Patent ID: 7762033

Claim:
A wall construction system comprising: a footer attached to a floor; a plurality of vertical reinforcing bars attached to at least one of the floor and the footer; a first layer of horizontal reinforcing bars attached to the vertical reinforcing bars at a predetermined height above the footer; a plurality of layers of blocks attached onto the footer, wherein each layer of blocks includes a row of blocks, each of the blocks further comprising a pair of substantially flat major surfaces and four contoured minor surfaces, and a plurality of longitudinal grooves that are parallel to the major surfaces and incorporated into the edges of the minor surfaces, the blocks having a generally H-shaped profile when viewed perpendicular to the major surfaces, the H-shape providing a continuous channel around the top, ends and bottom of each block; a plurality of joining strips, the strips placed end to end and pressed into each longitudinal groove, with about half their width protruding from the longitudinal grooves; a plurality of lateral clips attached to a pair of joining strips and across the top of the blocks, perpendicular to the longitudinal grooves, wherein each reinforcing bar is approximately centered within the continuous channel formed between the adjacent blocks, both horizontally and vertically; and a quantity of concrete poured into the horizontal and vertical channels between adjacent blocks to envelope the horizontal and vertical reinforcing bars.