FIND A CONTRACTOR BUYER'S GUIDE
BECOME AN INDUSTRY PARTNER
MCAA Logo
MEMBER LOGIN JOIN
NEWS
2026 Midyear Meeting Registration is OPEN ↗

Opportunities to Help in Haiti

Words: Dan Kamys/Public/News/20101021071000-1.jpg" width="600" height="338" border="0" alt="Michael J. King, SE, is providing a helping hand in Haiti." />
Michael J. King, SE, is providing a helping hand in Haiti.
Michael J. King, SE, is a California-based project manager at Miyamoto International, Inc., a structural and earthquake engineer company, who is working in Haiti on a plan to repair and rehabilitate structures following the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake. King says he and his company were tasked by Pan American Development Foundation (PADFO), UNOPS and World Bank to develop a repair guide.

“The buildings here are unreinforced concrete masonry with concrete decks and columns,” says King. “There are over 100,000 heavily damaged buildings that we are working to repair and do a more reinforced masonry design.”

The construction is of concrete columns with concrete decks (column about 4M on center), with hollow concrete masonry for infill (un-grouted and un-reinforced). The deficiencies that were identified were quality of blocks, concrete, mortar, and installation with regard to cover for reinforcement, tie details, hooks and just reinforcement — placement as well as mortar joints.

King also emphasizes the important of education and training in the repair and rehabilitation of Haitian structures. “We are creating the building quality control process and also training masons,” he says. “Training will be quick discussion of structural systems so they understand what earthquakes and cyclones do, and then to properties of masonry and effects of good practices of mortar, curing, proper proportions and materials and also hands on making blocks, mixing mortar, setting blocks with reinforcing and grouting.

“Our idea is to hold the training at a home needing repair and at the end have fixed the house,” King continues, “and continue the training as we go. We train the trainers, so when we leave, the Haitians go forward down the right path teaching each other.

The guide was to be finished in June with repairs beginning July 1, and repair of 3,000 homes completed by Sept. 1 — an ambitious timeline indeed.

King believed they did not have to reinvent the training that other people already do but, rather, adapt it for Haiti. He asked for assistance from the CMACN in the way of any available training guides. Then he reached out to mason contractors and leaders in the masonry industry to collect existing Reinforced Masonry Design Guides to help teach local engineers.

A request went out to the masonry community for basic masons’ tools for 200 masons, and the industry was quick to respond. The project is under the development of PADF, so any assistance is tax deductable under a 501(C)3. But, those helping have committed to being part of an ambitious project to change the design and construction of the buildings of Haiti.

For more information or to get involved, contact Michael King at mking@miyamotointernational.com.
 0
Masonry in the Media: Casa Azul, Chapultepec Castle, & More
June 2026

A film’s settings can take viewers to new locations, all from the comfort of their own home. It immerses them in the scenes, whether they take place in an opera house in Brazil or a grand mansion in Mexico City. Explore how these Latin American masonry ma

Lily Burger
Masonry in the Media
Read More
Chairman’s Message: When Things Don’t Go as Planned
June 2026

Not every day in this business goes the way we planned. Some days, everything lines up. The crew is moving well. Materials are on time. The job is flowing the way you hoped it would. And then there are the other days. The ones where something breaks. T

Kent Huntley
Chairman’s Message
Read More
Marvelous Masonry: Borobudur
June 2026

For masonry contractors and suppliers, few structures offer as much practical insight as Borobudur. Built in the 9th century in Central Java, this massive stone monument remains as one of the most advanced examples of large-scale masonry construction ever

Cassandra Stern
Marvelous Masonry
Read More
Wrapping Up Our Year And A Look Ahead
June 2026

It is amazing another year has gone by and what a year it has been. We have seen a lot of progress on so many fronts. All of this happens specifically due to the support of our members. Your support this past year is positioning our industry to make huge

Jeff B
President's Message
Read More