Reinforced CMU wall cutaway — grouted cells, vertical rebar, bond beam, and joint reinforcement

In a reinforced block wall, vertical rebar sits in grout-filled cells at spacing (often #4 @ 48″ o.c.), a grouted bond-beam course with a horizontal bar caps the top and openings, and 9-gauge joint wire goes in the bed joint every 16″. Empty cells stay hollow.

A cutaway elevation of a reinforced concrete-block wall showing where steel and grout go. Vertical reinforcing bars sit in cells that are filled solid with grout at a set spacing — a common prescriptive default is a #4 bar at 48 inches on center. A bond-beam course near the top uses channel-shaped units filled with grout around a continuous horizontal bar, tying the wall together at the top and above openings. Between courses, 9-gauge horizontal joint reinforcement wire is laid in the mortar bed every 16 inches on center — every second course on 8-inch block. Ungrouted cells stay hollow. Grout volume is read from the NCMA TEK tables by wall width and grout spacing, not filled everywhere unless the wall is solid-grouted. — Source: IRC R404.1.1 / R606; TMS 402; NCMA/CMHA TEK 04-02A

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A cutaway elevation of a reinforced concrete-block wall showing where steel and grout go. Vertical reinforcing bars sit in cells that are filled solid with grout at a set spacing — a common prescriptive default is a #4 bar at 48 inches on center. A bond-beam course near the top uses channel-shaped units filled with grout around a continuous horizontal bar, tying the wall together at the top and above openings. Between courses, 9-gauge horizontal joint reinforcement wire is laid in the mortar bed every 16 inches on center — every second course on 8-inch block. Ungrouted cells stay hollow. Grout volume is read from the NCMA TEK tables by wall width and grout spacing, not filled everywhere unless the wall is solid-grouted.

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    <img src="https://remodelcalculators.com/api/figure-embed/cmu-grouted-cell-rebar" alt="A cutaway elevation of a reinforced concrete-block wall showing where steel and grout go. Vertical reinforcing bars sit in cells that are filled solid with grout at a set spacing — a common prescriptive default is a #4 bar at 48 inches on center. A bond-beam course near the top uses channel-shaped units filled with grout around a continuous horizontal bar, tying the wall together at the top and above openings. Between courses, 9-gauge horizontal joint reinforcement wire is laid in the mortar bed every 16 inches on center — every second course on 8-inch block. Ungrouted cells stay hollow. Grout volume is read from the NCMA TEK tables by wall width and grout spacing, not filled everywhere unless the wall is solid-grouted." width="800" height="500" style="width:100%;height:auto;border:0" loading="lazy">
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    Diagram: <a href="https://remodelcalculators.com/construction-diagrams/cmu-grouted-cell-rebar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reinforced CMU wall cutaway — grouted cells, vertical rebar, bond beam, and joint reinforcement</a> — courtesy of <a href="https://remodelcalculators.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RemodelCalculators.com</a>
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