Publishing and copyright information

The BSI copyright notice displayed in this document indicates when the document was last issued.

The following BSI references relate to the work on this document:
Committee reference B/525/6
Draft for comment 19/30376291 DC

Foreword

Publishing information

This part of BS 8000 is published by BSI Standards Limited, under licence from The British Standards Institution, and came into effect on 31 May 2020. It was prepared by Subcommittee B/525/6, Use of masonry, under the authority of Technical Committee B/525, Building and civil engineering structures. A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

Supersession

This part of BS 8000 supersedes BS 8000‑3:2001, which is withdrawn.

Relationship with other publications

BS 8000 is a series of standards describing the execution of works for a range of construction activities. They are issued to fill a gap in the authoritative information that is available to those specifying, supervising and instructing in connection with those activities and to assist in describing processes to ensure a better and common understanding of them and so improve construction quality.

The various parts of BS 8000 draw content from, and relate to, other relevant British Standards and codes. This part of BS 8000 makes recommendations and gives guidance on masonry. It is intended to be read in conjunction with BS 8000‑0, which encourages liaison between and awareness of adjoining/dependent trades and processes in the construction sequence (whether or not they are subject to one of the specialist titles in the series).

The content of BS 8000‑3 is consistent with that of BS EN 1996‑1‑1:2005+A1, BS EN 1996‑1‑2, BS EN 1996‑2:2006, BS EN 1996‑3 and the relevant National Annexes and PD 6697:2019.

The user's attention is also drawn to Directional driving rain indices for the United Kingdom – Computation and mapping [1].

In this part of BS 8000, commentary on the relevant principles accompanies the recommendations that are made. The commentary is intended to provide further guidance.

Information about this document

The recommendations given are not fully comprehensive as particular project documents, e.g. project specifications, might need to cover particular recommendations not dealt with by this standard. This standard might not be applicable to the use of some proprietary systems.

The purpose of BS 8000‑3 is to encourage good workmanship by providing:

the most frequently required recommendations on workmanship for building work in a readily available and convenient form to those working on site;
assistance in the efficient preparation and administration of contracts;
recommendations on how designers' requirements for workmanship can be satisfactorily realized;
guidance on good practice on building sites for supervision and for training purposes (this guidance is not intended to supplant the normal training in craft skills);
a reference for quality of workmanship on building sites; and
the recognition that design, procurement and project information are intended to be conducive to good workmanship on site.

This is a full revision of the standard, and introduces the following principal changes.

The content has been rearranged to align the structure with the wider suite of workmanship standards and follow the workflow of a generic construction project.
The content has been updated to align with changes to related product and design standards.
The content has been updated to align with current products, construction techniques and methods of working.

This publication can be withdrawn, revised, partially superseded or superseded. Information regarding the status of this publication can be found in the Standards Catalogue on the BSI website at bsigroup.com/standards, or by contacting the Customer Services team.

Where websites and webpages have been cited, they are provided for ease of reference and are correct at the time of publication. The location of a webpage or website, or its contents, cannot be guaranteed.

Use of this document

As a code of practice, this part of BS 8000 takes the form of guidance and recommendations. It should not be quoted as if it were a specification and particular care should be taken to ensure that claims of compliance are not misleading.

Any user claiming compliance with this part of BS 8000 is expected to be able to justify any course of action that deviates from its recommendations.

While this standard is concerned with workmanship, at some points it is necessary to refer to masonry design standards.

Presentational conventions

The provisions of this standard are presented in roman (i.e. upright) type. Its recommendations are expressed in sentences in which the principal auxiliary verb is “should”.

Commentary, explanation and general informative material is presented in smaller italic type, and does not constitute a normative element.

Where words have alternative spellings, the preferred spelling of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is used (e.g. “organization” rather than “organisation”).

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

1 Scope

This part of BS 8000 gives recommendations for workmanship in the construction of brick, block and stone masonry.

This part of BS 8000 has been drafted in accordance with the recommendations in BS 8000‑0.

NOTE 1 The general principles of workmanship on construction sites are given in BS 8000‑0.

This part of BS 8000 does not specifically address health and safety issues; however, it does, where appropriate, highlight the importance of health and safety procedures and draw attention to the relevant legislation/advice.

At the time of publication this part of BS 8000 does not cover maintenance and restoration.

The intended users of this British Standard are designers, specifiers, contractors, quality controllers, inspectors and operatives.

NOTE 2 This British Standard contains information of relevance to educators.

NOTE 3 For design aspects of masonry, the user is referred to BS EN 1996‑1‑1:2005+A1, BS EN 1996‑1‑2, BS EN 1996‑2:2006, PD 6697:2019 and BS 8103‑2.

NOTE 4 Attention is drawn to any additional technical information that relates to proprietary systems, such as that supplied by the manufacturer.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Health and safety

5 Accuracy

5.1 General

5.2 Specifying accuracy

5.3 Achieving accuracy

5.4 Nominal dimensions

5.5 Grid lines and setting out

6 Materials, handling and preparation

6.1 Brick and block

6.2 Stone (manufactured and natural)

6.3 Ancillary and other components

6.4 Mortars/mix constituents (e.g. cement, lime and sand)

7 Installation and/or execution

7.1 Brick and block

7.2 Stone

8 Checking

9 Handover

9.1 Efflorescence

9.2 Lime staining

9.3 Assessment of fair-faced masonry

Bibliography

BS 8000-3:2020

Workmanship on construction sites - Masonry. Code of practice

Current

Published:

31 May 2020