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I am not sure if i picked up your question, but normally the confining reinforcement at the ends of confined masonry is to transfer the loads in tension compression. The Confined masonry in an earthquake act as compression strut and there are equations and guidance in FEMA to work out the capacities of these diagonal strut members. We do these checks very commonly here in New Zealand for the seismic analysis of the existing confined masonry structures. I would recommend you to have a read of the document i am attaching. Its called C8 and its part of the documentation used for the detailed seismic analysis of structures here in New Zealand. Section_C8-Unreinforced_Masonry_Buildings.pdf

I believe the attached document would give you a little guidance to overall manual design process in load bearing residential homes Manual Design of Residential Homes.pdf

In general, yes. However, be careful to check other requirements (especially minimum sizes & reinforcement of confining members, with reference to wall density) for confined masonry design, as given in the document referred in para 1-b of my previous post, and the following guideline (more recent): http://www.world-housing.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ConfinedMasonryDesignGuide82011.pdf Regards.

Dear Uzair Brother, Yes i am designing it as a Confined masonry structure. I usually do manual calculation for the strip footing for the wall considering the gravity loads from all the above stories and provide Plinth Beam (9"x9"), lentil beam (9"x6"), tie column (9"x9" with 4,#4 rebar) at every corner and tie beams (9"x12" with 4,#4 bars) at slab level. Slab design by ACI coefficient Method. am i doing it correctly ???

Junaid, 1. If you go through the following threads, you will find several good references on the subject: a. http://www.sepakistan.com/topic/1652-load-bearing-structure-design/?hl=masonry#entry4141 b. http://www.sepakistan.com/topic/1326-seismic-design-guide-for-masonry-buildings/?hl=masonry c. http://www.sepakistan.com/topic/1313-modulus-of-elasticity-of-brick-masonary/?hl=masonry#entry2495 d. http://www.sepakistan.com/topic/1680-the-seismic-performance-of-rcc-frame-buildings-with-masonry-infill-walls/?hl=masonry 2. In case of a 3-story house, it would be better to use a framed or confined masonry structure, if the structure would be constructed in a location of seismic zone 2 or higher. Moreover, you would be requiring RC walls too, for the basement portion. Regards.

Assalam-o-alaikum! Here is the case of a civil engineering building, located in Canada, that had to be demolished, after developing structural problems soon after completion of construction. Worth reading by civil, and particularly structural engineers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algo_Centre_Mall

Seismic Design Guide for Masonry Buildings It is a very good reference book and its free. You can download it from, http://www.ccmpa.ca/download/seismic-design-guide-for-masonry-buildings/

Please note that this book uses the Canadian Code. One must also look at a companion book that uses the ACI code.