Bonds in Brick Masonry

1. English Bond
English bond consists of alternate course of headers and stretches. In this English
bond arrangement, vertical joints in the header courses come over each other and
the vertical joints in the stretcher course are also in the same line. For the breaking
of vertical joints in the successive course it is essential to place queen closer, after
the first header in each heading course. The following additional points should be
noted in English bond construction:
(1) In English bond, a heading course should never start with a queen closer as it is
liable to get displaced in this position.
(2) In the stretcher course, the stretchers should have a minimum lap of 1/4th their
length over the headers.
(3) Walls having their thickness equal to an even number of half bricks, i.e., one
brick thick wail, 2 brick thick wall, 3 brick thick wall and so on, present the same
appearance on both the faces, i .e. a course consisting of headers on front face will
show headers on the back face also.
(4) In walls having their thickness equal to an odd number of half brick,
i.e. 1½ brick thick walls or 2½ brick thick walls and so on, the same
course will show stretchers on one face and headers on the other.

(5) In thick walls the middle portion is entirely filled with header to
prevent the formation of vertical joints in the body of the wall.

(6) Since the number of vertical joints in the header course is twice the
number of joints in the stretcher course, the joints in the header
course are made thinner than those in the stretcher course.
2. Flemish Bond – Types of Flemish Bond

In Flemish bond, each course consists of alternate headers and

stretchers. The alternate headers of each course are centered
over the stretchers in the course below. Every alternate
course starts with a header at the corner. For the breaking of
vertical joints in the successive courses, closers are inserted
in alternate courses next to the quoin header. In walls
having their thickness equal to odd number of half bricks,
bats are essentially used to achieve the bond.

Flemish bond is further divided into two different types

namely,
1. Single Flemish bond,

2. Double Flemish bond.

1. Single Flemish Bond.
This bond is a combination of English bond and Flemish bond. In this work
the facing of the wall consists of Flemish bond and the backing consists of
English bond in each course. This type of bonding cannot be adopted in
walls less than one and a half brick in thickness. This bond is adopted to
present the attractive appearance of Flemish bond with an effort to ensure
full strength in the brick work.

2. Double Flemish bond.

In Double Flemish Bond, each course presents the same appearance both in the
front and back elevations. Every course consists of headers and stretchers
laid alternately. This type of bond is best suited from considerations of
economy and appearance. It enables the one brick wall to have flush and
uniform faces on both the sides. This type of bonding is comparatively
weaker than English bond.
3. Stretching bond:

In this arrangement of bonding, all

the bricks are laid as stretchers.
The overlap, which is usually of
half brick, is obtained by
commencing each alternate course
with a half brick bat. Stretching
bond is used for half brick wall
only. This bond is also termed as
running bond and is commonly
adopted in the construction of half
brick thick leaves of cavity walls,
partition walls, etc. Since there are
no headers, suitable reinforcement
should be used for structural bond.
4. Heading bond :

In this type of bonding all the

bricks are laid as headers on
the faces. The overlap,
which is usually-of half the
width of the brick is
obtained by introducing a
three-quarter bat in each
alternate course at quoins.
This bond permits better
alignment and as such it is
used for walls curved on
plan. This bond is chiefly
used for footings in
foundations for better
transverse distribution of
load.
5.Garden wall bond:
This type of bond is suitably adopted for one brick thick wall which may act as
a garden wall or a boundary wall. In garden wall bond, it is possible to
build uniform faces for a wall without much labour or expense. This type of
bond is not so strong as English bond and its use is restricted to the
construction of dwarf walls or other similar types of walls which are not
subjected to large stresses. On accounts of its good appearance, this bond is
sometimes used for the construction of the outer leaves of cavity walls.

There are two types of garden wall bond,

(a) English garden wall bond
(b) Flemish garden wall bond
(a) English garden wall bond.

The general arrangement of

bricks in this type of
bonding is similar to that of
English bond except that the
heading courses are only
inserted at every fourth or
sixth course. Usually the
arrangement consists of one
course of headers to three
courses of stretchers. A
queen closer is placed next
to the quoin header of the
heading course to give the
necessary lap.
(b) Flemish garden wall
bond.
This consists of alternate course
composed of one header to
three or sometimes even five
stretchers in series throughout
the length of the courses. Each
alternate course contains a
three quarter bat placed next to
the quoin header and a header
is laid over the middle of each
central stretcher.
6.Facing bond:
This arrangement of bricks is adopted for thick walls, where the facing and
backing are desired to be constructed with bricks of different thickness.
This bond consists of heading and stretching courses so arranged that one
heading course comes after several stretching courses. Since the number
of joints in the backing and the facing differ greatly, the load distribution is
not uniform. This may sometimes lead to unequal settlement of the two
thickness of the wall.
7.Raking bond:
This is a bond in brick work in which the bonding bricks are laid at any angle
other than zero or ninety degrees. This arrangement helps to increase the
longitudinal stability of thick walls built in English bond. In this
arrangement of bonding, the space between the external stretchers of a
wall is filled with bricks inclined to the face of the wall. This bond is
introduced at certain intervals along the height of a wall.
There are two common forms of raking bond ;
(a) Herring hone bond
(b) Diagonal bond.
(a)Herring-bone bond.
This type of bond is best
suited for very thick walls
usually not less than four
bricks thick. In this
arrangement of brick
work, bricks are laid in
course inclined at 45° in
two directions from the
centre. This bond is also
commonly used for brick
pavings.
(b) Diagonal bond.

This bond is best suited for walls

which are 2 to 4 brick thick. This
bond is usually introduced at
every fifth or seventh course
along the height of the wall. In
this bond, the bricks arc placed
end to end in such a way that
extreme corners of the series
remain in contact with the
stretchers.
8.Dutch bond:
This bond is a modification of
the old English cross bond
and consists of alternate
courses of headers and
stretchers. In this
arrangement of brick work,
each stretching course starts
at the quoin with a three-
quarter bat and every
alternate stretching course
has a header placed next to
the three-quarter brick bat
provided at the quoin.
9.English cross-bond:

This is similar to English bond

and consists of alternate course
of headers and stretchers.
However, in this bond, queen
closer are introduced next to
quoin headers and each alternate
stretching course has header
placed next to quoin stretcher.
This bond is sufficiently strong
and bears a good elevation.
10. Zig-Zag bond:

This is similar to herring-bone bond with the only

difference that in this case the bricks are laid in a zig-zag
fashion. This is commonly adopted in brick paved flooring.