Brick Bonding

Definition :

The arrangement of bricks overlapping between courses in order to distribute load and provide stability. Bondig can also be used for decorative purposes as it creates patterns.

3 Main Purposes To Brick Bonding

i. To obtain maximum strenght during load distributionii. To resist lateral or overturning forcesiii. To create an acceptable appearance

Types of Brick Bonding

Stretcher bondConsists of all strechers in every course and is used for half-brick walls and the half-brick skins of hollow or cavity walls.

Header bondIt only use the header (end) of the bricks as the facing wall. This bonding is particularly strong as the width of the wall is the whole length of a brick.

English bondA very strong bond consisting of alternate courses of headers and stretchers.

Flemish bondIt is created by alternately laying headers and stretchers in a single course. The next course is laid so that a header lies in the middle of the stretchers course. It is sometimes referred as double Flemish bond.

English Garden Wall bondConsists of three courses of stretchers to one course of headers.

Herringbone bondIt is a type of brick laying in which the rows of headers are laid at right angles to each other to form a series of zigzags.

Basket Weave bondA pattern made up of pairs of bricks placed in a square grid. Nowadays, this bond is mostly used for brick paving.

Special Bonds

Rat-trap bond This is a brick on edge bond and gives a saving on materials and loadings. It is suitable as a backing wall to a cladding such as tile hanging.

Quetta bondIt is used to build one-and-a-half brick walls that can be reinforced vertically with steel bars for added strenght. It is suitable for retaining walls.

Stack bondA pattern made up of rows of stretchers with each strecher centred on the stretcher below it. The bricks run vertically down the entire wall. This type of bond is not very strong, it is used for decorative purposes only.

Rules of Bonding

These rules should be observed in order to ensure good bond with 9” x 4 ½ “ x 3” bricks.

i. The bricks must be uniform in size and the arrangement of the bricks should be uniform throughout the wall.

ii. Bat should be used as little as possible.iii. The bricks in the interior of the walls should be laid as headers that is across the wall.iv. The lap should be below 2 ¼ inch along the lenght of the wall and 4 ½ inch across the

thickness of the wallv. The vertical joints in every course should be vertically over another whether on the face

or in the interior of a wall.