Block Party: Building Better CMU Foundations

Wednesday, September 3, 2025 | 12-1 p.m. Eastern Time
1 LU/HSW

Masonry has stood the test of time as a reliable and efficient choice for foundation walls. Its versatility and durability make it a go-to solution for projects where budget and schedule are key considerations. Uncover the advantages of using concrete masonry units (CMU) in foundation design and proper compressive strength values (f’m) to select the right reinforcement strategies. Walk away with the tools to design masonry foundations that reduce costs, minimize waste, and improve efficiency on your projects.

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Image by FORSE Consulting.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify where masonry foundation walls provide the best solution.
  • Discuss design parameters and the role of proper f’m values and foundation wall reinforcement strategies.
  • Explore how optimized design strategies reduce costs, minimize waste, and improve efficiency.
  • Review best practices for durable and code-compliant masonry foundation walls.

About the Speaker

Cathleen Jacinto, pe, se
Structural Engineer, FORSE Consulting

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Cathleen has 20 years of experience in the design industry as a structural engineer. Cathleen collaborated on a variety of building design projects while at Thornton Tomasetti and T.Y. Lin International in Chicago, Illinois, from small to large-scale project types in healthcare, aviation, commercial, infrastructure, cultural, and steel connection design located in the U.S. and abroad. Since joining FORSE in May 2015, Cathleen provides structural engineering design and modeling services in collaboration with other structural engineering firms and contributes to FORSE’s designs, seminars, and publications. She serves as a technical consultant to the Masonry Advisory Council. One topic Cathleen highlights is structural masonry analysis and design. Cathleen also served as an Adjunct Lecturer for Design of Masonry Structures course at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Cathleen has a Professional Masters in Structural Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is a licensed Structural Engineer (SE) and Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of Illinois.

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