In the most seismic active areas, traditional masonry is confined by a grid-work of timber, which makes the brittle masonry to resist earthquakes loads rather satisfactorily. A new system using grid-work of precast RC elements was experimentally investigated to quantify its effectiveness in enhancing strength and stiffness characteristics. Relationships have been developed between confining effect and volume of gridwork to help choose a pattern of gridwork for the required strength or stiffness characteristics.