Brick Wall Construction

Bricks are also classified as hollow or solid. In modern construction, solid bricks are used exclusively for chimneys, fireplaces, and partitions, as they are less effective than many other building materials in terms of thermal insulation. Hollow bricks contain closed or through cavities, resulting in lighter structures and lower thermal conductivity.

Bricks belong to the category of artificial stones, as they match natural stone in strength and surpass it in several key characteristics. Standard brick sizes are 250 x 120 x 65 mm (single) and 250 x 120 x 88 mm (modular). The largest face is called the stretcher, the middle one the header, and the smallest the soldier.

Construction Mortar for Brick Wall Building

Brick structures are joined using construction mortar, a mixture of water, sand (must be sieved before use), and cement. In winter, when low temperatures prevent proper curing, special chemical additives are added. For cement grades from 300 to 500, the sand-to-cement ratio should be 3:1; for grades 200 and below, it should be 1:1.

Mortar is mixed either on-site using a concrete mixer or manually. In manual mixing, sand and cement are first combined, then water is gradually added and the mixture thoroughly stirred until the color becomes uniform.

Bricks are laid in rows, filling both horizontal and vertical joints. Horizontal joint thickness is maintained between 10–15 mm, and vertical joints between 8–15 mm.

Construction mortar gradually loses viscosity and hardens, so it should not be prepared in excess to ensure it is used within a specific timeframe.

Methods and Types of Brick Wall Construction

Without any additional tools, a mason can work until the wall reaches 1.2 meters in height. After that, scaffolding is installed for safe and convenient movement, and for higher walls, removable metal scaffolds are used. A mason’s toolkit includes a hammer, trowel, level, straightedge, plumb line, and jointing tool. For cutting bricks, a diamond circular saw is used.

Finished brick walls are either plastered or left with a visible face surface. If plastering is planned, mortar is not filled in joints on the side to be plastered to a depth of 10–15 mm. This ensures stronger adhesion between the base and plaster. This technique is known as 'hollow jointing' or 'pusto-shovka'.

Another method is 'undercutting'. The top brick is used to press out excess mortar and trim it flush with the wall surface using a trowel.

The rows that form brick masonry are called 'courses'. When bricks are laid along the wall with their long side facing out, it is called a stretcher course; when laid with the end facing out, it is a header course.

Laying bricks in straight horizontal rows on top of each other is not possible, as such a structure would lack sufficient strength. To ensure structural integrity, bricks are interlocked through a technique called 'bonding'—alternating stretcher and header courses, offsetting vertical joints by half or a quarter of a brick. To further increase strength, steel mesh is added every four to five courses.

Courses are laid using one of two methods: 'in press' or 'in push'. In the first method, joints are fully filled with mortar and used in walls two bricks thick. In the second, joints are not fully filled.

To ensure straight alignment, the wall is checked with a level. Every five courses, joints are raked to give the wall a finished appearance and to compact the mortar.