ChaCAREER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
INSTRUCTOR: MR. BRIAN IASIELLO
Study Guide CHAPTER 2: Brick Patterns
structioneDEFINITIONS
.
American bond - A pattern consisting of a course of brick laid in the
header position typically between every five or six courses of brick
laid in the stretcher position.
Bat - Another term for half of a full brick length.
Dutch corner - A styling for corners or ends of walls constructed in either
the English bond pattern or Flemish bond pattern characterized by
an approximately 6”-long brick at the end.
English bond - A pattern consisting of alternating courses of brick laid as
all stretchers and all headers.
English corner - Also called a queen closure, a styling for corners or ends
of walls constructed in either the English bond pattern or Flemish
bond pattern characterized by an approximately 2”-long brick piece
adjacent to the end of the first brick of a course.
Flemish bond - A brick pattern consisting of alternating stretchers and
headers for each course.
Flemish garden wall bond - A pattern of brickwork, typically having
three headers between each stretcher, creating the appearances of
diagonal lines and diamond patterns.
Garden walls - Brick walls or fencing typically built to add elegance to
outdoor living areas.
Pattern bond - The pattern created by the arrangement of masonry units
on a masonry wall.
Queen closure - Also called a plug, a brick piece approximately 2” long
sometimes used at the ends of walls having Flemish bond and
English bond brick patterns.
Running bond - A brick pattern where every brick is laid in the stretcher
position and the brick of alternate courses forming a uniform lap
with the brick below.
Single-wythe brick wall - A brick wall having a bed depth equivalent to
the width of 1 brick.
Screen wall - A brick wall constructed in the Flemish bond pattern with
the headers omitted to create openings through the wall.
Snap header - The term describing half of a brick length laid in the header
position for 4”-wide Flemish bond walls.
Stack bond - Also called the stacked bond, a pattern consisting of brick
aligned vertically in each consecutive course, in straight columns
with no overlap.
Wythe - The bed depth of a masonry wall or thickness of a masonry wall
in masonry units; each unit of bed depth is considered a wythe.
STUDYGUIDE
A. Brick Masonry Pattern Bonds:
1. A pattern bond is the pattern created by the arrangement of
masonry units on a masonry wall.
2. The individual units form a wall capable of supporting weights and
forces imposed upon it. This is why pattern bonds are also called
structural bonds.
B. Running Bond:
1. A running bond pattern created by laying every brick in a course in
the stretcher position with the brick of alternate courses forming a
uniform lap with the brick below; also called the stretcher bond
pattern.
2. Walls having consecutive courses with one-third lapped brick are
also built.
3. The only brick requiring cutting are those adjacent to openings—
windows and doors, for example—or at the ends of a wall that is
racked or stepped back, as in a roof gable.
C. Flemish Bond:
1. Originally intended to structurally bond together two adjacent brick
walls, forming a double-wythe wall, the Flemish bond pattern
consists of alternating stretchers and headers for each course.
2. It is a pattern of brickwork typically used by nineteenth-century
and earlier masons.
3. Flemish bond patterns for single-wythe anchored brick veneer
walls require 4_-long half-brick called snap headers.
4. To establish the Flemish bond pattern, a shorter brick is required at
the ends of walls.
a. Two procedures are recognized for beginning the ends of
walls, each creating a different design, the English corner and
the Dutch corner.
D. Garden walls:
1. Garden walls—brick walls or fencing typically built to add
elegance to outdoor living areas—can be Flemish bond wall
designs.
2. Omitting the headers for courses creates openings through the wall,
resulting in a screen wall design.
a. Screen walls enhance the appearance of areas requiring
equipment such as heating and air conditioning units, masking
their appearance and providing protection to equipment without
blocking necessary air flow.
3. Screen walls can be built either as a single-wythe or double-wythe
wall.
.
4. Variations of the Flemish bond pattern, called the Flemish garden
wall bond pattern, typically having three headers between each
stretcher, create the appearances of diagonal lines and diamond
patterns. Using two or more brick colors permits endless pattern
designs.
E. English Bond:
1. The English bond pattern consists of alternating courses of brick
laid as all stretchers and all headers.
2. Like the Flemish bond, it is a pattern of brickwork typically used by
nineteenth-century and earlier masons.
3. Every other header is centered above a stretcher.
4. Like the Flemish bond, the English bond was first used in
multiwythe brick walls.
5. Single-wythe anchored brick veneer walls require snap headers.
6. Both English corner design and Dutch corner design are used at the
ends of English bond walls.
F. American Bond:
1. The American bond consists of a course of brick laid in the header
position typically between every five or six courses of brick laid in
the stretcher position.
2. Like the Flemish and English bond patterns, the American bond
was first used for joining brick walls of two or more wythes.
3. Becoming apparent in mid- and late nineteenth-century American
architecture, it is an alternative for the Flemish bond or English
bond.
4. The American bond is sometimes referred to as the common bond.
However, since one may mistake common to mean “ordinary” or
“commonly used” and therefore imply the running bond, it is
advisable to refer to this bond only as the American bond.
5. A 6” piece, or three-quarter brick, is laid in each direction at the
corner to begin the header course. The three-quarter brick are
needed so that the headers will center on the brick below.
6. A variation of the American bond, called the American bond with
Flemish headers, has alternating headers and stretchers instead of
all headers between five or six courses of stretchers.
7. As with the Flemish bond and English bond, snap headers are used
for 4”-wide walls replicating multi-wythe solid masonry walls.
G. Stack Bond:
1. The stack bond pattern (also called the stacked bond pattern)
consists of brick aligned vertically in each consecutive course in
straight columns with no overlap.
2. Evidenced frequently in 1950’s architecture, it lends a
contemporary or modern fashion to brickwork when compared to
the other bond patterns.
3. Because there is no overlapping of units between brick courses,
walls constructed in the stack bond pattern must be reinforced with
wire joint reinforcement bedded in the mortar of horizontal bed
joints.