Individual Conclusions

For this building workshop, I have learned another type of brickwork bonding which is
constructing a one-brick wall using a English Bond with jointing or pointing finish. The
procedure to construct the one- brick wall is slightly similar to constructing a half-brick wall
with Stretcher Bond which is using bricks and mortar. However I have come to notice that the
arrangements of the bricks for each course for both types of bonds is different. A one-brick wall
English Bond is constructed using alternative courses of stretchers and headers. The headers are
laid at the centre on the stretchers in the course below (Mahajan.B, 2020) and each alternative
row is vertically aligned. In short, from what I noticed from the end result of our group’s one-
brick wall which we constructed accordingly to the procedure. The first course will be showing
the stretchers of the bricks while for the second course, it is showing the headers of the bricks
and a queen closer at the ends. I also learned about a new type of cutting brick which is a queen
closer and how it is formed. It is a result when a brick is cut into two equal halves. In this case, I
understood the role of this cutting brick in this bond, which is to break the continuity of vertical
joints. I am also exposed to the usage of new tools such as a jointer and chariot which are used
for the finishing of jointing and pointing. Jointing and pointing is a new type of finish that I
learnt from this workshop. They can be applied to the horizontal and vertical mortar joints. I am
able to state out what is the difference between jointing and pointing. Various different types of
jointing and pointing are also introduced to our group and I am able to identify the types and its
unique shape from the diagram like concave joint, vee joint, struck joint and etc. I am able to
know which types of jointing and pointing is the most suitable for usage according to the weather
conditions, water penetration, appearance, and more. Briefly, I have gained a new experience
thus new knowledge regarding on how a wall is constructed using an English bond and finished
with jointings or pointings.
From this building workshop 2, I am able to learn how to construct a one-brick wall in English
bond finished with jointing and pointing using correct practices and resources. Firstly, the
materials that I used are bricks, 4 buckets with cement and sand in the volume of 1:3, 1 trowel, 1
jointer, 1 masons square, 1 spirit level, 1 straight edge and 1 string. As usual, I use it for mixing
of mortar, laying of brick, jointing or pointing to brick walls and doing the finishing by using a
trowel to scrape off extra bits of mortar sticking out . In the design of English Bond brickwork is
in brick masonry consists of alternate stretcher course and a header course. Headers are laid
centred on the stretchers in the course below and each alternate row is vertically aligned. To
break the continuity of vertical joints, a quoin closer is used in the beginning and end of a wall
after the first header. A quoin close is a brick cut lengthwise into two halves and used at corners
in brick walls. This type of bond is used to produce a strong one brick thickness wall. In
conclusion, this is a whole new experience and knowledge for me and helping me a lot to have a
better understanding of this workshop.
Through this workshop, I am able to in-depthly understand the process of constructing english
bond brickwork with pointing and jointing finish. The english bond is constructed by alternating
both header and stretcher against each other. Basically, from the experience I have gained
through this workshop, I am able to identify that the first course will consist of stretches and the
second course will be headers with quoin closer at the end of the course. Then we continue the
construction by alternating the arrangements. A quoin closer is basically a closer that is less than
half a brick, often used to create a lap. Besides that, I am also to understand more about the
process of jointing and pointing. Pointing is a technique to repair mortar joints between bricks
while jointing is to make sure the joints are completely field with mortar. There are several types
such as concave joints, v joints, struk joint and many more and through this workshop, I am able
to grasp the idea of which type is the best fit according to each situation. In conclusion, I am able
to fully understand why and how english bond with pointing and jointing finishes is constructed.
In this building workshop 2, I have learnt another brickwork bonding that is one-brick wall using
English bond with jointing and pointing. Constructing a one-brick wall for English bond is quite
similar to constructing a half-brick wall for stretcher bond. First of all, the materials and
apparatus that used to construct the two types of brick wall are mostly the same, however the
important apparatus that is used in this building workshop and is not used for stretcher bond is
the chariot, jointer and pointing trowel. The apparatus that are not used in constructing the
half-brick stretcher bond brick wall as the surface of the wall is covered with plastering and the
jointers will not be appeared while this English bond brick wall will not be covered with
plastering and the mortar joints for the wall will be pointed or jointed to make the appearance of
the wall better as the bricks and joints of the wall will be exposed naked. There are various types
of mortar joints. Furthermore, the types of mortar joints can affect the durability and the
performance of the wall. In addition, the bricks arrangement for the two types of brickwork bond
are different. One- brick wall English bond is by laying alternate courses of stretches and headers
to construct. The joins between the stretchers are centred on the headers in the course below. (
Designing Buildings Ltd, 2021) One layer will be of stretchers and the other layer of headers is
to be constructed in English bond.(Sanjay. S, 2017) Moreover, I have learnt a brick cutting that is
quoin closer that is placed at the one-brick wall English bond corner. It is when the brick is cut
along its length or the longer side making it to two equal halves which produce quoin closer.
(Suryakanta, 2015). In conclusion, I have learnt the procedures to construct one-brick English
bond and pointing and jointing finishes for mortar joints.
The English bond is made up of an alternate course of headers and stretches. Vertical joints in the
header courses cross over each other in this English bond arrangement, as do vertical joints in the
stretcher course. It is critical to place the queen closer, after the first header in each heading
course, for the breaking of vertical joints in the successive course. Today, this bond is primarily
used as a decorative bond, frequently in garden landscaping for screen walls. A quoin closer is
used at the beginning and end of a wall after the first header to break the continuity of vertical
joints. A quoin close is a brick that has been cut in half lengthwise and is used at corners in brick
walls. Jointing and pointing are terms used to describe the finish applied to both vertical and
horizontal joints on the exterior faces of a wall. Jointing and pointing is the process of filling all
horizontal and vertical mortar joints in external brickwork or blockwork with mortar to make
them watertight. Furthermore, jointing and pointing serve a decorative purpose. The appearance
of brickwork or blockwork can be greatly altered by pointing with coloured mortar and making
the jointing and pointing recessed or protruding.