Brick Masonry

Is the process of laying bricks and to bond them properly with mortar to form a
desired structure which can transmit the super-imposed load safely to the
foundation. In case of permanant construction lime and cement mortar are used for
brick masonry, but in case of temporary construction mud mortar can also do the
work. The standard size of brick is 19*9*9 millimeters. Generally the cement
mortar prepared for brick work is in the ration of 1:3 for cement grade of M7.5.
This ratio means for the preparation of cement mortar one bag of cement is mixed
with 3 bags of cement. 70 % of the water of the weight of the cement is used in
mixing.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF BRICK CUTS USED IN BRICK MASONRY

1. CLOSER
It is the portion of the brick cut along the length in such a way as one long face
remains intact.
2. QUEEN CLOSER
When a brick is cut along its length, making it two equal halves then it is
called queen closer. Thus a queen closer is a broken brick portion whose width is
half as wide as the original brick. This is also called as queen closer half.

3.KING CLOSER
If a brick is cut in such a way that the width of one end becomes half that of a full
brick, while the width at the other end is equal to the full width, then it is called
as king closer. It is obtained by cutting out a triangular portion of the brick
between the centre of one end (width side) and the centre of the other end (lay
side). Thus it has half header and half stretcher face.
4. BEVELED CLOSER
It is a form of king closer in which the whole length of the brick (i.e. stretcher face)
is chamfered or beveled in such a way that half width is maintained at one end and
full width is maintained at the other end.
5. MITRED CLOSER
It is a portion of a brick whose one end is cut splayed or mitred for full width. The
angle of splay may vary from 450 to 600. Thus one longer face of the mitred closer
is of full length of the brick while the other longer face is smaller in length.
6. BAT
When a brick is cut across the width, the resulting piece is called bat. Thus a bat is
smaller in length than the full brick.

Types of Bond Used in Brick Masonry

Stretcher Bond
In stretcher bond all the bricks are arranged as stretchers on the faces of the walls.
Stretcher bond is only suitable for half brick wall construction. In stretcher bond all
the bricks are laid in stretcher course, but care should be taken to break the vertical
joints.
Header Bond

In header bond all the bricks are laid as headers on the faces of the walls. Generally
header bond is suitable for one brick wall construction.

English Bond
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