BRICK MASONRY

Masonry is defined as the systematic arrangement of building units bonded

together with mortar. The building units may be stones, bricks or reinforced bricks.
When stones are used as the building units, it is termed as ​stone masonry. When
bricks are used as the building units, it is termed as b​ rick masonry.
The basic advantage of masonry is that in load bearing structures it performs
following functions such as
i) Supporting loads ii) Subdividing space (iii) Providing thermal & acoustic
insulation (iv) Providing fire & weather protection
Depending upon the building units used, masonry may be of following types.
1. Brick Masonry
2. Stone Masonry
3. Hollow concrete blocks masonry
4. Reinforced brick masonry
5. Composite masonry
TERMS USED IN MASONRY
Course : A course is a horizontal layer of masonry unit. In brick masonry, the
thickness of a course will be equal to the thickness brick plus thickness of one
mortar joint.
Header: A header is a full stone unit or brick which is laid such that its length is
perpendicular to the face of the wall. In case of brick masonry, a brick header will
show its face measuring 9cm X 9cm on the face of the wall.
Stretcher: A stretcher is a full stone unit or brick which is laid such that its length is
parallel to the face of the wall. In case of brick masonry, a brick stretcher will show
its face measuring 19cm X 9cm on the face of the wall.
Header Course: ​A course of brick showing only headers on the exposed face of the
wall is termed as header course. Thus the header course will show all the brick
units measuring 9 cm X 9cm on the face of the wall.
Stretcher Course: ​A course of brick showing only stretchers on the exposed face of
the wall is termed as stretcher course. Thus the stretcher course will show all the
brick units measuring 19 cm X 9cm on the face of the wall.
Bed:​ It is the lower surface of the brick or stone when laid flat.
Perpend: It is the imaginary vertical line through the vertical joints in alternate
courses.
Lap:​ It is the horizontal distance between vertical joints of successive brick courses.
Quoin: The exterior angle or corner of a wall is known as quoin. The stones or
bricks forming the quoins are termed as stone quoin or quoin bricks. If the quoin is
laid in such away that its width is parallel to the face of the brick, it is termed as
quoin header​. If the quoin is laid in such away that its length is parallel to the face of
the brick, it is termed as q​ uoin stretcher.​
Closer:​ The portion of brick obtained after cutting the brick longitudinally is termed
as closer.
Queen Closer: It is the portion of the brick obtained by cutting a brick lengthwise
into two equal portions.
King Closer: It is the portion of the brick which is so cut, that the width of one of its
end is half that of full brick, while width at the other end is equal to the full width.
It is obtained by cutting a triangular piece between the centre of one end & the
centre of the other side.
Bevelled closer: It is the special form of king closer in which the whole length is
bevelled in such a way that half width is maintained at one end & full width is
maintained at the other end.
Bat: ​It is the portion of the brick cut across the width. If the length of the bat is half
the length of the original brick, it is known as h​ alf bat. If the length of the bat is
three quarters of the length of the original brick, it is known as ​three quarter bat.
Face: ​ It is the surface of the wall exposed to weather
Back:​ It is the inner surface of the wall which is not exposed to weather.
Hearting:​ I​ t is the inner portion of the wall between the facing and backing.
BONDS IN BRICKWORK
It is the method of arranging the bricks in courses so that the individual units are
tied together and the vertical joints of the successive courses do not lie in same
vertical line.

Rules for bonding

1. The bricks should be of uniform size. The length of the brick should be twice
the width of the brick plus thickness of one joint.
2. The amount of lap should be ¼ of the length of the wall.
3. In alternate courses, the centre line of header should coincide with the centre
line of stretcher, in the course above or below it.
4. The vertical joints should be vertically above each other in alternate courses
Types of bond
Following types of bond are provided in the brickwork.
1. Stretcher Bond
2. Header bond
 3. English Bond
4. Flemish Bond
5. Facing Bond
6. Dutch Bond
7. English Cross bond
8. Raking Bond
9. Zigzag Bond
10. Garden wall bond

STRETCHER BOND
Stretcher bond is the one in which all the bricks are laid as stretchers on the face of
the walls. The length of the bricks are thus along the direction of the wall. This
pattern is used only for those walls which have thickness of half brick.
Eg: partition walls, chimney stacks

HEADER BOND
Header bond is the one in which all the bricks are laid as headers on the face of the
walls. The width of the bricks are thus along the direction of the wall. This pattern
is used only when the thickness of the wall is equal to one brick. Te overlap is
usually kept equal to half the width of the brick. This is achieved by using three
quarter brick bats in each alternate courses as quoins.
Eg: In the construction of footings
ENGLISH BOND
This is the most commonly used bond. This bond is considered to be the strongest.
The bond consists of alternate courses of stretchers and headers. In order to break
the vertical joins in the successive courses, ​queen closers are placed aftr quoin
headers.
Features of English Bond
1. It consists of alternate courses of headers and stretchers.
2. The header course should never start with a queen closer. Queen closers are
placed immediately after the quoin header.
3. There should not be any continuous vertical joint except at the end.
4. Since the number of joints in stretcher course is half that of header course, the
joints in the header course are made thinner than the joints in the stretcher
course.
5. Every alternate header comes centrally over the joint between two stretchers
in course below.
 6. Walls of even multiple of half bricks ( 1 brick thick, 2 brick thick, 3 brick
thick wall) present the same appearance on both the faces.

7. Walls of odd multiple of half bricks ( brick thick, brick thick wall)
will show stretchers on one face and headers on the other face.
FLEMISH BOND
In Flemish bond, each course is comprised of alternate headers and stretchers.
Every alternate course starts with a header at the corner ie, quoin header. Queen
closers are placed next to quoin headers in alternate courses to provide necessary
lap. In Flemish bond each course presents same appearance both in the front face
as well as in the back face. Flemish bond presents better appearance than English
Bond
Features of Flemish bond
1. Every course consists of headers and stretchers placed alternately
2. A queen closer is placed next to quoin header in alternate courses to break
continuity
3. In walls having thickness equal to odd multiple of half bricks, half bats and
three quarter bats are used
4. In walls having thickness equal to even multiple of half bricks, no bats are
required
STONE MASONRY
The stones used for masonry should be hard, durable, tough ans sound and free
from weathering, decay or defects like cavities, cracks etc.
Depending on the arrangement of stones in the masonry, they are classified into
1. Rubble Masonry
2. Ashlar Masonry
Rubble Masonry
In rubble masonry, stones used are either undressed or comparatively roughly
dressed. The masonry has wider joints. ​Uncoursed Random Rubble masonry is the
cheapest form of stone work. Since stones are not of uniform size and shape,
greater care has to be taken while arranging them. In ​Coursed Random Rubble
masonry, method of construction is same as that of Uncoursed random rubble,
except that work is roughly levelled up to form courses varying from 30 to 45cm
height. In U ​ ncoursed square rubble m
​ asonry, stones of straight bed and sides are
used. The stones are usually squared but of non uniform size. In ​Coursed square
rubble m ​ olygonal Rubble
​ asonry, the work is levelled upto courses of varying depth. P
masonry, ​the stones are hammer finished to an irregular polygonal shape.

Ashlar Masonry
Ashlar Masonry uses blocks of accurately dressed stones with extremely fine bed
and end joints. The blocks may be either square or rectangular in shape. Aslar
masonry is very costly and is used only for facing work, for corners etc.
COMPARISON OF BRICK MASONRY AND STONE MASONRY
1. Brickwork is cheaper at places where stones are not available.
2. Less skilled labour is required for brick masonry.
3. Bricks are easy to handle. No special lifting arrangement is required.
4. Bricks are of regular size & shape.
5. Brickwork requires less mortar
6. Bricks are better fire resistant than stones.
7. Stone masonry is stronger than brick masonry.
8. Stonework is more water tight than brickwork.
9. Better architectural effects can be given in stone masonry.
10. The life of stone masonry is much more than brick masonry.