Brick Bonds and Texture Detailing

Bonding

Most buildings are built in single skin 102mm stretcher bond with bricks arranged in a half lap bond.

Bed Joint Reinforcement has made it possible for bricks to be built stack bonded with straight joints.

Flemish Bond is in some ways the most attractive of bonds. The brickwork has alternate headers and stretchers.

English Bond was the preferred bond of the Victorians.

Linear bricks are now available in a variety of sizes, but are longer and thinner than standard bricks.

Increasingly prefabrication has become part of brickwork design.

• Brick slips bonded on blockwork, the blocks subsequently built in.
• Bricks cut with rear tongue set into panels with RC.
• Slips glued to fibreglass panels which interlock often used for soffits.
• Stainless steel panels holed to take adhesive securing brick slips.

Bricks can also be laid to form a pattern. Protruding bricks can also be used to form interest and texture. A simple transformation for brickwork is altering the mortar or even the pointing. Tinted, or mortar with the sand altered to tone with the brickwork, can have a large visual impact.

There is an increased interest in blending different bricks.