REINFORCEMENT OF

CONCRETE HOLLOW
BLOCKS
SAMANTHA C. VILLANUEVA
BSCE 4A
REINFORCEMENT OF CONCRETE
HOLLOW BLOCKS

Steel bars as reinforcement is a requirement

for all types of concrete and masonry works. The
National Building Code has promulgated guidelines
on how and what kind of reinforcement is
appropriate for a certain type of work depending
upon the purpose for which it is to serve.
• The size and spacing requirements for concrete
hollow block reinforcement must be indicated on
the plan specifications.

• Concrete hollow block reinforcement could be

determined in three different ways:
oBy the Direct Counting Method
oBy the Area Method
oBy the Unit Block Method
 DIRECT COUNTING METHOD
• The vertical and horizontal reinforcements are
counted individually in the plan. The length is also
determined from the elevation. The hook, bend
and lapping splices are imaginably calculated and
added to its length.
 AREA METHOD & UNIT BLOCK
METHOD

• Is the simplest approach in computing the steel

bar reinforcement for CHB with the aid of Table
3-5. The values presented in the table include
the allowances required for standard bend, hook
and lapping splices.
1. From figure 3-6 determine the number of:
a. 10 x 20 x 40 cm CHB
b. 10 mm vertical reinforcement spaced 80 cm.
c. 10 mm horizontal reinforcement at every 3
layers.
SOLUTION: AREA METHOD

1. Solve for the area of

the fence.

AREA = Length x Height

AREA = 4.00 x 3.00
AREA = 12 sq. m.
SOLUTION: AREA METHOD
2. For vertical reinforcement spaced at 80 cm, refer to
table 3-5. Under column length per sq. m. multiply:
12 sq. m. x 1.60 = 19.20 m long
SOLUTION: AREA METHOD
3. Solve for the horizontal bars at every 3 layers.
From Table 3-5:

12 sq. m. x 2.15 = 25.80 m long

SOLUTION: AREA METHOD
4. Add the results of 2 and 3
19.20 + 25.80 = 45 meters long

5. Convert this value to the commercial length of

steel bar say 6.00 meters long, divide:

45. 00 𝑚
= 7.5 order 8 pcs. 10mm x 6.00 m long
6.00
SOLUTION: UNIT BLOCK METHOD
1. Find the area of the wall.
AREA = 4.00 x 3.00 = 12 sq. m.
2. Determine the number of hollow blocks.
Multiply:
CHB: = 12 sq. m. x 12.5 = 150 pieces.
 SOLUTION: UNIT BLOCK METHOD
3. a. Vertical reinforcement at 80 cm, length of steel
bar per block; multiply :
150 x 0.128 = 19.20 m long
SOLUTION: UNIT BLOCK METHOD
b. Horizontal bars at every 3 layers, refer again to
table 3-5.

150 x 0.172 = 25.80 m long

SOLUTION: UNIT BLOCK METHOD
4. Add the results of a and b
19.20 + 25.80 = 45 meters long

5. Convert this value to the commercial length of

steel bar say 6.00 meters long. Divide:

45. 00 𝑚
= 7.5 order 8 pcs. 10mm x 6.00 m long
6.00
TIE WIRE FOR CHB REINFORCEMENT
• Tie wire refers to gauge no. 16 galvanized iron
wire popularly known as G.I. tie wire. Tie wire is
used to secure the steel bars into its designed
position. Ordering tie wire is not by feet nor by
meter per length but in kilograms or roll. One roll
is equivalent to 45 kilograms, approximately
2385 meters at 53 meters per kilogram.
TIE WIRE FOR CHB REINFORCEMENT

• The length of each tie wire depends upon the

size of the bars to be tied on. Tie wire is cut into
length ranging from 20 to 40 cm for small and
medium size steel bars.

• The quantity is determined through a more or

less calculation.
 LENGTH OF TIE WIRE REINFORCEMENT

• The common size of steel bar reinforcement

specified for concrete hollow block work is either ;
10 mm , 12 mm or 16 mm diameter depending
upon the plan and specifications. For this
particular size of reinforcement, a 25 to 40
centimeters long tie wire folded at the center is
satisfactory.
1. Find the required Tie wire in kilograms if the
reinforcements are spaced at:
a) Vertical bars spaced at 80 cm and one
horizontal bars at every after 3 layers of the
block.
b) Vertical bars at 60 cm and one horizontal bar
at every after 2 layers of the block.
 SOLUTION
1. Solve for the wall area.
AREA = 4.00 x 3.00
AREA = 12 sq. m.

2. Refer to Table 3-6.

Along 80 cm. Vertical spacing and three layers
horizontal spacing of reinforcement at 30 cm long
tie wire, multiply:
12 sq. m. x 0.024 = 0.29 kgs. # 16 – G.I. wire
 SOLUTION
1. Solve for the wall area.
AREA = 4.00 x 3.00
AREA = 12 sq. m.

2. Refer to Table 3-6.

Along 60 cm, vertical spacing with one horizontal
bar at every after 2 layers of block and using 30
cm tie wire, multiply:
12 sq. m. x 0.044 = 0.53 kgs. # 16 – G.I. wire
 INDEPENDENT FOOTING
REINFORCEMENT
• Independent column footing is also referred as
individual or isolated footing. The ACI Code
provides that the minimum underground
protective covering of concrete to steel
reinforcement shall not be less than 7.5 cm. The
reinforcement for this type of structure is
determined by direct counting from the detailed
plan under the following procedures:
1. Know the actual dimensions of the footing as to
its length and width.
2. Consider the 7.5 cm minimum underground
protective covering of concrete to the steel
reinforcement.
3. If the plan does not specify hook or bend of the
footing reinforcement, the length of the bar is
equal to the length or width of the footing minus
the 7.5 protective covering at both ends.
4. If the plan indicate hook or bend of the
reinforcement the bar cut should indicate the
allowances for the hook and band as presented in
Figure 3-4 and 3-5.

5. Know the spacing distance of the steel bars both

ways to determine the exact number required. As
much as possible, select the appropriate
commercial length of steel bar which is divisible by
the required cut length to avoid unwanted cuts.
ILLUSTRATION 3-4
1. From the figure, find the number of 12 mm steel
bars required if there are 24 footings having a
general dimensions of 1.50 x 1.50 m.
SOLUTION:

1. Find the net length of one cut reinforcing bar.

Net length is = 1.50 m – 2(0.075)
L = 1.35 meters.
2. Find the total number of these cut bars in one
footing.
10 x 2 = 20 pieces of 12 mm at 1.35 m long

3. Find the total number of cut bars in 24 footings.

Total cut bars : 24 x 20 = 480 pieces
4. If 6 meters long steel bar will be used, we obtain
the following cuts.
6.00 𝑚
= 4.44 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠
1.35 𝑚

5. The result simply mean that in one 6 meters long

steel bar we could get 4.44 pieces at 1.35 meters
long. We will not consider the fractional value of
0.44 because it is less than 1.35 meters length of
one cut bar. Instead, we will only use the whole
value 4.
6. Divide the result of step 3 by 4 to get the number
of 6 meters steel bars required.

480
= 120 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑏𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑡 6 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔.
4.0
 Example of Common Errors in
Estimating Steel Bars
Using the same problem of Illustration 3-4, Figure 3-8,
the length of one cut reinforcing bar is 1.35 meters
long. Thus :

1. Find the total number of cut bars in one footing:

10 x 2 = 20 pieces per footing.

2. Total cut bars for 24 footings.

20 x 24 footings = 480 pieces at 1.35 meters long.
3. The total length of this cut bars is;
480 x 1.35 = 648 meters

4. Convert this value to a commercial length of steel

bar, say 6 m long. Divide:

648 / 6 = 108 pieces of 12 mm x 6.00 m. steel bar

ANALYSIS :
Comparing the results of the two procedures,
the former has 120 steel bars while the later has
only 108 or a difference of 12 pieces. The difference
is the result by including the fractional amount of
0.44 as part of the divisor in the second solution.

The second solution however, could be correct if

the quotient in dividing the length of one
commercial steel bar by the length of one cut bar
yields a whole number. On the contrary, if the result
has a fractional amount, the second example will not
give a correct answer.
 The following rules will help in making the
right choice:

1. Determine the net length of one reinforcing cut

bar.
2. Divide 6 m or any chosen commercial length of
steel bar by the result of step 1.
3. If the result in dividing the length of one steel
bar by the length of one cut bar is a whole
number (exact value) use the second procedure.
4. If the result has a fractional value, use the first
method
Estimating the Footing Tie Wire
1. Looking at the plan of figure 3-8.
There are 10 x 10 = 100 intersections of steel bars
to be tied per footing.

2. Solve for the total ties of 24 footings.

100 x 24 = 2,400 ties
3. Using a 30 cm long ties, multiply:
2400 x 0.30 m = 720 meters G.I. tie wire.

4. Convert this length into kilograms. (One kilogram

of No. 16 tie wire is approximately 53 meters long. )
Divide :

720 𝑚
= 13.58 𝑠𝑎𝑦 14 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 # 16 𝐺. 𝐼. 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒.
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