The Difference Between English Bond and Flemish Bond
The two most common brick masonry patterns used in wall construction are English bond and Flemish bond. An English bond is a brick construction pattern that uses alternate courses of brick laid as stretchers and headers. A flemish bond is a brick construction pattern in which alternate stretchers and headers are used for each course.
The English Bond
An English bond can be built for almost any wall thickness. This is the strongest bond among all others. As shown in Figure 1, this bond is made up of alternate courses of headers and stretchers.
The vertical joints cross over each other, as shown in the figure above. This is followed by the stretcher course's vertical joints. By using a queen closer, the vertical joints are broken to prevent the joints from forming inline. For each heading course, the queen closer is placed after the quoin header.
Figures 2 and 3 show the English bonds for various thicknesses of walls.
Characteristics of English Bond
The following are the fundamental characteristics of English Bond:
- There are no continuous vertical joints formed.
- The alternate course in the elevation shows either headers or stretchers.
- Every header in an alternate course crosses the joint formed by two stretchers below it in the center.
- The stretchers must complete one-fourth of their length over the headers. This holds true for the stretcher course.
- Walls with multiple half bricks have the same appearance on both sides. As a result, a course with stretchers on the front face will also have stretchers on the back face.
- Stretchers are visible on one face of the walls with odd multiple half bricks, and headers are visible on the other.
- The thicker walls' middle section is made up of headers.
- A stretcher course does not require a queen closer. It is used for the header course that follows the quoin header. No header course should start with the queen closer.
- The joints formed in the header course are larger (twice as large) than those formed in the stretcher course. As a result, the joints in the header course are thinner than the joints in the stretcher course.
Bond Flemish
A Flemish bond pattern is made up of alternate headers and stretchers in each course. Every other course begins with a quoin header in the corner. To develop face lap, quoin closer is placed in alternate courses to the next of quoin header. The patterns are arranged in such a way that each header is centrally supported over the stretcher beneath it.
Flemish bonds can be of two types:
- Bond Flemish Double
- Flemish Single Bond
1. Flemish Bond Double
Figure 3 depicts a double flemish bond with different headers and stretchers in each course. The double flemish bond is distinguished by having the same appearance on both the front and back faces. As a result, for all wall thicknesses, this feature provides a better appearance than the English bond.
Double Flemish Bond Characteristics
The following are the primary characteristics of Double Flemish Bond:
- Headers and stretchers are alternately placed on each course.
- The wall's facing and backing are identical.
- Queue closers are placed next to quoin headers in alternate courses.
- Half bats and three-quarter bats are used in the walls with odd multiples of half brick.
- Bats are not required for walls made of a multiple of half bricks.
2. Flemish Single Bond
A single flemish bond is made up of a double flemish bond on one side and an English bond on the other, with hearting in each course. As a result, the bond draws on the strength of both the English and the Flemish bonds. This bond can be used to build walls with a thickness of at least one and a half bricks. The facing is made of high-quality, expensive bricks with double flemish bonds. Cheap bricks can be used for backing and hearting.
Figure 6: A Single Flemish Bond
The distinction between English and Flemish bonds
| ENGLISH BOND | FLEMISH BOND |
| Bond pattern with alternate header and stretcher course | Bond Pattern with each course having alternate header and stretcher |
| More strength given for bricks with thickness greater than one & half brick | Less strong and compact compared to English bond |
| Less pleasing appearance | Appearance is more attractive and pleasing |
| Expensive | Economical |
| No strict supervision and skill is demanded | Requires good workmanship and careful supervision. |
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