Brick Masonry Terms Types and Tips

Brick Masonry: Terms, Types, and Tips

Brick masonry is an age-old building technique that remains a cornerstone of modern construction. It involves the skillful arrangement of bricks to create arches, walls, and buildings, providing shelter and defining cultural and architectural styles worldwide.

Masons practice bricklaying using modern techniques and high-quality materials. Brick masonry offers a timeless appeal for its beauty, longevity, and strength. It remains important in building and design.

Understanding the fundamentals is essential for builders, designers, and DIYers.

Brick masonry is the art of bricklaying using modern techniques and high-quality materials that offer a timeless appeal for its beauty, longevity, and strength. It remains important in building and design, making it essential for builders, designers, and skilled DIYers to understand its fundamentals.

Brick masonry is a building technique that involves arranging bricks in a specific pattern and using mortar as a bonding agent. It is an ancient construction method, used in ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Mesopotamia. Despite its ancient origins, brick masonry has seen continuous innovation.

Modern masons reinforce bricks with materials like steel, enhancing both strength and durability without compromising aesthetics.

In brick masonry, masons layer bricks in patterns like running bond, English bond, Flemish bond, or stack bond. Different brick sizes and shapes are available for specific architectural designs.

Mortar, a cement-based material, binds the bricks into a single unit. Masons apply mortar between each brick using techniques like head and bed joint and buttering. The mortar firmly bonds the bricks and distributes loads evenly, improving the structure’s strength and stability.

Brick masonry is a specialized building form with many confusing terms. Here’s an overview of important terms in brick masonry:

– Brick: A rectangular block made of clay, used as the primary building unit in masonry construction.

– Mortar: The bonding material in brick masonry, usually made of cement, sand, and water.

– Header: A brick laid facing outward in the wall’s thickness.

– Stretcher: A brick laid with its long side facing outwards, parallel to the wall’s thickness.

– Course: A horizontal layer of bricks in a wall or structure.

Bed Joint: The mortar layer between the brick bottom and the foundation surface.
Head Joint: The vertical mortar joint between adjacent bricks in the same course.
Bond: The specific pattern or arrangement in which masons lay and bond the bricks.
Expansion Joint: Gaps in the structure that allow for natural expansion and contraction in response to temperature changes.
Weep Holes: Gaps in the masonry that allow for water drainage.

Types of Brick Masonry Mortar

There are two main types of brick masonry: cement and mud.

Cement Brick Masonry

Cement brick masonry techniques utilize cement mortar to bind bricks together. It is the preferred bonding material due to its strength and durability. There are three classes of cement brick masonry:

1. First Class: This class involves using cement mortar with lime. Bricks used are of good quality, with sharp edges and flat planes. The mortar lines are kept under 10mm.

First-class brick masonry is crucial for load-bearing and critical structural purposes.

2. Second Class: Second-class brick masonry involves rough and irregular-shaped bricks. The mortar lines in this class are 12mm thick. It is suitable for non-load-bearing and internal walls.

Mud brick masonry construction is still popular in some parts of the world due to its historical significance, low cost, and soil availability. Mud mortar, made from clay-rich soil and water, is not as durable or easy to maintain as cement mortar structures, but with proper care, it can last for centuries.

There are different types of bonds used in brick masonry, which are specific patterns or arrangements masons use to bond the bricks together.

One of these bonds is the Flemish Bond.

The Flemish bond consists of alternating headers and stretchers in each course. Masons vertically align headers and stretchers in adjacent courses to create an attractive and durable wall.

The English bond alternates courses of headers and stretchers. Each course contains just headers or stretchers, with headers centered in the course above and below the stretchers. This creates an attractive and durable brick wall.

The Running bond is a type of bricklaying where bricks are laid in a pattern of stretchers with each brick overlapping half of the one below. It is a simple and commonly used bond for walls and pathways.

Stack Bond

In a stack bond, bricks are laid in a straight line without offsetting between courses. This creates a contemporary look, but it is not suitable for load-bearing applications.

Herringbone Bond

The herringbone bond pattern involves laying bricks at a 45o angle to the horizontal plane, creating a V-shaped pattern. Herringbone bonds are common for walkways and patios due to their attractive and distinctive appearance.

Brick Masonry Wall Types

There are various types of brick masonry walls that builders construct with different goals in terms of use, aesthetics, and longevity.

• Solid Brick Walls: Consisting of a continuous layer of bricks without gaps or cavities, solid brick walls provide structural support.
• Cavity Brick Masonry Walls: These walls have two layers of brick masonry with an air gap between them. The outer layer, or facing brickwork, offers weather protection and aesthetics, while the inner wall provides structural support.
• Brick Veneer Walls: Non-load-bearing walls that clad the exterior surface of a building, brick veneer walls serve as decorative cladding without contributing to the building’s structural support.

Hollow Brick Masonry Walls – Masons use hollow bricks in masonry walls for their thermal insulation and low weight.

Tips for Optimal Brick Masonry Projects:

1. Use high-quality and uniform bricks.

2. Choose an appropriate mortar mix.

3. Wet the bricks before use to prevent excessive water absorption.

4. Ensure a firm and level foundation.

5. Use a plumb line and level during the building process for proper alignment.

6. Use a bond pattern appropriate for your project’s design and use.

7. Incorporate expansion joints for movement.

8. Insert weep holes for drainage.

Sufficiently cure the mortar.

Follow local building codes and safety regulations.

Hire skilled masons if you lack experience in brick masonry construction.

Benefits of Brick Masonry:

– Durability: Bricks and mortar are durable and can withstand weathering, fire, and pests better than other materials. Well-constructed brick structures can last for centuries.

– Fire Resistant: Bricks are non-combustible, making brick buildings safer in case of fire compared to wood buildings.

– Aesthetics: Bricks provide aesthetic appeal and can enhance the appearance of structures.

Masonry Drawbacks

Like all building materials, bricks have some inherent disadvantages that may make them inappropriate for certain projects.

Cost and Costs – Constructing brick structures may be more expensive than using other building materials, especially if you opt for expensive brick types or intricate patterns. Weight – Bricks are generally heavy, which can create challenges during transportation and installation. Adequate foundation support is essential for larger brick structures. Slow Construction – Building a brick structure takes more time compared to modern or modular building techniques.

Moisture Absorption – Improperly built or sealed brick structures can absorb ambient moisture, leading to issues such as efflorescence, mold growth, or freeze-thaw damage.

Brick repairs can be challenging due to their labor-intensive nature and the difficulty of finding matching bricks.