Glossary of British bricklaying

Air brick

A brick with perforations to allow the passage of air through a wall. Usually used to permit the ventilation of underfloor areas.

Bat

A cut brick. A quarter bat is one-quarter the length of a stretcher. A half-bat is one-half. ^[1]

Bullnose

Rounded edges are useful for window sills, and capping on low and freestanding walls.

Cant

A header that is angled at less than 90 degrees.

Closer

A cut brick used to change the bond at quoins. Commonly a quarter bat.

Queens closer

A brick that has been cut over its length and is a stretcher long and a quarter-bat deep. Commonly used to bond one brick walls at right-angled quoins.

Kings closer

A brick that has been cut diagonally over its length to show a half-bat at one end and nothing at the other.

Coralent

A brick or block pattern that exhibits a unique interlocking pattern.

Corbel

A brick, block, or stone that oversails the main wall.

Cramp

Or frame cramp is a tie used to secure a window or door frame.

Creasing tile

A flat clay tile laid as a brick to form decorative features or waterproofing to the top of a garden wall.

Dog leg

A brick that is specially made to bond around internal acute angles. Typically 60 or 45 degrees.

Dog tooth

A course of headers where alternate bricks project from the face.

Fire wall

A wall specifically constructed to compartmentalise a building in order to prevent fire spread.

Frog

The indent in a brick, often bearing the maker’s mark

Header

A brick laid flat with its width exposed

Honeycomb wall

A wall, usually stretcher bond, in which the vertical joints are opened up to the size of a quarter bat to allow air to circulate. Commonly used in sleeper walls.

Indent

A hole left in a wall in order to accommodate an adjoining wall at a future date. These are often left to permit temporary access to the work area.

Movement joint

A straight joint formed in a wall to contain compressible material, in order to prevent cracking as the wall contracts or expands.

Nogging

Infill brick panels in timber framework buildings

Party wall

A wall shared by two properties or parties.

Pier

A free-standing section of masonry such as pillar or panel.

Plinth

A stretcher that is angled at less than 90 degrees.

Quoin

A corner in masonry.

Racking back

Stepping back the bond as the wall increases in height in order to allow the work to proceed at a future date.

Rowlock

A brick laid on the long narrow side with the short end of the brick exposed

Sailor

A brick laid vertically with the broad face of the brick exposed

Saw tooth

A course of headers laid at a 45-degree angle to the main face.

Shear wall

A wall designed to give way in the event of structural failure in order to preserve the integrity of the remaining building.

Shiner

A brick laid on the long narrow side with the broad face of the brick exposed

Sleeper wall

A low wall whose function is to provide support, typically to floor joists.

Slip

A thin cut of brick, ^[2] sometimes referred to as a tile- used on internal spaces or in cladding systems.

Snapped header

A half-bat laid to appear as a header. Commonly used to build short-radii half-brick walls or decorative features.

Soldier

A brick laid vertically with its long narrow side exposed

Squint

A brick that is specially made to bond around external quoins of obtuse angles. Typically 60 or 45 degrees.

Stopped end

The end of a wall that does not abut any other component.

Stretcher

A brick laid flat with its long narrow side exposed

Toothing

The forming of a temporary stopped end in such a way as to allow the bond to continue at a later date as the work proceeds.

Tumbling in

Bonding a battered buttress or breast into a horizontal wall.

Voussoir

A supporting brick in an arch, usually shaped to ensure that the joints appear even.

Withe

The central wall dividing two shafts. Most commonly to divide flues within a chimney.

References

1. Nash, W.G. (1983). Brickwork. Hyperion Books. ISBN   978-0-7487-0266-4.
2. "Brick Slips". Brick Development Association.