Concrete masonry unit. This is the technical specification for a standard manufactured concrete block, typically measuring 8 by 8 by 16 inches nominally. Builders stack these hollow units using mortar and often reinforce the internal cells with steel rebar and grout to create load-bearing walls, foundations, and partitions.
Heard on the job
The structural drawings call for an 8-inch CMU wall with vertical rebar in every third cell.
Also heard as
- cinder block
- concrete block
- breeze block