Stretcher - A masonry unit laid flat on its bed along the length of a wall with its face parallel to the face of the wall.

Header - A masonry unit laid flat on its bed across the width of a wall with its face perpendicular to the face of the wall. It is generally used to bond two wythes.

Rowlock - A header laid on its face or edge across the width of a wall.

Bull header - A rowlock brick laid with its bed perpendicular to the face of the wall.

Bull stretcher - A rowlock brick laid with its bed parallel to the face of the wall.

Soldier - A brick laid on its end with its face perpendicular to the face of the wall.

BRICK TERMINOLOGY

Standard U.S. bricks are 2 1/4 by 3 3/4 by 8 inches nominal size. They may have three core holes or ten core holes. Modular U.S. bricks are 2 1/4 by 3 5/8 by 7 5/8 inches nominal size. They usually have three core holes. English bricks are 3 by 4 1/2 by 9 inches, Roman bricks are 1 1/2 by 4 by 12 inches, and Norman bricks are 2 3/4 by 4 by 12 inches nominal size. Actual brick dimensions are smaller, usually by an amount equal to a mortar joint width. Bricks weigh from 100 to 150 pounds per cubic foot, depending on the ingredients and duration of firing. Fired brick is heavier than underburned brick. The six surfaces of a brick are called cull, beds, side, end, and face, as shown in figure 4-2.

Occasionally you will have to cut brick into various shapes to fill in spaces at corners and other locations where a full brick does not fit. Figure 4-3 shows the more common cut shapes which follow:

Figure 4-2. - Names of brick surfaces.

Figure 4-3. - Common cut brick shapes.

half or bat, three-quarter closure, quarter closure, king closure, queen closure, and split.

BRICK CLASSIFICATION

A finished brick structure contains FACE brick (brick placed on the exposed face of the structure) and BACKUP brick (brick placed behind the face brick). The face brick is often of higher quality than the backup brick; however, the entire wall may be built of COMMON brick. Common brick is made from pit-run clay with no attempt at color control and no special surface treatment, like glazing or enameling. Most common brick is red.

Although any surface brick is a face brick as distinguished from a backup brick, the term "face brick" is also used to distinguish high-quality brick from brick that is of common-brick quality or less. Applying this criterion, face brick is more uniform in color than common brick, and it may be obtained in a variety of colors as well. It may be specifically finished on the surface, and, in any case, it has a better surface appearance than common brick. It may also be more durable as a result of the use of select clay and other materials or as a result of special manufacturing methods.

Backup brick may consist of brick that is inferior in quality even to common brick. Brick that has been underburned or overburned, or brick made with inferior clay or by inferior methods, is often used for backup brick.

Still another type of classification divides brick into grades according to the probable climatic conditions to which they are to be exposed. These are as follows: