Masonry book for structural PM

[JimmerC]

Do you guys recommend any good masonry book with problems somewhat comparable to the ones we could find on the exam?? thanks in advance!

 

[NB15]

I can't recommend a good set of problems for masonry, sorry. I'm interested in this myself.

I did want to recommend printing out some of the NCMA TEK Manual sections on masonry design since they actually follow the code version specified by NCEES for the April 2015 exam. The 14th edition CERM still follows the ACI 530-08 masonry code, which differs from the 2011 version.

 

[itinerant]

If I can suggest something, just follow the ACI 530 code, read it at least once and then solve a bit of practice problems so as to orient you with the examination. Please DO take the masonry part seriously(a lot of my friends don't) since every single correct answer is one step closer.

Solve Six minute solutions depth section for the masonry, I would definitely advice doing that. Even though they might be tough and lengthy, but when split into parts they are the ones which tend to be one most like ones on the exam.

 

[JimmerC]

Thanks guys for your response. I was wondering...the exam specs are really vague about what questions we can expect? How many questions can we expect on masonry or timber, and what complexity will they be?

 

[Lomarandil]

I found the Structural Depth Reference Manual for the PE Exam useful for masonry -- about the right amount of depth (I didn't take any other masonry references), and had some practice problems too.

http://www.amazon.com/Structural-Depth-Reference-Manual-Civil/dp/1591263921

Anyone who has taken the test can't reveal specifics about what was on the test. That said, the specs indicate a pretty low percentage of timber and masonry questions -- should only be a handful.

 

[orticio]

I found the Structural Depth Reference Manual for the PE Exam useful for masonry -- about the right amount of depth (I didn't take any other masonry references), and had some practice problems too.

http://www.amazon.com/Structural-Depth-Reference-Manual-Civil/dp/1591263921

Anyone who has taken the test can't reveal specifics about what was on the test. That said, the specs indicate a pretty low percentage of timber and masonry questions -- should only be a handful.

Disagree. The specs do not indicate anything about percentages of timber or masonry. They just say design of horizontal, vertical members, connections, etc. regardless of the material. Also, I have read countless times in this forum people advising to take timber and masonry seriously in this exam...

 

[Lomarandil]

Oh, you're right, I forgot they reformatted the specs.

From memory, the specs when I took the exam indicated a low percentage of timber and masonry questions.

I'm personally of the philosophy to lean on your strengths in the exam (Timber happens to be one of mine, Masonry is not), but there are many approaches for how to build a personal exam strategy.

 

[orticio]

Oh, you're right, I forgot they reformatted the specs.

From memory, the specs when I took the exam indicated a low percentage of timber and masonry questions.

I'm personally of the philosophy to lean on your strengths in the exam (Timber happens to be one of mine, Masonry is not), but there are many approaches for how to build a personal exam strategy.

Oh, got it :thumbs:

 

[itinerant]

Thanks guys for your response. I was wondering...the exam specs are really vague about what questions we can expect? How many questions can we expect on masonry or timber, and what complexity will they be?

To be honest, there is no quantification of how many questions there would be on timber and masonry, but having said that they simply wouldn't be as many as steel and concrete. So anything between a range of 4-10 questions is a good educated guess.

But please don't evaluate or try to guess the nature of questions based on the exam specification. Structural engineers don't have that freedom. Anything from a small anchor bolt going into the ground to a huge girder picking up 50 tons can be asked. Please prepare for as broad a spectrum as you can for the exam, hug all your codes very dearly since they will be your best friends during the exam. But please don't go thinking that the specs are the set within which there may be questions on the exam.

Sometimes I picture a few board members sitting around the table and thinking about which faculty they can pester a little bit more and play a few more practical jokes on and voilaaaa structurals came to mind. So the next cruel joke was "lets throw in a exam specification".

 

[JimmerC]

My opinion is that 20 hrs of study in any topic makes you jump from 0% knowledge to 60% knowledge, while the same amount of study on a topic you are already at 60% will only put you at 75% knowledge. But as said before, there are many strategies so choose the one you feel it is the best for you