Types Of Bond

When laying bricks, the manner in which the bricks overlap is called the bond. A brick laid with the longest side exposed is called a stretcher brick, as opposed to a header, where only the smallest end of the brick is exposed to the weather. The length of one stretcher is the same as two header bricks, side-by-side, including the 10mm joint between.

The thickness of a brick wall is measured using a unit of length known as 'the brick'. This standard can be used consistently with the wide variety of brick sizes available ("modular, "Norman" brick, etc.). The length of the longest face for a particular size of brick equals "one brick", for the purposes of measuring a wall built from such bricks.

Stretcher Bond

Stretcher bond (also known as running bond) is the most common bond in modern times, as it is easy to lay, with little waste. Entirely comprised of stretcher bricks, set in rows (or "courses") that are offset by half a brick.

Running bond uses no header bricks, allowing for a thin wall of one layer (half of a 'brick' unit). Two such walls may be built close together with a gap between. The two "skins" are usually tied together at regular intervals using wall ties. For this reason this bond is sometimes known as "cavity wall bond", although it is possible to give the appearance of other bonds in a half-brick cavity wall, either through extensive brick-cutting or the use of purpose-made half-bricks. In some climates the cavity may be filled with cavity wall insulation.

Stretcher bond may also be used to build a single-wythe (one brick thick) wall without a deliberate cavity. In this case, wall ties are used to hold the two wythes together. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows walls with both faces visible, such as domestic dwarf walls, to be built using low-cost bricks that have only two fair faces, called "face bricks". Laying any such brick as a header would reveal a poorly finished header face on one side of the wall. These walls are also used in situations where stronger load bearing capacity is required than that given by a single stretcher bond wall with engaged piers.

English Bond

This bond is made up of alternating courses of stretchers and headers. This produces a solid wall that is a full brick in depth. English bond is fairly easy to lay and is the strongest bond for a one-brick-thick wall. If only one face of an English bond wall is exposed, one quarter of the bricks are not visible, and hence may be of low visual quality.

Quarter bond is formed by a part (or bat) brick known as a 'queen closer'. This is a brick cut in half length ways, generally along the frog and laid in the course next to the corner brick or 'quoin header'. Whereas the stretcher or half bond is formed by successive courses being staggered by half a brick, the Flemish and English bonds are now staggered by a quarter, resulting in a stronger bond (the constructional self-weight being distributed over a greater area). This bond, as well as Flemish bond, does not necessarily have to be one brick thick, they can be built using 'snap headers' ie. headers cut to half their length, which give a full brick appearance. They are often used in cavity walls when matching existing solid wall patterns.

Header Bond

Header bond was a very common bond for bearing walls. It is composed of header bricks, set in rows that are offset half a brick, which produces a solid easy to lay bond which is useful when building circular work. It is the most used bond in historical Spanish brick constructions.

Flemish Bond

Flemish bond, also known as Dutch bond, has historically always been considered the most decorative bond, and for this reason was used extensively for dwellings until the adoption of the cavity wall. It 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 stretcher in the course below. Again, this bond is one brick thick. It is quite difficult to lay Flemish bond properly, since for best effect all the perpends (vertical mortar joints) need to be vertically aligned. If only one face of an Flemish bond wall is exposed, one third of the bricks are not visible, and hence may be of low visual quality. This is a better ratio than for English bond, Flemish bond's main rival for load-bearing walls.

A common variation often found in early 18th century buildings is Glazed-headed Flemish Bond, in which the exposed headers are burned until they vitrify with a black glassy surface. Monk bond is a variant of Flemish bond, with two stretchers between the headers in each row, and the headers centred over the join between the two stretchers in the row below.