Understanding the Challenges of Building Standards for Structural Masonry: A South African Case Study

Socioeconomic status influences in some way how people construct their houses, which, in the majority of nations, are made of structural masonry.Most countries have Building Regulations, Building Standards and Codes of Practice that define acceptable structural masonry performance.This South African case study explores structural masonry challenges that persist despite established frameworks.The study used scoping reviews and purposive sampling interviews to try to understand the challenges.The goal is to provide policymakers and authorities with insights into the challenges of existing frameworks and thus prompt rethinking of framework access mechanisms.The ongoing study also finds discrepancies in the implementation of outdated and ineffective frameworks that may not be understandable to regular builders, as well as a need for more accessible, relevant, user-friendly, frequently updated and strategically implemented frameworks.