ABSTRACT
The partial factors applied to the characteristic values for materials in EN 1996-1-1 depend, in part, upon the Execution Class employed for the construction of the masonry. Annex A of the Eurocode provides guidance on some of the factors to be considered in relation to standards of execution including the availability of appropriately qualified personnel, the independence of the supervisor and the contractual relationships. EN 1996-2 gives general guidance on best practice for the construction of masonry but does not provide a means to directly link this guidance to a particular execution class. Masonry construction has been used for many thousands of years but it is only comparatively recently that masonry design has been codified in a way which recognizes a formalized relationship between execution and structural performance. Nevertheless EN 1996-2 does cover aspects such as the storage, preparation and use of materials on site, the execution of masonry and protection during execution.
