Here is a little bit about the history of Masonry Building Codes and How We Fit into It, with a lot of acronyms.

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) are the two organizations that are most responsible for building code when it regards masonry work.

You can purchase the ACI code here or the ASCE code here.

This history of combining and unifying building codes started in 1977. Prior to 1977 there were many different standards and no consistent requirements. A group of people saw this lack of consistency as something that could be changed and something that would improve buildings and services.

The ACI and ASCE agreed and began working to jointly develop a standard for the masonry industry. The public got to review this code for the first time in 1988 and it was approved in 1989.

There is a sort of varied history of the national building code organizations as well.

The Standard Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) then the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) both published the National Building Code and it was adopted in 1989.

The code wasn’t universally adopted though and still many masons and builders in general didn’t follow the codes.

Then later in 1994 BOCA, SBCCI, and International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) agreed to basically join forces to create International Code Council (ICC). This joint venture into building code created a new version of the code and it was now dubbed International Building Code (IBC).

This was when state and local governments began to adopt and recognize these codes as standards.

Now, most building codes recognized follow the IBC and are not sometimes called I-Codes. There are many of them now.

• International Building Code (IBC)
• International Residential Code (IRC)
• International Plumbing Code (IPC)
• International Mechanical Code (IMC)
• International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
• There are a lot more, but I think you have the idea.

These codes replaced existing standards. They contribute greatly to why designs became more consistent with a much higher degree of quality in construction. They always incorporate new research and advancements in materials properties or performance.

These are generally the minimum construction requirements though and so most who work in the field always try to improve on them. We want our masonry to stand the test of time.

The Masonry Standards Joint committee standard (MSJC) is a joint effort between The Masonry Society (TMS), ACI, ASCE.

There are codes for clay and brick masonry separate from the standards for concrete masonry or block masonry. These joint codes cover the design and construction requirements for all masonry related projects outlining a minimum standard.

You will see the code written out like TMS 850-18 often. The hyphenated number is the year of that standard so that example is “The Masonry Society code 850 published in 2018”.

Dayco Exceeds All Code

About use here at Dayco General, we are certified masons. We follow all the building codes as minimum and typically work well beyond minimum standards. We are required to have a business license by the state of MN, so we do its License # BC266544.

Here is information about the construction companies that would be required to get similar licensing to us.

All our masons go through professional training programs and work under our more experienced masons until their work is equal or better than that more seasoned mason. We maintain our staffing, so our turnover in staffing is very low. We have crews that have been working together and developing their techniques with us for over 20 years. It is a priority to treat our masons and all our staff well.

We are great at working with bricks in any project, from walls to chimneys but we use different masons for different tasks and are constantly working to improve all our mason’s skill set.

There are a lot of great brick layers here in Minneapolis area, but you don’t necessarily want someone who only has a skill set of laying brick walls to work on your chimney. We do the walls, but we can handle any masonry job. The best brick chimney masons are the ones that have been trained and certified in “chimney physics” program that was designed by and for chimney professionals.

A great mason understands the physics of how a chimney moves and exhaust gases leave a heat source safely.

The strength of Dayco and why you should choose us is because we are a brick masonry company that has gotten into chimney work. We did this because so many chimneys need major brick repair and we wanted to be able to help our community.

Many other companies are chimney sweeps (We are not chimney sweeps. We do not offer that service at all.) that started doing brick repair because the chimney’s needed repair. This is where the certifications come into play, we sort of came at this the other way and started with the brickwork knowledge.

We have secured Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certification and have sent our lead installers across the country on multiple occasions to receive advanced training focused exclusively on chimney repair.

Our company can handle difficult to access jobs and larger jobs that many companies cannot consider.

Of course, we are also fully insured, so we’re both covered when something does go wrong. Thankfully this is rare.

You want to look for these certifications when you choose a mason even if you don’t choose us. They are important and can prevent major issues with your chimney down the road.

The single best thing about Dayco General has going in your favor is that we are experienced. It is 2022 and we are going into our 30th summer of doing this work. We have literally done thousands of jobs ranging from the smallest fixes to major repairs with chimneys as tall as 75 feet. If you are considering getting a masonry project done at least let us, give you a quote, meet with us and let us talk about your project and what it will take to get it done.