TYPES OF BRICK BONDS

Most commonly used brick bonds are-

Header Bond
Stretcher Bond
English Bond
Flemish Bond

1. HEADER BOND:

In this type of bonding all the bricks are laid as headers on the faces. This bond permit better alignment and it is used for wall curved on plan. The overlap is half the width of the brick and can be achieved by providing a three quarter bat in each alternate course at quoins.

2. STRETCHER BOND:

Stretcher bond is the simplest type of brick bond in which all the bricks are laid as stretchers on the faces. This bond is also called as running bond. In this bond no header is present hence suitable reinforcement always be provided for construction of structural bond. The overlap between the bricks is usually a third or a quarter of a brick instead of half of a brick. This type of bond not particularly strong.

3. ENGLISH BOND:

English bond consist of alternate course of header and stretchers. In this English bond arrangement vertical joints in the header courses come over each other and the vertical joints in the stretchers 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 first header in each heading course. The following additional points should be noted in English bond construction-

In this English bond a heading course should never start with a queen closer as it is liable to get displaced in this position.
In the stretcher course the stretchers should have a minimum lap of 1/4th their length over the header.
Walls having their thickness equal to an even number of half bricks i.e. one brick thick wall, two brick thick wall, three brick thick wall and so on, present the same appearance on both the faces i.e. a course consisting of header on front face will show headers on the back face also.
In walls having their thickness equal to an odd number of half brick i.e. one and half brick thick walls or two and half brick thick walls and so on, the same course will stretcher on one face and headers on the other.
In thick walls the middle portion is entirely filled with header to prevent the formation of vertical joints in the body of the wall.
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 are thinner than those in the stretcher course.

4. FLEMISH BOND:

In Flemish bond each course consist 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 the 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 in to two different types namely-

Single Flemish Bond
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 can not 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 elevation. Every course consist of headers and stretchers laid alternately. This type of bond is beast suited from consideration of economy and appearance. It enables the one brick wall to have flush and uniform faces on both sides. This type of bonding is comparatively weaker than English bond.