Types Of Bonds Used In Brick Masonry Wall Construction And Their Uses

Types Of Bonds Used In Brick Masonry Wall Construction And Their Uses

Bond types in brick masonry wall construction are classified based on the type of bricklaying and bonding style on the walls. Bonds are created in brick masonry between rows of bricks and by filling the mortar when the bricks are placed close together and in layers on the walls. Cement mortar is the most commonly used material for bonding in brick masonry. Lime mortar and soil mortar are used.

 

Types of Bond types in Brick

Masonry Wall Construction

The most common bond types used in brick masonry are:

1.   Stretcher bond

2.   Header bond

3.   Flemish bond

4.   English bond

 

Other Types of bonds are:

 

1.   Facing bond

2.   Dutch bond

3.   Raking bond

4.   English cross bond

5.   Brick on edge bond

6.   Zigzag bond

7.   Garden wall bond

 

1.  Stretcher Bond

The narrow longer face of the brick is called the stretcher as shown in the below figure. Stretcher bonding, also known as running bond, is formed when the bricks only show their stretchers, overlapping in the middle with courses of bricks at the bottom and above.

Stretcher bonding in brick is a simple pattern that repeats. But the limitation of stretcher bonding is that it does not create effective bonding with adjacent bricks in full-width thick brick walls. They are used only for a half brick thick walls such as a construction half brick thick partition wall.

Walls built with stretcher bonds are not long enough to stand alone if they are long and high. Thus they need sub-structure like brick masonry columns (pillar made by bricks) at right intervals.

Stretcher joints are commonly used externally in steel or reinforced concrete structural structures. These are also used as the outer face of the cavity walls. Other common uses of such walls are border walls, gardens, etc.

 

2.  Header Bond

The narrow square face of the brick is called the header, which measures 90mm x 9mm. Its also known as heading bond. In the header bonds, all the bricks in each subject are placed as headings on the faces of the walls. Stretcher bonding is used to construct walls with a thickness of half a brick, while header bonding is used to construct walls with a full brick thickness of 180mm. In heading bonds, they are placed one on top of the other equal to half the width of the brick. To achieve this, three-quarter brickbats are used as quoins in alternative courses.

 

3.  English Bond

The English bond in the brick masonry consists of only one stretcher and a header above it, i.e. it consists of two alternate courses of stretchers and headers.

The headers are centered on the stretchers below, and each alternate row is aligned vertically.

To break the continuity of vertical joints, the narrower quoin is used at the start and end of a wall after the first header. A closed quoin is a brick cut lengthwise into two halves and used in the corners of brick walls.

 

4.  Flemish Bond

For the breaking of vertical joints in the successive courses, closers are inserted in alternate courses next to the quoin header. In walls having their thickness equal to an odd number of half bricks, bats are essentially used to achieve the bond.

The Flemish Bond, also called as the Dutch Bond, is made by laying alternate headers and stretchers in the same row. The next row of brick is laid so that the header is in the middle of the stretcher in the row below, that is, the alternate headers of each row are centred on the stretcher of course below. Every Flemish bond alternative course begins with the header at the corner.

The thickness of the Flemish bond is at least one full brick. The disadvantage of using Flemish bonding is difficult to form and requires more skill to place it properly because all vertical motor joints must be aligned vertically for best results. In order to break the vertical joints in the subsequent courses, the closures are inserted in the alternative courses next to the quoin header. On walls equal to an odd number of half-bricks, bats are used to achieve bonding.

Flemish bonds look better, but are weaker than English bonds for load-bearing wall construction. Therefore, if you want to do pointing to brick masonry walls, Flemish bonding can be used for better aesthetic vision. If you want to plaster the walls, it is better to use English bonding.

 

Flemish Bonds Are Classified As:

1.  Single Flemish Bond

2.  Double Flemish Bond

Single Flemish bond is a mix of English bond and Flemish bond. In this type of construction, the exposed surface of the front of the wall has a Flemish bond and the back surface of the wall has an English bond in each subject. The minimum thickness for a single Flemish bond is one and a half brick thickness. The main purpose of using single Flemish bonding is to provide a more aesthetic appearance on the front surface with the required strength in brickwork with English bonding. The Double Flemish Bond has the same look at the front and back heights, meaning each course has an alternate header and stretcher. This type of bond is relatively weaker than the English bond

Must read: Method of Laying Brickwork in Masonry Construction

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