Types of bonds in brick masonry

A bond is the arrangement of bricks in courses so that the vertical joints of successive courses do not coincide (no continuous vertical joint). This distributes the load and gives strength. Common bonds:

1. Stretcher bond

All bricks are laid as stretchers, and each course is shifted by half a brick. Used for half-brick thick partitions and boundary walls.

 +-----+-----+-----+
 +--+-----+-----+--+
 +-----+-----+-----+

2. Header bond

All bricks are laid as headers, and courses are shifted by a quarter brick (using three-quarter bats at the quoins). Used for curved walls and one-brick thick walls.

 +--+--+--+--+--+
 +-+--+--+--+--+-+

3. English bond

Alternate courses of headers and stretchers, with a queen closer after the first (quoin) header in each header course. It is the strongest and most commonly used bond.

 H H H H H H     header course
 S S S S S       stretcher course

4. Flemish bond

Each course has alternate headers and stretchers, with a queen closer next to the quoin header. It looks attractive but is a little weaker than English bond.

 H S H S H S
 S H S H S H     (header centred over stretcher)

5. Others

• Garden-wall bond: for boundary walls; English garden-wall bond has one header course after every three to five stretcher courses, and Flemish garden-wall bond has one header after every three (or more) stretchers in each course.
• Raking bond: bricks laid at an angle (diagonal or herring-bone) inside thick walls.
• Dutch bond (a modified English bond, strong at corners) and rat-trap bond (bricks on edge with a cavity; economical).

Rules: use whole bricks as far as possible, break vertical joints, keep 10 mm joints, and give a lap of at least 1/4 brick.