Bricklaying on your own

[Ian H]

Mine is slowly improving, I'm still practicing on the bits that will be rendered. I'm hoping I'll be good enough to do some on the front of the house after I've done down the side.

Worst thing for me is ****ting myself when I'm on the scaffold and my pointing up is poor. I'm going to invest in a proper tool for it rather than using an offcut of copper pipe.

 

[stuart45]

Looking pretty good now. Having the right jointing tool helps.
Whoever did the brickwork below yours should have put the 3/4 next to the frame jamb.

 

[23vc]

Looks good to me, those bricks you're using highlight your descrepancies in perp and bed sizes more than the ones I'm using.

 

[Ian H]

Thanks . I was trying to cut the bricks with a hammer lower down but ended up using a grinder to be more accurate with the perps.

I'm up to lintel level on the outside now and there are just 2 bricks above that. I can't wait to get a window in there that matches the other ones on the house.

 

[^woody^]

Whoever did the brickwork below yours should have put the 3/4 next to the frame jamb.

Not on stretcher bond! Those are the rules.

 

[stuart45]

Not on stretcher bond! Those are the rules.

You are wrong there woody, It should be Half bat/ 3/4. Next course 3/4 to be half bond over the other 3/4.

 

[^woody^]

Bricklaying for The Young and Inexperienced, or Old and Forgetfull. [1872]

• With stretcher bond, the only bricks that should be on the end of a wall are a full stretcher or half brick.
  
• Each end of the same course should match - either a stretcher/stretcher or half/half.
  
• If not, and it's stretcher/half then that is reverse bond and should be avoided if possible. There are no options for a cut on the end of a stretcher bond wall - there is no name for it either!
  
• Cuts should be placed in the centre of the wall, as near to the centre of a wall as possible or under/above an opening. This will hide them.

 

[stuart45]

That applies to quoins but not up the frame jambs. If you end up with a small 3/4 next to the bat using a whole brick will make a zipper joint and look really bad. Using a 3/4 next to the frame is the method used on site as it makes half bond ith the 3/4 below.

 

[^woody^]

Using a 3/4 next to the frame is the method used on site as it makes half bond ith the 3/4 below

But still quarter-bond with the next brick. It's also a weaker end because of that.

I can see where you are coming from, I don't agree, but can see the point of view.

Btw, inserting an opening still creates an 'end' to the wall (a panel) for bonding rules.

 

[stuart45]

It depends on the situation. If it's a bat and then a really small 3/4 I would use 2 3/4's on the next course to keep bond and avoid a zipper joint.
If a different coloured brick was used for the bat and the stretcher on the next course the 3/4 couldn't go next to the frame.
It's the old 'if it looks right it's right' in these cases.
I never really agreed with having a stretcher at each end and ending up with a bat in the centre instead of reversing the bond, even though some of the old textbooks seem to think it's correct.
If the building is correctly designed and the brickwork set out carefully this wouldn't happen.

 

[cjard]

I have to ask; why do we care if the brick at this end of the course is a stretcher, and at the far end (umpteen metres away) is a half?

 

[stuart45]

I have to ask; why do we care if the brick at this end of the course is a stretcher, and at the far end (umpteen metres away) is a half?

Most people don't. The old textbooks mean you might end up with a bat in the middle, whereas reversing the bond get rid of it and as you say who would notice. Same at the frame jambs, you can end up with a zipper joint going with a full brick.
Worked for a firm years ago when one of the trowels built an extension with a bat in the centre and argued for hours with the foreman about it being correct by the book.
Still it's all a matter of opinion.

 

[^woody^]

I have to ask; why do we care if the brick at this end of the course is a stretcher, and at the far end (umpteen metres away) is a half?

Same reason you might care if you wear a belt the same colour as your shoes, or if you drink wine from a wine glass or a coffee mug, or sign your letters "yours faithfully" or "yours sincerely".

But more pertinently, it can distinguish between a bricklayer and a trowel hand at the interview.

 

[stuart45]

IMHO Reverse bond still looks better than a bat in the middle.

 

[Ian H]

I'm a professional bricky now.

I showed my boss my bit of wall and he has got me going reinstating a small wall today the bell end.

Before: