4.

0 BOND, IN MASONRY,

 Bond, in masonry, systematic arrangement

of bricks or other building units composing a
wall or structure in such a way as to ensure
its stability and strength.
 The various types of bond may also have a
secondary, decorative function.
BONDS IN MASONRY WORK
 Types
 Types of Bonds
of bonds in brickinmasonry
Brickwall
Masonry Wall
construction Construction
are classified basedon
laying and bonding style of bricks .
 The bonds in brick masonry are developed by the mortar filling between
layers of bricks and in grooves when bricks are laid adjacent to each other
and in layers in walls.
 Mostly used material for bonds in brick masonry is cement mortar.
 Lime mortar and mud mortar are also used
Types of bond used in masonry work
• The most commonly used types of bonds in brick masonry
are:
1.Stretcher bond
2.Header bond
3.English bond and
4.Flemish bond
Types of Bonds in Brick Masonry Wall
Construction Cont.

Other Types of bonds are:

1. Facing bond
2. Dutch bond
3. English cross bond
4. Brick on edge bond
5. Raking bond
6. Zigzag bond
7. Garden wall
Types of Bonds in Brick Masonry Wall Construction Cont.

1. Stretcher bond
Longer narrow face of the brick is called as stretcher as shown in the
elevation of figure below.
Stretcher bond, also called as running bond, is created when bricks are
laid with only their stretchers showing, overlapping midway with the
courses of bricks below and above.
. Stretcher bond in the brick is the simplest repeating pattern.
 But the limitation of stretcher bond is that it cannot make effective
bonding with adjacent bricks in full width thick brick walls.
 They are suitably used only for one-half brick thick walls such as for
the construction half brick thick partition wall.
1. Stretcher bond Cont.
• They are suitably used only for one-half brick thick walls such as for
the construction half brick thick partition wall.
• Walls constructed with stretcher bonds are not stable enough to stand
alone in case of longer span and height.
• Thus, they Then need supporting structure such as brick masonry
columns at regular intervals.
• Stretcher bonds are commonly used in the steel or reinforced
concrete framed structures as the outer facing.
• These are also used as the outer facing of cavity walls
• Other common applications of such walls are the boundary walls,
gardens etc.
1. Stretcher bond Cont.

Fig-1: Stretcher Bond

2. Header bond
Header is the shorter square face of the brick which measures 9cm x
9cm.
Header bond is also known as heading bond.
In header bonds, all bricks in each course are placed as headers on the
faces of the walls.
While Stretcher bond is used for the construction of walls of half
brick thickness whereas header bond is used for the construction of
walls with full brick thickness which measures 18cm.
 In header bonds, the overlap is kept equal to half width of the brick.
To achieve this, three quarter brick bats are used in alternate courses as
quoins.
 2. Header bond

Fig-2: Header Bond

Fig-3: Header Bond Isometric View

3. English Bond

English bond in brick masonry has one course of stretcher

only and a course of header above it, i.e. it has two
alternating courses of stretchers and headers.
Headers are laid centered on the stretchers in course below
and each alternate row is vertically aligned.
To break the continuity of vertical joints, quoin closer is used
in the beginning and end of a wall after first header.
A quoin close is a brick cut lengthwise into two halves and
used at corners in brick walls.
3. English Bond cont.

Fig-4: English Bond Fig-4: English Bond – Isometric View

4. Flemish Bond
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, also known as Dutch bond, is created by laying
alternate headers and stretchers in a single course.
The next course of brick is laid such that header lies in the middle of
the stretcher in the course below, i.e. the alternate headers of each
course are centered on the stretcher of course below.
Every alternate course of Flemish bond starts with header at the
corner. The thickness of Flemish bond is minimum one full brick.
4 .F lem ish B o n d co n t.

 The disadvantage of using Flemish bond is that construction of

Flemish bond is difficult and requires greater skill to lay it
properly as all vertical mortar joints need to be aligned vertically
for best effects.
 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 used to achieve the bond.
 Flemish bonds have better appearance but are weaker than
English bonds for load bearing wall construction.
Thus, if the pointing has to be done for brick masonry walls, then
Flemish bond may be used for better aesthetic view.
If the walls have to be plastered, then it is better to use English
bond.
4. Flemish Bond cont.

Fig-5: Flemish Bond Fig-6: Flemish Bond Front Appearance

4. Flemish Bond cont.

Flemish bonds are classified as:

i. Single Flemish Bond
ii. Double Flemish Bond
Single Flemish bond is a combination of English bond and
Flemish bond.
In this type of construction, the front exposed surface of wall
consists of Flemish bond and the back surface of the wall
consists of English bond in each course.
 Minimum thickness required for single Flemish bond is one and
The main purpose of using single Flemish bond is to provide greater
aesthetic appearance on the front surface with required strength in the
brickwork with English bond.

Double Flemish Bond has the same appearance both in the front and
back elevations, i.e. each course consists of alternate header and
stretcher.

This type of bonding is comparatively weaker than English bond.

5.Facing Bond

•5.Facing Bond: For thick walls, where the facing and backing are
chosen to be constructed with bricks of diverse thickness facing bond
is primarily adopted.
• Facing bonds consists of a heading and stretching
courses arranged so that one heading system comes after many
testing methods.
Dutch bond
• Dutch bond. It is a modification over the English bond and consists of
alternate courses of headers and stretchers, except that every stretcher
course starts with a three-quarter brick and in every alternate stretcher
course in header is placed after the three quarter brick as shown in Fig.
2.46.
General Principle to be observed in Brick Masonry

Brick masonry
Brick masonry
• While constructing or supervising a brick construction, the
following points should to be kept in mind :
1. The bricks should be properly soaked in water, before they
are used.
2. The bricks should be so laid that their frogs face upwards.
3. Mortar used should be as stiff as possible.
4. The vertical joints of alternate courses should be in one line.
5. The walls should be raised uniformly and vertically of the
wall should be tested at every course.
Brick masonry Cont.
• 6. All the joints should be of equal thickness and the
‘thickness of each should not exceed 0.5 to 1 cm.
7. In one day not more than 1.5 m of wall in height should be
constructed.
8. If the full length of the wall is not approachable, then
raking back must be provided as shown in Fig.
9. The work should be kept wet from 4 to 7 days until the
mortar sets and becomes hard.
10. When a main wall is to be connected to a cross wall,
recesses, called too – things should be left in alternate courses
to allow the two walls to be bonded with each other.
Types of Brickwork Defects due to Poor Workmanship

Brickwork is masonry produced by using mortar and bricks. Brickwork

provides a natural pleasing aesthetic to structure.
 Brick masonry provides high durability as during construction, one
layer is laid upon another and avoiding a continued line of joints for two
or more layer or course, moreover, an appropriate bond is formed
adhering bricks together by filling joints with mortar.
Standard brick size for modular brick is 200mm x 100mm x 100mm,
including 10mm mortar thickness.
Workmanship simply means the grade of skills used to deliver the
required tasks. Poor workmanship can result into lower quality work,
higher cost for maintenance and even failure of structure. It can take as
long as a year for defects or faults to surface after the completion of
Defects in Brickwork Due to Poor Workmanship
1. Failure to Fill Bed Joints

A higher work pace or weak supervision and during furrowing practice, the bed
joint filling might be improper. During practice of furrowing, a long and narrow
trench is made in mortar bed with the tip of his trowel, i.e. a gap is created in
middle of mortar bed parallel to face of wall.

A reduction in strength as much as 33% can be noted due to incomplete filled bed
joints. However, a significant impact in noted on flexural resistance rather than
on compressive strength and moreover, filling of vertical joints is quite difficult
than horizontal joints.

Further inevitable problems with respect to sound insulation and weather

exclusion are caused as result of unfilled perpendicular joints. Furrowing practice
must be avoided and a considerable work pace must be attained.
1. Failure to Fill Bed Joints Cont.
2. Excessive thickness of Bed Joints
An effective reduction in compressive strength of masonry is noted with increase
in thickness of bed joints as the larger thickness of bed joints results in larger
lateral tensile stresses in comparison to thin bed joints.

Thus, a too thick joint increases chances for collapse of member or structure
under working loads. For example, a bed joint that is 16 mm to 19 mm thick
possesses up to 30% less compressive strength than the bed joint that is
only 10 mm.
3. Deviation from alignment or Verticality
One of the main issues with the brick walls is their vertical alignment,
that’s why a plump is always used to check for verticality at certain work
points. If masonry brickwork is constructed without use of plumb, there
might be unnecessary deviations from required vertical alignment.

These resulting deviations will result into extra amount of eccentric

loads and moreover, an effective reduction in strength.

 For example, a brick wall that possesses deviation of 12 mm to 20 mm

from required alignment might possesses up to 15% less strength than
the walls with no such defect.