--- title: "English and Flemish bond corner wall" subject: "Building Technology" chapter: 3 key: "semester_6/building_technology:english-flemish-corner" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/building_technology/english-flemish-corner site: BCT Engineering --- # English and Flemish bond corner wall Building Technology · Chapter 3: Mortars & Masonry works - Asked in: 2073 Magh - Video: [How to Build a Full Brick Wall Using a Flemish Bond | Masonry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXDyBE4x7kE) — SIKANA English - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/building_technology/english-flemish-corner - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_6/building_technology/chapter-3 ## Question Draw and explain corner wall of English and Flemish bond (two courses of each in plan and elevation). ## Short answer In an English bond corner, quoin header with queen closer; header course on one wall continues as stretcher course on return, alternating each course. Flemish bond corner has queen closer after quoin header, with alternate headers and stretchers in every course, header centered over stretcher below; English bond has full header courses for strength. ## Answer #### English bond corner (1 brick thick wall) Courses alternate between a **header course** and a **stretcher course**. At a corner, the header course on one wall continues as the stretcher course on the return wall, so the arrangement swaps in the next course. - **Course 1:** wall A shows headers: the quoin header, then a queen closer (to give the quarter-brick lap), then headers. The side of the quoin header shows on wall B as a stretcher, and wall B continues with two rows of stretchers. - **Course 2:** the arrangement is reversed: wall B shows the quoin header, queen closer and headers, while wall A shows stretchers in two rows. ```text COURSE 1 - PLAN (not to scale) COURSE 2 - PLAN <------ wall A ------> <------ wall A ------> +---+-+---+---+---+---+ +-------+-------+-------+ | | | | | | | | Hq | S | S | |Hq |Q| H | H | H | H | +-------+-------+-------+ | | | | | | | | Q | S | S | +---+-+---+---+---+---+ +-------+-------+-------+ | | | | H | | S | S | wall B +-------+ wall B | | | | H | +---+---+ +-------+ | S | S | | H | +---+---+ +-------+ Hq = quoin header, Q = queen closer, H = header, S = stretcher ``` ```text ELEVATION (face of wall A) +---+-+---+---+---+---+---+ |Hq |Q| H | H | H | H | H | header course +---+-+-+-+---+---+---+---+ | S | S | S | stretcher course +-------+-------+-------+ ``` Elevation: the face shows alternate courses of headers and stretchers; the vertical joints (perpends) of every second course lie one above the other. #### Flemish bond corner (1 brick thick wall) In each course, headers and stretchers alternate. A queen closer is placed after the quoin header, and the header of each course sits over the centre of the stretcher below. In a 1-brick wall the headers go right through the wall, and each face stretcher is backed by another stretcher. ```text COURSE 1 - PLAN (not to scale) COURSE 2 - PLAN <-------- wall A --------> <------ wall A ------> +---+-+-------+---+-------+ +-------+---+-------+---+ | | | S | | S | | Hq | | S | | |Hq |Q+-------+ H +-------+ +-------+ H +-------+ H | | | | S | | S | | Q | | S | | +---+-+-------+---+-------+ +---+---+---+-------+---+ | H | | S | S | +---+---+ wall B | | | wall B | S | S | +---+---+ | | | | H | +---+---+ +-------+ ``` ```text ELEVATION (face of wall A) +---+-+-------+---+-------+---+ |Hq |Q| S | H | S | H | course 1 +---+-+-+---+-+---+---+---+---+ | S | H | S | H | S course 2 +-------+---+-------+---+------ ``` Elevation: headers and stretchers alternate in every course, and each header lies over the centre of the stretcher below. **Points of difference:** - English bond has a full header course in every alternate course, which ties the two faces of the wall together, so it is **stronger**; Flemish bond has headers and stretchers in **every** course. - Flemish bond gives a **better appearance** on the face, but it is slightly weaker and needs more bats (cut bricks), so it is a little costlier to build. - English bond needs less skill; Flemish bond needs more care and supervision to keep the pattern correct. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. In an English bond corner header course, what comes right after the quoin header? A. A stretcher B. A queen closer C. A king closer D. Another header Answer: B. A queen closer next to the quoin header keeps vertical joints broken. (Key point: English corner header course) 2. What does each Flemish course show? A. Two stretchers then a header B. Only headers C. Only stretchers D. Alternate headers and stretchers Answer: D. Flemish bond alternates headers and stretchers in every course. (Key point: Flemish pattern) 3. In Flemish elevation, a header lies over? A. The centre of the stretcher below B. Another header C. The joint between two headers D. The end of a stretcher Answer: A. This staggering breaks vertical joints. (Key point: Elevation Flemish) 4. Which statement is correct? A. English uses no closers B. Flemish is stronger C. English bond is stronger; Flemish looks better but needs more bats and is slightly weaker D. Both are equal in strength Answer: C. English has more headers in alternate courses and is stronger. (Key point: Comparison) ## Related in Building Technology - [Building shape in plan and elevation](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fbuilding_technology%3Abuilding-shape-plan-elevation) — Building Technology, chapter 11 - [Cavity wall construction](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fbuilding_technology%3Acavity-wall) — Building Technology, chapter 3, asked 3× ## Related in other subjects - [Plan and elevation of English bond wall](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fconcrete_technology_and_masonry_structure%3Aenglish-bond-plan-elevation) — Concrete Technology and Masonry Structure, chapter 7, asked 2× - [English and Flemish bond](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fconcrete_technology_and_masonry_structure%3Aenglish-flemish-bond) — Concrete Technology and Masonry Structure, chapter 7, asked 2× - [Use of masonry; English and Flemish bond](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fconcrete_technology_and_masonry_structure%3Amasonry-use-english-flemish) — Concrete Technology and Masonry Structure, chapter 7 - [Closers in brick masonry; English and Flemish bond](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fconcrete_technology_and_masonry_structure%3Aclosers-english-flemish-bond) — Concrete Technology and Masonry Structure, chapter 7