Masonry piers are normally provided in residential buildings to support the ends of beams. Once the length of a wall becomes less than 3 times its thickness it is called a pier (or column) rather than a wall. Often when new openings are formed in walls, there is very little of the wall left and it becomes necessary to build a pier.

If the beam reaction is heavy, the pier is normally built with engineering bricks, either as a 225mm square pier or a 327mm square pier. Sometimes piers are kept as a feature, but normally they are plastered if they are inside.

We need the following information to design a masonry pier:

This design assumes we have designed the beams the pier is supporting. We will therefore have all the information we need to design the pier. If this is not the case then please use the 'independent masonry pier design' option

Design information

All design work is carried out in accordance with BS5268 (The structural use of masonry).

The calculations provided will be suitable for Building Regulation approval.