DCC10022 - BRICKWORKS AND CONCRETE LABORATORY

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

DCC10022 – BRICKWORKS AND CONCRETE
LABORATORY

BRICKWORK LABORATORY 2 : ENGLISH BOND

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INTRODUCTION
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such
as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc. in buildings made of
other materials. There are two main types of clay bricks: pressed and wire-cut. Pressed bricks usually
have a deep frog in one bedding surface and a shallow frog in the other. Wire-cut bricks usually have 3
or 4 holes through them constituting up to 25% of the total volume of the brick. Some ‘perforated’
bricks have many smaller holes.

There are three main categories of use, and both pressed bricks or wire-cut brick types
are used in all three categories:
➢ Facing brickwork is the visible decorative work.
➢ Engineering brickwork, (using engineering bricks) often seen in bridges and
large industrial construction but may also be hidden in ground works where
maximum durability is required, e.g., in manhole construction.
➢ Common brickwork is not usually seen and is used where engineering qualities
are not required; below ground in domestic buildings and internal walls, for
instance.

OBJECTIVE OF THE EXPERIMENT

✓ In the bricklaying field, the term english bond is a reference to the format and
standard to which certain types of brick walls are built in order to be stable.
English bond is the term given to the repeating pattern the bricks are laid in.
This pattern includes vertical supports tied in to the foundation of the structure
the wall is being built on.
✓ This type of brick format is used mostly in interior settings because it is only
applicable in thin-walled settings. As a matter of fact, the stretcher bond wall is
only usable in the thinnest of brick wall settings. This is because it is only as thick
as one half of a brick.

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THEORY

BONDS
A wall relies on the way the bricks are bonded for its strength. The vertical joints
between bricks in adjacent courses must not coincide either on the face of the wall or
across its thickness. There is a variety of possible bonds. A half-brick wall up to 1m high
can be built in stretcher or open bond. You should bond in piers (328 x 215mm) at the
ends of the wall and at a maximum of 1.8m centres. A 215mm wall can be built using
either English or Flemish bond. Careful cutting is needed at junctions and corners to
avoid continuous vertical joints through two or more courses of brick

ENGLISH BOND
This bond is widely used and is considered as the strongest bond in brick work. The
following are some features of English bond.

❖ Alternate courses/layers consist of stretcher and header.

❖ Queen closer is put next to quoin header to develop face lap.
❖ Each alternate course/layer of header is centrally supported over stretcher.
❖ The number of mortar joints in header course is nearly double than that made in stretcher
course.
❖ The joints are not continuous and vertical except at the end of wall in some cases.
❖ The bricks in alternate courses have straight joints.

Note: Care should be taken to make header joints thinner otherwise the breakup of joints disappears
quickly.

SAFETY AND HEALTH

WHAT IS A SAFE SITE?
Many definition of safety have been offered over the years but we prefer that which suggests that a
construction site is safe when person can go about their normal daily work without undue risk. This, we
feel, is a realistic definition, for it accepts that there is risk situation in all everyday activities and does
not pretend that a workplace can be entirely accident proof.

SAFETY REGULATION
There are several safety regulations in construction such as wear a suitable clothes like wear a helmet,
safety boot etc.

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HELMET HAND GLOVE SAFETY BOOTS

MATERIALS / APPARATUS / TOOLS

The basic tools used in masonry are:

CEMENT SAND WATER STEEL SQUARE

CHALK BOX PAIL BRICK CHISELS BRICK JOINTER

TROWEL BRICK MEASURING TAPE LEVEL

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BRICK HAMMER SHOVEL

PROCEDURES

1. When mixing by hand, thoroughly mix the ingredients dry before adding water. The mortar should
finish an even color. In a concrete mixer, put the water in first, then the sand, the cement and finally the
lime, topping up with water if needed.

2. Transfer the mixed mortar to a mortar board. Mortar boards are about one square meter and made
of waterproof plywood or a light steel plate. Keep the mortar on the board soft and pliable by working it
continually with the trowel.

3. Trowel the mortar off the board with a smooth wrist, elbow and shoulder movement.

4. Using the tip and edge of the trowel drop and move the mortar left, then right on the board to get an
even consistency.

5. Using the back of the trowel, move the mortar back across the board to finish the mixing

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MORTAR JOINT TYPES

DIFFERENT MORTAR JOINTS ARE SHAPED WHILE THE MORTAR IS WET:

➢ Flush joint - cut flush with a trowel.

➢ Round ironed joint - using a round iron jointer; used in restoration work on Federation
houses.
➢ Raked joint - using an adjustable rake up to 10mm deep; used in house construction.
Other common types include struck joints and weather struck joints, made by
running the edge of a trowel along the joint.

TYPES OF BOND

ENGLISH BOND

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