We have used a thermal imaging camera on one job. We were able to see all the cells in real time on the LCD screen while moving the camera or by taking still pictures of an entire wall elevation.
Oshin Tosounian, S.E.
From: Harold Sprague [mailto:spraguehope@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 7:21 AM
To:
Subject: RE: CMU
Yes. Sounding walls is possible, but requires verification by drilling a hole. That is not a big deal. I was just trying to find out what the practice was from 1,500 miles from the project site and having to go through all of the hoops to get into the facility.
I will verify whether or not the cells are filled in the field.
Regards, Harold Sprague
From: thorm@sti.net
To:
Subject: Re: CMU
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:42:51 -0700
Sorry if this is repetetively redundant by now--tried to send on Monday, but was having list issues. Have not seen other comments on "sounding" CMU walls to find un-grouted vs. grouted cells.
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Harold,
You can tell by "sounding" the wall which cells are grouted. Tap the wall with a hammer--the grouted cells sound very different than the ungrouted ones. Note: If you're not on site, this method doesn't help you much....
I inspected a CMU addition in
One reason solid-grouting became common is that it's less labor-intensive than blocking off the cells below your horizontal reinforcement--plus you can do high-lift grouting instead of having to grout every horizontal rebar course before continuing to lay block. If you're using ready-mix trucks, you only bring them in once for grouting when the wall is topped out.
Best wishes,
Thor Matteson
www.shearwalls.com
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