What is brick masonry ?

Brick masonry is the process of constructing a building from individual bricks laid in a specific
pattern and bound together, usually by mortar. Occasionally, the term is also used to refer to
the brick units themselves. Masonry is considered a durable construction method, and brick is
one of the most common types of masonry used in industrialized nations. The strength of a
structure created with this method depends on the type and uniformity of the individual bricks
selected, as well as the style of masonry used.
Brick masonry can support substantial weight, but does not respond well to shaking, twisting,
or stretching. For this reason, some kind of structural reinforcement, like steel beams, is
usually included.
Many attributes make brick a practical and popular construction choice. In addition to the
inherent beauty of brickwork, it is also thought to create the impression of solidity and
permanence, so brick homes often sell for higher prices. Brick is almost maintenance-free,
never needs to be painted or stained, and resists damage from wind, fire, and water. It also
offers both noise and thermal insulation, so structures created from it generally stay cooler in
the summer and warmer in the winter.

Types of bricks
Bricks are made in a range of varieties, each intended for a specific
purpose, but all are created from some combination of sand, water,
clay, and heat. Building brick, or common brick, is used in construction
and is provided with frog, which reduce weight of brick and increase
strength. Face brick is chosen for visible surfaces or exposed walls and
comes in different colors, sizes, and shapes. Firebrick is made with
special clay to offer additional heat resistance in fireplaces or boiler
rooms. Glazed brick is coated on one surface with a ceramic finish that
is sanitary and easy to clean, making it popular in hospitals and
laboratories.

Fire
bricks

Brick
tile

Glazed
bricks

Common brick

Standard size of brick

Assignment no 1
Enlist various sizes of brick defined
in different standards.

Terminology used in brick masonry

Header

stretch
er

Brick on
side

Brick on
side

Brick on
end

Use of brick on End

Back: The inner surface of a wall which is not exposed is called the back. The
material forming the back is known as backing.
Face: The exterior of wall exposed to weather is known as face. The material
used in the face of the wall is known as facing.
Hearting: It is the interior portion of a wall between the facing and backing.
Joint: It is the junction of two or more bricks or stones. If the joint is parallel to
the bed of bricks or stones in a course then it is termed as bed joint. The joint
which are perpendicular to the bed joints are termed as vertical joints or side joints
or perpends.
Bat: it is the portion of brick cut across the width.

Closer: it is the portion of the brick cut length wise in such a manner that its one
long face remains uncut.
King Closer: these are the portions of a brick obtained by cutting off the triangular
piece between the center of one end and the center of one side.
Bevelled Closer: it is that portion of a brick in which the whole length of the brick is
beveled for maintaining half width at one end and full width art the other.

King closer

Bevelled closer

Jambs: these are the vertical sides of an opening for doors and windows.
These may be plain or splayed or may be provided with recesses to receive the
frames of doors and windows.
Reveals: These are exposed vertical surfaces left on the sides of an opening
after the door or window frame had been fitted in position.
sill level: it is the level of the window from the base (floor) ,through which a
section is cut to show the plan of the structure.

Course: A course is a horizontal layer of bricks or

stones.
Stretcher: A masonry unit laid with its greatest
dimension

horizontal and its face parallel to the wall

and a course having all

the bricks laid in stretcher is

called a stretcher course.

Header: a masonry unit laid with its small dimension
and parallel to the face of the masonry wall. A course
having all the bricks laid header wise is called header
course.

Terminology
Queen Closer: A brick cut lengthwise in 9x2 is called a queen
closer and is placed next to the header course to break the joints.

POINTING
Tooling: compressing and shaping the face of a mortar joint with a
special tool other than a trowel.
Tuck pointing: filling in with fresh mortar of cutout or defective
mortar joint in masonry.

Tooling

Tuck pointing

Detail of masonry wall

Simple Wall
The diagram illustrates the salient points of constructing a
low wall of the type found in most applications. This shows a
double skin wall, 200mm wide on the left and a single skin
wall, 100mm wide, on the right. A single skin wall is only
suitable to a height of around 450mm; anything higher
should be double-skinned for stability. Any wall higher than
1.2 meters must be designed by a structural engineer, who
will take account of prevailing ground conditions, planned
usage etc. and design a wall suitable to the project.

Damp Proof Course

A damp proof course (dpc) is a layer of impermeable material built into the
wall to prevent upward migration of ground water. The easiest dpc to install is
the polymer sheet, supplied in rolls to suit all widths of brickwork. It is always
laid to a course at least 150mm above ground level and is simply rolled out on
top of the preceding course. Once in position, the brick laying continues as
normal, covering the dpc with a bed of mortar and then laying the first course
of bricks above dpc. dpc detail
we never build any wall without dpc. it costs very little and guarantees a
longer life for the wall, as damp cannot rise above the dpc to saturate the
facing brickwork.
Engineering bricks can also be used to create a dpc in freestanding walls. Two

courses of engineering bricks are laid and, because of their very low water
absorption capability, they prevent the upward migration of groundwater.

Qualities of a Good Brick

Bricks should be table moulded, well burnt in kilns, copper

coloured, free from cracks and with sharp and square edges.
Bricks should be uniform shape and should be of standard Size.
Bricks should give clear ringing sound when struck each other.
Bricks when broken should show a bright homogeneous and
compact structure free from voids.
Bricks should not absorb water more than 20 percent by weight
for first class bricks and 22 percent by weight for second class
bricks, when soaked in cold water for a period of24 hours.

Qualities of a Good Brick

Bricks should be sufficiently hard no impression, should be

left on brick surface, when it is scratched with finger nail.
Bricks should be low thermal conductivity and they should
be sound proof.
Bricks should not break when dropped flat on hard ground
from a height of about one meter.
Bricks, when soaked in water for 24hours, should not show
deposits of white salts when allowed to dry in shade.
No brick should have crushing strength below 55kg/cm2.

Bond in Brick Masonry

The arrangement of bricks or stones in each layer in such a way to
break the continuity of vertical joints in the successive courses both
on the face as well as inside of a masonry structure is called a bond.
this is done by overlapping bricks or stones in successive courses
longitudinally as well as transversely.
Necessity of providing bond:
To break the continuity of vertical joints.
To ensure the longitudinal and lateral strength.
To distribute the load over larger resisting area.
To provide pleasing appearance by laying bricks symmetrically.

Types of Bond in Brick

Work

English bond

Flemish bond
Header bond
Stretcher bond
Garden wall bond
Raking bond
English cross bond

 Hoop iron bond

Facing bond
Dutch bond
Monk bond
Zig Zag bond
Brick-on-Edge bond
Silver locks bond

English bond
This bond consists of alternate course of headers and stretchers.
In this arrangement, vertical joints in the header courses come
over each other and the vertical joints in the stretcher course are
also in the same line in alternate courses.

Salient features of English bond:

Header and stretcher are laid in alternate courses.
A queen closer is placed after every quion heading course
when the thickness of wall is 20 cm or above.

 The same course will show headers on the face

and stretchers on the back and vice versa, if the

thickness of wall is an odd multiple of half brick.

English bond

 The length of queen closer is usually kept equal to the

thickness of wall.
The same course will show headers or stretchers on face and
back if the thickness of wall is an even multiple of half brick.
Each alternate header in the heading course lies centrally over
every stretcher of the underlying stretching course.
The inner filling is done in headers in the wall having thickness
40 cm or above.
Suitability:
English bond is commonly adopted for brickwork of building
where strength is of prime importance.

Flemish bond
The bond having headers and stretchers laid alternately in the same
course is called Flemish bond. In this bond a queen closer is provided
after every quion header in the alternate courses to break the
continuity of vertical joints. Brick bats are to be used for forming this
bond when the thickness of wall is equal to an odd multiple of half brick.

Salient features of
Flemish
bond
Headers and stretchers are laid in the same course.
Queen closer is placed after every quoin header brick in the
heading course when the thickness of wall is 20 cm or above.
The length of queen closer is not kept equal to the thickness
of wall and is usually intercepted by bats.
Brick bats are to be used in wall having thickness equal to an
odd multiple of half brick.
Every header in each course lies centrally over every stretcher
of the underlying course.

Types of Flemish bond

Flemish bond has following two types:
Double Flemish bond
The bond having headers and stretchers laid
alternately in each course both in the face
and back of the structure is called double
Flemish bond.

This type of bond provides good appearance

but is weaker in strength than English bond for
wall having thickness more than 20 cm. Double
Flemish bond is considered as an economical
bond as it facilitates the use of brick bates and
closers. In this bond, it is easier to obtain a fair
and more uniform face on both sides of 20 cm
thick wall than incase of English bond. This bond
is commonly known as Flemish bond.

The salient features of double Flemish bond are the

same as that of Flemish bond in addition to the
following features.
Each course will show different elevation on face
and back if the thickness of wall is an odd multiple of
half brick i.e. if header is seen in the front elevation
then stretcher will be seen in line with that header in
back elevation in the same course and vice versa.
Suitability:
Double Flemish bond is used for brick work of
building where appearance is of prime importance.

Single Flemish bond

The bond provided in a wall with Flemish bond facing and
English bond in backing is called Single Flemish bond.

Advantages and Disadvantages of S.F.B

It provides better appearance.
It can be made more economical by using cheap quality of
bricks on the back of the wall.
It weakens the overall strength of the wall because of
maximum use of brick bats and existence of continuous
vertical joints.
It cannot be provide in walls having thickness less than one
and half brick.
Suitability: Single Flemish bond is used where first class
bricks are specified for facing in order to provide good
appearance to the facing of wall.

Stretcher bond
Stretcher bond is one of the most common bonds. It
is easy to lay with little waste and composed entirely
of stretchers set in rows, offset by half a brick.

Stretcher Bond
Originally used for single brick walls, it became the obvious choice
for cavity walls with the least amount of cutting required. It is
therefore the most economical bond pattern and is extensively
used in modern building

Header bond
Header bond is created by rows of headers, only
displaced by half a brick on each row. This bond is
often use to create curved brickwork.
A brick course laid flat with the short end of the
brick exposed. This method is particularly strong
as the width of the wall is the whole length of a
brick. Historically it was used for buildings of high
quality, often used for curved brickwork.

Header Bond

Header Bond

Assignment no 02
Self study of remaining types of brick
bond
Submit hard as well as soft copy in
power point presentation format till
30/10/2013

General Principal for Brick Masonry

Bricks shall be soaked in water
before use
for a period not less than six hours.
Bricks shall be laid in English Bond
unless other wise specified.