Rebar In Block Walls

[cabinetman]

When we got our inspection for homeowners insurance, the inspector ran some kind of metal detector horizontally across our exterior walls at about a 5' height.

He said it checks for rebar in block walls. I may be wrong, but I can't remember ever seeing residential single floor homes getting rigged with rebar in the walls, and then getting the cells filled. Maybe the codes have changed here, but the front half of the house was built in 1952, and the rear (an addition) was constructed in 1965. All our exterior walls are CBS.

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[jking]

Vertical rebar is common in block wall construction. Given the date of your construction, I can't say whether it would have been comman practice at that time.

[chopnhack]

It was apparently common enough, there are whole subdivisions that were built by Rutenberg homes in the early to late 60's that used rebar in the corners as well as around opening with another one or two bars placed in the lintel before pouring. The lintel is known as a tie beam because ties the entire top portion of the walls to the floor. Very strong construction.