| Brickwork masonry is produced when a | | | | low-cost bricks that have only two fair |
| bricklayer uses bricks and mortar to build up | | | | faces, called "face bricks". Laying any such |
| structures such as walls, bridges and | | | | brick as a header would reveal a poorly |
| chimneys. (Brickwork is also used to finish | | | | finished header face on one side of the wall. |
| openings such as doors or windows in | | | | These walls are also used in situations where |
| buildings made of other materials.) Where the | | | | stronger load bearing capacity is required |
| bricks are to remain fully visible, as | | | | than that given by a single stretcher bond |
| opposed to being covered up by plaster or | | | | wall with engaged piers. |
| stucco, this is known as face-work. | | | | |
| | | | English bond |
| Bricks are laid to expose their ends (Header | | | | |
| bricks), or sides (Stretcher bricks). As the | | | | This bond is made up of alternating courses |
| work progresses, the bricks are laid in rows | | | | of stretchers and headers. This produces a |
| called courses. The manner in which the | | | | solid wall that is a full brick in depth. |
| bricks overlap as they are laid up is called | | | | English bond is fairly easy to lay and is the |
| the bond. Types of bond include English bond, | | | | strongest bond for a one-brick-thick wall. If |
| Flemish bond, and Herringbone bond, but the | | | | only one face of an English bond wall is |
| most common type of brickwork seen these days | | | | exposed, one quarter of the bricks are not |
| is the simple stretcher bond, showing only | | | | visible, and hence may be of low visual |
| the long side-surface of the brick. | | | | quality. |
| | | | |
| Because only the outside of finished | | | | Flemish bond |
| brickwork is visible, cheaper grades of brick | | | | |
| are commonly used for the hidden parts of a | | | | Flemish Bond, also known as Dutch Bond, has |
| wall. In an old red-brick house, behind the | | | | historically always been considered the most |
| front of red, the rest of the walls are often | | | | decorative bond, and for this reason was used |
| made of softer yellow bricks. The colour | | | | extensively for dwellings until the adoption |
| situation may be reversed if the house was | | | | of the cavity wall. It is created by |
| built when red bricks were out of fashion. So | | | | alternately laying headers and stretchers in |
| with certain types of bond (e.g. garden wall | | | | a single course. The next course is laid so |
| bond) it is possible to use a higher ratio of | | | | that a header lies in the middle of the |
| cheaper bricks to more expensive bricks, | | | | stretcher in the course below. Again, this |
| making for a cheaper wall of the same | | | | bond is one brick thick. It is quite |
| dimensions. On the same house, sometimes a | | | | difficult to lay Flemish bond properly, since |
| more economical "garden wall" bond has been | | | | for best effect all the perpends (vertical |
| used at the side and rear compared to the | | | | mortar joints) need to be vertically aligned. |
| front. | | | | If only one face of an Flemish bond wall is |
| | | | exposed, one third of the bricks are not |
| The thickness of brickwork is measured in | | | | visible, and hence may be of low visual |
| units of brick. If bricks are put down | | | | quality. This is a better ratio than for |
| end-to-end with the long side facing you | | | | English bond, Flemish bond's main rival for |
| (stretchers) and then another row on top, the | | | | load-bearing walls. |
| wall thickness is half a brick. | | | | |
| | | | A common variation often found in early 18th |
| There are rules of bonding, which have some | | | | Century buildings is Glazed-headed Flemish |
| exceptions. These specify the overlap between | | | | Bond, in which the exposed headers are burned |
| courses that is visible outside the wall, and | | | | until they vitrify with a black glassy |
| also the overlap which must be made within | | | | surface. Monk bond is a variant of Flemish |
| the wall, for walls which are more than half | | | | bond, with two stretchers between the headers |
| a brick thick. | | | | in each row, and the headers centred over the |
| | | | join between the two stretchers in the row |
| Brickwork, like unreinforced concrete, has | | | | below. |
| little tensile strength, and works by | | | | |
| everything being kept in compression. | | | | Garden wall bond |
| | | | |
| Brickwork arches can span great distances, | | | | These bonds are variations on normal bonds. |
| and carry considerable loads. | | | | They use a high proportion of stretchers, and |
| | | | hence require fewer facing bricks than normal |
| Bricklaying Apprenticeships | | | | bonds. This makes them less sturdy, but |
| | | | cheaper to lay. As such they are most |
| Bricklayers use a variety of specialist tools | | | | commonly used for garden- and other |
| to carry out precise and accurate results | | | | non-load-bearing walls. |
| from architect's plans. Apprenticeships offer | | | | |
| a common route into the job, and a fully | | | | Rat-trap bond is a type of garden wall bond |
| qualified bricklayer will be able to progress | | | | in which the stretchers and headers are laid |
| into technical, supervisory and management | | | | on their sides, with the base of the |
| roles with training. | | | | stretcher facing outwards. This gives a wall |
| | | | with an internal cavity bridged by the |
| Types of bond | | | | headers, hence the name. The main advantage |
| | | | of this bond is economy in use of bricks, |
| When laying bricks, the manner in which the | | | | giving a wall of one brick thickness with |
| bricks overlap is called the bond. A brick | | | | fewer bricks than a solid bond. Rat-trap bond |
| laid with the longest side exposed is called | | | | was in common usage in England for building |
| a stretcher brick, as opposed to a header, | | | | houses of fewer than 3 stories up to the turn |
| where only the smallest end of the brick is | | | | of the 20th century and is today still used |
| exposed to the weather. The length of one | | | | in India as an economical bond, as well for |
| stretcher is the same as two header bricks, | | | | the insulation properties offered by the air |
| side-by-side, including the 10mm joint | | | | cavity. Also, many brick walls surrounding |
| between. | | | | kitchen gardens were designed with cavities |
| | | | so hot air could circulate in the winter, |
| The thickness of a brick wall is measured | | | | warming fruit trees or other produce spread |
| using a unit of length known as 'the brick'. | | | | against the walls, causing them to bloom |
| This standard can be used consistently with | | | | earlier and forcing early fruit production. |
| the wide variety of brick sizes available | | | | |
| ("modular, "Norman" brick, etc.). The length | | | | Herringbone bond |
| of the longest face for a particular size of | | | | |
| brick equals "one brick", for the purposes of | | | | When bricks are laid on alternating angles, |
| measuring a wall built from such bricks. | | | | it is called a Herringbone. This is primarily |
| | | | a decorative style, more often used for |
| Stretcher bond | | | | paving or fireplace reflectors than for |
| | | | walls. This style is also sometimes called by |
| Stretcher bond (also known as running bond or | | | | its Latin name: Opus spicatum. |
| monotonous stretcher bond) is the most common | | | | |
| bond in modern times, as it is easy to lay, | | | | Basket bond |
| with little waste. Entirely comprised of | | | | |
| stretcher bricks, set in rows (or "courses") | | | | This decorative pattern imitates the weave of |
| that are offset by half a brick. | | | | a basket. It's also sometimes called a basket |
| | | | weave bond, and there are many variations on |
| Running bond uses no header bricks, allowing | | | | the weave pattern, some very elaborate. |
| for a thin wall of one layer (half of a | | | | |
| 'brick' unit). Two such walls may be built | | | | American bond |
| close together with a gap between. The two | | | | |
| "skins" are usually tied together at regular | | | | American common bond is made by laying the |
| intervals using wall ties. For this reason | | | | courses of headers where they are separated |
| this bond is sometimes known as "cavity wall | | | | by approximately five to seven courses of |
| bond", although it is possible to give the | | | | stretchers. On occasion American common bond |
| appearance of other bonds in a half-brick | | | | can be found with nine courses of stretchers |
| cavity wall, either through extensive | | | | between courses of headers. The stretcher |
| brick-cutting or the use of purpose-made | | | | courses are most often an uneven number. |
| half-bricks. In some climates the cavity may | | | | English common bond is an early variation |
| be filled with cavity wall insulation. | | | | with only three courses of stretchers between |
| | | | header courses. |
| Stretcher bond may also be used to build a | | | | |
| single-wythe (one brick thick) wall without a | | | | Chinese bond |
| deliberate cavity. In this case, wall ties | | | | |
| are used to hold the two wythes together. The | | | | As in flemish bond, but all the bricks are |
| main advantage of this technique is that it | | | | laid on edge. Unusual, but used to make a |
| allows walls with both faces visible, such as | | | | light weight structure or economise on |
| domestic dwarf walls, to be built using | | | | bricks. Creates a semi-cavity wall. |