Use of masonry; English and Flemish bond

Masonry is the construction of units (clay brick, stone, concrete or hollow block, compressed earth block) bound by mortar. It is the oldest and the most widely used building system in Nepal and South Asia, especially for low and medium-rise buildings.

Uses

1. Load-bearing walls in houses, schools and hospitals (up to 2 to 3 storeys in Nepal, NBC 202 and NBC 109), which carry floor and roof loads to the foundation.
2. Infill and partition walls in RC frames, for enclosure, privacy, and sound and fire separation.
3. Foundations, plinth and retaining walls, boundary walls, parapets and compound walls.
4. Special structures: arches, domes, chimneys, culverts, bridge piers and abutments, dams, water tanks and monuments.
5. Cladding and finishing: exposed brick facades and flooring.

English bond

English bond has alternate courses of stretchers and headers. A stretcher is a brick laid along the length of the wall (long face visible); a header is laid across the wall (short face visible). It is the strongest bond for walls thicker than one brick.

Rules

• Heading and stretching courses alternate. Each header sits centrally over the joint (perpend) between two stretchers in the course below.
• A queen closer (a brick cut lengthwise to half its width) is placed next to the quoin header in each heading course. It moves the perpends of the heading course a quarter brick away from those of the stretching courses, so vertical joints do not run through successive courses.
• In walls thicker than one brick, the headers run across the thickness and tie the faces together.
• Joints are about 10 mm thick.

 Elevation (English bond, 1 brick thick)
 +-------+-------+-------+-------+
 |   S   |   S   |   S   |   S   |   stretcher course
 +---+-+-+-+---+-+-+---+-+-+-+---+
 | H |Q| H | H | H | H | H |Q| H |   header course
 +---+-+-+-+---+-+-+---+-+-+-+---+
 |   S   |   S   |   S   |   S   |   stretcher course
 +-------+-------+-------+-------+
 S = stretcher, H = header, Q = queen closer

Flemish bond

In Flemish bond each course has headers and stretchers alternating, and each header is centred over a stretcher in the course below. The face looks neat, with a regular chequered pattern. A queen closer is placed next to the quoin header in alternate courses to complete the bond.

Features

• It gives a good appearance, so it is used for facing brickwork of thin walls (it is slightly weaker than English bond, as there are fewer through-headers).
• In a one-brick wall, each course shows alternate headers and stretchers on both faces.
• It needs greater skill and care in laying, and the bricks must be of uniform size.
• It uses fewer full bricks for the facing, and it is economical where the brickwork is face-pointed.

 Elevation (Flemish bond, 1 brick thick)
 +-------+---+-------+---+-------+
 |   S   | H |   S   | H |   S   |   course 1
 +---+-+-+---+-+---+-+---+-+-+---+
 | H |Q|   S   | H |   S   |Q| H |   course 2
 +---+-+-+---+-+---+-+---+-+-+---+
 |   S   | H |   S   | H |   S   |   course 3
 +-------+---+-------+---+-------+
 S = stretcher, H = header, Q = queen closer