Looking at bricks

Stretcher:  A brick placed so its 2 by 6 face is exposed
Header: A brick placed so its 2 by 3 face is exposed
Stretcher Bond: Bricks laid so only stretchers are seen.
Flemish Bond: Bricks laid with each row or course alternating stretchers and headers.
English Bond: Bricks laid with courses of headers alternating with courses of stretchers.

Brick Patterns Used in Walls

Running or Stretcher Bond:

A pattern made using only stretchers, with the joins in each row (or course) centred on the bricks in the row below.  Not structurally strong or aesthetically interesting, but very very common.  Often used for curtain walls one brick thick. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry cmm.

Raking Stretcher Bond

Like Running Bond, but instead of the overlap between bricks being half a brick, it is less, usually a third or a fourth of a brick. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry p2.

Flemish Stretcher Bond

Like Running Bond, but with single rows of Flemish Bond (alternating headers and stretchers) every n rows.   

Mixed Garden Bond

Like Flemish Stretcher Bond, but with the single rows of Flemish Bond arranged so that the headers are not above each other.   

A pattern made like Running Bond but with a row of headers replacing every nth course (n is usually odd).  The headers are centred on the headers in the row of headers below.  Strong.

A pattern made like Running Bond but headers instead of stretchers.

Stack Bond:

A pattern made up of rows of stretchers with each stretcher centred on the stretcher below it. All joins run vertically down the entire wall. Not a strong bond at all, it is used only for decorative purposes.  Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry pmm.

(Thanks to Juli Bruno for editing this image)

Flemish Bond:

A pattern made using alternating stretchers and headers, with the headers of each row centred on the stretchers of the row below.  Very strong.  Used for walls two bricks thick. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry cmm.

For more photos and information see the Canterbury Buildings web site

Monk Bond

A variant of Flemish Bond, with two stretchers between the headers in each row, and the headers centred over the join between the two stretchers in the row below.

Flemish Garden Wall Bond

A variant of Flemish Bond, with three stretchers between each header, and the header centred over the stretcher in the middle of a group of three in the row below.   

Dutch Bond (Note that English Cross Bond is sometimes called Dutch Bond as well)

A variant of Flemish Bond, with the headers not centred above the stretchers of the row below. Instead the headers are nearly above each other, shifted over by half their width.

English Bond:

A pattern in which rows of stretchers alternate with rows of headers. The joins between the stretchers are centred on the headers in the row below.  All the stretchers are centred above the stretchers below, and all the headers are centred on the headers below.

For more photos and information see the Canterbury Buildings web site

English Cross Bond (sometimes called Dutch Bond, but different from the Dutch Bond described above):

A pattern similar to English Bond, in which rows of stretchers alternate with rows of headers. It is different in that the stretchers are centred on the joins between the stretchers immediately below them, so that alternating rows of stretchers are aligned. 

Double English Cross Bond

A pattern similar to English Cross Bond, but with two rows of stretchers alternating with two rows of headers. Where a row of headers is above or below a row of stretchers the stretchers are centred on the headers. Where a row of stretchers is above or below a row of stretchers, one row is shifted over by one fourth the width of a stretcher. Where a row of headers is above or below a row of headers, one row is shifted over by one half the width of a header. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry p2.  

Brick Patterns Used in Pavements

Herringbone: 

A pattern composed of diagonal rows of bricks, alternating direction. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry pgg.

Herringbone is sometimes used in "nogging" in timber frame buildings.  See the Canterbury Buildings web site

A pattern made up of pairs of bricks placed in a square grid so that the join between each pair is perpendicular to the join of the four pairs around it. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry p4g.

(Thanks to Juli Bruno for editing this image)

A pattern made of four bricks surrounding a square half brick, repeated in a square grid. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry p4.

 

De LaRobia or Della Robbia Weave

A pattern made of four bricks surrounding a square eighth brick, resembling woven cloth. Mathematically this pattern displays the symmetry p4g.

Please contribute to this web site by suggesting additional patterns    <david.reid@acadiau.ca>

Walton & Sons Masonry Typical Brick Bonds

diydata.com: Brick Bonds