core options available.
It is not intended for a calculated value to supersede a tested value if one is available.