R609.6.2 Continuous Bond Beams Spanning Openings

Under the provisions of this section, bond beams shall:

1. Be 16 inches (406 mm) high nominal over openings, except cast-in-place concrete bond beams, which may be 12 inches (305 mm) high nominal.
2. Have top reinforcement continuous over the wall and opening.
3. Have bottom reinforcement extending past each side of the opening a minimum of 24 inches (610 mm) for concrete walls and 4 inches (102 mm) for masonry walls.
4. Meet the provisions of Tables R609.6.2.1(1), R609.6.2.1(2) and R609.6.2.1(3) as appropriate.

TABLE R609.6.2.1(1)
MAXIMUM CLEAR SPAN CAPACITY OF CONTINUOUS BOND BEAMS ACTING AS LINTELS
ONE STORY AND TOP STORY OF MULTISTORY BUILDINGS

ROOF SPAN (FT)	MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CLEAR SPAN (FT-IN)5
	BOND BEAM 6" THICK WALL1, 2, 4						BOND BEAM 8" THICK WALL1, 2, 4
	16-1	16-2	C12-1	C12-2	C16-1	C16-2	16-1	16-2	C12-1	C12-2	C16-1	C16-2
43	16-0	17-4	16-0	20-8	18-0	24-8	16-0	18-8	15-4	20-8	17-4	23-4
12	12-0	13-4	12-0	15-4	14-0	18-8	12-8	14-0	11-4	16-0	13-4	18-0
24	8-8	8-8	9-4	10-8	10-8	14-8	10-0	11-4	8-8	12-8	10-8	14-8
36	6-8	6-8	8-0	8-0	9-4	11-4	8-8	8-8	7-4	10-0	8-8	12-0
44	6-0	6-0	7-4	7-4	8-0	10-0	7-4	7-4	6-8	8-8	8-0	11-4
52	5-4	5-4	6-0	6-0	8-0	8-8	6-8	6-8	6-8	8-0	7-4	10-8
60	4-8	4-8	6-0	6-0	7-4	8-0	6-0	6-0	6-0	7-4	7-4	10-0

Notes:

1. Designation of bond beam types over openings:
   1. Letter C designates a concrete bond beam. All other bond beams are masonry.
   2. The first number denotes the nominal height of the bond beam in inches.
   3. The second number denotes the number of No. 5 reinforcing bars in the top and the bottom of the beam. A single (1) No. 7 bar may be used in lieu of two No. 5 bars. The bottom reinforcing steel shall be located no more than 2³/₄-inches (70 mm) clear distance from the bottom of masonry bond beams and 1¹/₂ inches (38 mm) for concrete bond beams.
2. All bond beams have reinforcement in the top as required by Tables R609.2.2A-1 through 609.2.2A-4 and Tables R609.2.2B-1 through R609.2.2B-8 as appropriate. If two No.5 are required in this table and only one No.5 is required by Tables R609.2.2A-1 through R609.2.2A-4 and Tables R609.2.2B-1 through R609.2.2B-8 as appropriate, the additional bar shall be placed in the top of the bond beam over the opening and shall extend past the opening a minimum of 24 inches (610 mm).
3. Use 4-foot (1219 mm) roof span for lintels in endwalls.
4. The bottom reinforcement in precast lintels may be used to satisfy the continuous bond beam bottom reinforcement requirement.
5. For roof dead loads more than 10 psf:
   1. For 20 psf roof dead load, multiply allowable clear spans by 0.85.
   2. For 30 psf roof dead load, multiply allowable clear spans by 0.75.
   3. Values for other roof dead loads may be interpolated.

TABLE R609.6.2.1(2)
MAXIMUM CLEAR SPAN OF CONTINUOUS BOND BEAMS ACTING AS LINTELS BOTTOM STORY OF TWO-STORY BUILDINGS, SECOND AND BOTTOM STORIES OF THREE-STORY BUILDINGS—WOOD FLOOR SYSTEM

BUILDING WIDTH (FT)	BOND BEAM 8" THICK WALL1, 2, 4
	16-1	16-2	C12-1	C12-2	C16-1	C16-2	C16-3
	MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CLEAR SPAN (FT-IN)5
43	11-4	13-4	10-8	14-0	12-0	15-4	18-0
12	10-0	11-4	9-4	12-0	10-8	14-0	16-0
24	8-8	8-8	8-0	10-0	8-8	12-0	12-8
36	6-8	6-8	6-8	8-0	8-0	10-8	10-8
44	6-0	6-0	6-0	7-4	7-4	9-4	9-4
52	5-4	5-4	6-0	6-8	6-8	8-8	8-8
60	4-8	4-8	5-4	6-0	6-8	8-0	8-0

Notes:

1. Designation of bond beam over openings:
   1. Letter C designates a concrete bond beam. All other bond beams are masonry.
   2. The first number denotes the nominal height of the bond beam in inches.
   3. The second number denotes the number of No. 5 reinforcing bars in the top and the bottom of the beam. One No. 7 may be used in lieu of two No. 5. The bottom reinforcing steel shall be located no more than 2³/₄-inches (70 mm) clear distance from the bottom of masonry bond beams and 1¹/₂ inches (38 mm) for concrete bond beams.
2. All bond beams shall have reinforcement in the top in accordance with Section R609.6.2.
3. Use 4-foot (1219 mm) floor span for lintels in walls parallel to hollowcore.
4. The bottom reinforcement in precast lintels may be used to satisfy the continuous bond beam bottom reinforcement requirement.
5. This table is applicable for all roof dead loads.

TABLE R609.6.2.1(3)
MAXIMUM CLEAR SPAN OF CONTINUOUS BOND BEAMS ACTING LINTELS BOTTOM STORY OF TWO-STORY BUILDINGS,
SECOND AND BOTTOM STORIES OF THREE-STORY BUILDINGS—HOLLOWCORE SECOND FLOOR

BUILDING WIDTH (FT)	BOND BEAM 8" THICK WALL1, 2, 4
	16-1	16-2	C12-1	C12-2	C16-1	C16-2	C16-3
	MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CLEAR SPAN (FT-IN)5
43	10-8	12-0	10-0	13-4	11-4	14-8	17-4
12	8-8	9-4	8-0	10-8	9-4	12-0	13-4
24	6-0	6-0	6-0	7-4	7-4	10-0	10-0
36	4-8	4-8	5-4	6-0	6-0	8-0	8-0
44	4-0	4-0	4-8	5-4	6-0	7-4	7-4
52	4-0	4-0	4-8	4-8	5-4	6-8	6-8
60	3-4	3-4	4-0	4-0	5-4	6-0	6-0

Notes:

1. Designation of bond beam over openings:
   1. Letter C designates a concrete bond beam. All other bond beams are masonry.
   2. The first number denotes the nominal height of the bond beam in inches.
   3. The second number denotes the number of No. 5 reinforcing bars in the top and the bottom of the beam. One No. 7 may be used in lieu of two No. 5. The bottom reinforcing steel shall be located no more than 2³/₄-inches (70 mm) clear distance from the bottom of masonry bond beams and 1¹/₂ inches (38 mm) for concrete bond beams.
2. All bond beams shall have reinforcement in the top in accordance with Section R609.6.2.
3. Use 4-foot (1219 mm) floor span for lintels in walls parallel to hollowcore.
4. The bottom reinforcement in precast lintels may be used to satisfy the continuous bond beam bottom reinforcement requirement.
5. This table is applicable for all roof dead loads.

Top reinforcement required over the opening which is in addition to that required over the wall shall extend past the opening a minimum of 24 inches (610 mm).

When preengineered assemblies are utilized to form the bottom portion of the bond beam over the opening in masonry walls, the bottom reinforcement of the preengineered assemblies shall be counted toward the additional bottom reinforcement required over the opening.