The Twelfth North American Masonry Conference

Words: Phillip SamblanetThe 12th North American Masonry Conference will be hosted by the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Colorado Denver and will be lead by Dr. Frederick Rutz, University of Colorado Denver (UCD), Michael Schuller, Atkinson-Noland & Associates (ANA), and Nancy Partridge, Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute (RMMI). The Masonry Society will coordinate the NAMC and serve as its primary sponsor along with support from the masonry technical community.

The North American Masonry Conference (NAMC) is a forum for the exchange of scientific, engineering, architectural, construction, evaluation, and repair information on masonry. The conference includes technical papers and sessions, panel discussions, and other methods of information exchange. The conference, which is organized by The Masonry Society and a local hosting University, is now held every four years (up through the 8th NAMC in 1999 it was held every three years), and the most recent NAMC, the 11th, was held in Minneapolis Minnesota on June 5-8, 2011.

For the 12NAMC additional efforts will be made to involve contractors, producers, designers, and those concerned with masonry training. A key aspect built into the themes will be the promotion of masonry in the local, regional and national markets.

Authors are invited to submit abstracts describing proposed papers and publications no later than June 1, 2014. Abstracts are to be 100 to 300 words. Format information and requirements for the abstract and final paper are available at www.masonrysociety.org/NAMC.
Restoring the Breath of the Building: The Life-Saving Science Behind Historic Masonry Repairs
July 2026

When I first set out to become a historic preservation and restoration mason, I imagined that most of my trade would involve repairing the effects of old age. Instead, 99 percent of my work is attempting to stabilize and reverse damage caused by recent an

Laying the Foundation for the Future: Workforce Development at the Arizona Masonry Council
July 2026

For generations, masonry has been built on a simple but powerful principle: knowledge passed from one set of hands to the next. In Arizona, the Arizona Masonry Council (AMC) is working to ensure that tradition continues by investing in one of the industr

What Mason Contractors Don't Know Is Costing Them Money
July 2026

Most mason contractors can tell you exactly what a job should cost before it starts. Bid labor hours, material takeoffs, and crew rates per square foot. The numbers are on paper, and they look right. What most can't tell you is whether those numbers held

Preserving Masonry Aesthetics with Concealed Lintel Systems
July 2026

Masonry has long been valued for its ability to create buildings with character, permanence, and visual appeal. Features such as arches, deep reveals, corbelling, and decorative brickwork continue to be popular design elements in modern architecture. Howe