What Are The Common Types Of Brick Bonds Used In Masonry?

Selecting the Appropriate Brick Bond

Make a Colour Choice

When deciding on a brick for a construction project, one of the first considerations is usually the brick's desired colour. The brick's colour is one of the most influential factors in realising a project's intended aesthetic. The days of RED bricks being the only option are long gone; today, bricks come in a rainbow of hues.

Choose Your Brick Variety

Bricks are essential building materials typically made from clay and come rectangular. Bricks made from concrete, lime, fly ash, and many other basic materials are utilised in modern buildings.

Brick size

When choosing bricks, size is another crucial factor. The architecture of the building, its overall aesthetic look, the convenience of laying the bricks, and so on are all greatly affected by the size of the bricks.

Texture

You can customise the bricks' texture in the same numerous ways as the colour. Bricks can now be purchased in a wide range of finishes, from smooth to heavily textured, from light to heavy, and from tumbled to stock. The bricks' texture must match the feel of the original brickwork that was built there. Light reflected off the bricks' surface, the resulting light and shade effect and the perceived colour of the façade are all affected by the bricks' varying textures.

Mortar Impacts The Colour

Mortar colour is also crucial in setting the tone for a structure's overall aesthetic. This is because, depending on the bond pattern, mortar can make up anywhere from 15% to 17% of the bricks visible in a wall. Also, when repointing older brickwork, ensuring the mortar you're using is compatible with the rest of the structure is crucial.

Select A Bond Pattern

Bricks with interesting patterns should be considered carefully. A bond's principal function is to make a wall as solid as possible, but it can also greatly enhance the aesthetic of the brickwork. So, keep the pattern in mind when you choose the bricks.

Orientation

The appearance of the finished product will be greatly affected by the direction in which the bricks are put. The value of a brick wall can be increased simply by varying the orientation in which the bricks are put. By "orientation," we mean identifying which face of a brick will be visible to the outside world and which will be used to secure it to the building's framework.

Special shaped bricks

There are many advantages to using specialty-shaped bricks, including improved aesthetics, increased durability and protection, less waste during construction, and less time spent manually cutting bricks.   

Other Materials

There needs to be more than bricks for your construction. Glass, wood, metal, etc., are only a few materials used in construction. Brick is fantastic because it pairs nicely with many other materials. When deciding, it's important to think about the other building materials you plan to use alongside the brick. This will help guarantee that everything flows together seamlessly.  

Conclusion 

Brick bonding is a method of laying bricks in a specific pattern, which applies to masonry buildings made of brick, concrete blocks, or any other material. It works by using compatible-sized bricks or masonry units, resulting in a consistent, repeatable pattern when applied to any area. The most common brick bond styles include the Stretcher Bond, Header Bond, English Bond, and Flemish Bond.

Stretcher bonds are used for cavity walls and exterior facing in steel or reinforced concrete-framed constructions, while Header Bond is used for full brick thick walls. English Bond is produced by alternating stretcher and header courses, with the queen closer used to create gaps in the continuity of vertical joints. Flemish Bond, also known as the Dutch bond, is weaker for load-bearing walls but has a more attractive exterior.

There are two types of Flemish bonds: One-Time Flemish Bond and Flemish Bonding, with one-to-one bonds consisting of two or more English bonds and one Flemish bond combined into a single bond. Double Flemish Bonds have similar front and back elevations but differ in appearance, difficulty of installation, and structural requirements.

The English Garden Wall Bond is a traditional construction method where bricks are laid out with heading courses every fourth or sixth course and stretchers every third, fifth, or seventh course in subsequent courses. It comprises four levels: one header course and three stretcher courses. The Flemish Garden Wall Bond, also known as the Sussex Bond, is a variation of the classic stretcher-header configuration, with three stretchers and one header running in parallel. There are two forms of the Flemish bond: stack bond and raking bond.

Raking bonds can be laid at any angle other than 90 degrees, improving the strength of the English bonds and making the structure more stable along their length. They can follow diagonal, herringbone, or zigzag bond patterns, with the latter being most common in brick-paved floors. Facing bonds are used for thicker facing and backing walls, which require bricks of varied thicknesses.

When choosing a brick for a construction project, consider factors such as color, brick variety, size, texture, mortar color, bond pattern, orientation, specialty-shaped bricks, and other materials. Bricks come in various colors and textures, and their choice should match the feel of the original brickwork.

Brick orientation greatly affects the appearance of the finished product, increasing the value of a brick wall. Specially shaped bricks offer improved aesthetics, increased durability, and protection. When deciding on bricks, consider other building materials like glass, wood, and metal to ensure seamless integration.

Content Summary:  

• Laying bricks in a certain pattern is called "brick bond."
• The appearance, difficulty of installation, and, in the case of walls, the structural requirements of the many types of brick bonds vary.
• Different Brick Bonds Let's examine the most common brick bond styles for constructing walls, Stretcher Bond All of the bricks in this bond are set in the same direction as illustrated in Fig.,
• The many stretcher-type bond wall constructions are Silent partitions Defining Structures Separating walls Separation partitions (or walls) Stacks of chimneys Header Bond The header is the face of the brick that is 9cm (three inches) in height and 9cm (three inches) in width.
• The headers are set symmetrically on the stretchers of the course below, with every other row perfectly aligned vertically.
• After installing the first header in each heading course, the queen closer is utilised at the beginning and end of a wall to create a gap in the continuity of vertical joints.
• Queen closers are bricks chopped in half along their length and used in brick walls at 90-degree angles.
• However, more face bricks are needed for an English bond than for any other type of bond.
• Flooring made of brick is laid in English bond.
• Alternating headers and stretchers are laid in the same course to generate the Flemish Bond, also known as the Dutch bond.
• Each alternative heading of each course is centred on the stretcher of the course below so that the header of the following course is always in the centre of the stretcher of the course below.
• A heading at the corner marks the beginning of each of the bond's different paths.
• To prevent the joints in the consecutive courses from cracking vertically, closers are placing alternate courses near the quoin header.
• When the thickness of the wall is an odd number of half bricks, a bat is utilised.
• The Flemish bond is weaker than the English bond for load-bearing walls despite its superior aesthetics.
• So, if you need to point brick walls, the most aesthetically pleasing option is the Flemish bond, but if you need to plaster the walls, the English bond is the better choice.
• Bond has a more attractive exterior.
• A Flemish Bond consists of two or more English bonds and one Flemish bond combined into a single bond.
• The wall is built with Flemish bond on the visible face and English bond on the reverse side in every course.
• Double Flemish Bond: Although a Double Flemish Bond's front and back elevations seem very similar.
• Models are all used in the Flemish bond.
• This bond is a variation of the classic stretcher-header configuration, with three stretchers and one header all running in parallel.
• There are two forms of the Flemish garden wall bond, each with advantages and disadvantages.
• Every wall has a certain height at which a raking bond is introduced.
• Zig Zag Bond is extremely similar to a herringbone bond, with the primary distinction being the zigzag pattern in which the bricks are set.
• Due to the amount of backing joints and facing bonds, wall load distribution is not uniform.
• If this happens, the wall's two different thicknesses may settle at different rates.
• When deciding on a brick for a construction project, one of the first considerations is usually the brick's desired colour.
• The brick's colour is one of the most influential factors in realising a project's intended aesthetic.
• When choosing bricks, size is another crucial factor.
• The architecture of the building, its overall aesthetic look, the convenience of laying the bricks, and so on are all greatly affected by the size of the bricks.
• You can customise the bricks' texture in the same numerous ways as the colour.
• The bricks' texture must match the feel of the original brickwork that was built there.
• Light reflected off the bricks' surface, the resulting light and shade effect and the perceived colour of the façade are all affected by the bricks' varying textures.
• Mortar colour is also crucial in setting the tone for a structure's overall aesthetic.
• This is because, depending on the bond pattern, mortar can make up anywhere from 15% to 17% of the bricks visible in a wall.
• Also, when repointing older brickwork, ensuring the mortar you're using is compatible with the rest of the structure is crucial.
• Bricks with interesting patterns should be considered carefully.
• A bond's principal function is to make a wall as solid as possible, but it can also greatly enhance the aesthetic of the brickwork.
• So, keep the pattern in mind when you choose the bricks.
• The value of a brick wall can be increased simply by varying the orientation in which the bricks are put.
• There needs to be more than bricks for your construction.
• are only a few materials used in construction.
• Brick is fantastic because it pairs nicely with many other materials.
• When deciding, it's important to think about the other building materials you plan to use alongside the brick.