BOND, Flemish, in brickwork, is that which has one header between every two stretchers, and one stretcher between every two headers throughout the same course.
This is considered the neatest and most beautiful ; but is attended with great inconvenience in the execution, and in most cases does not unite the parts of a wail with the same degree of firmness as the English bond.
Those who are desirous to enter into an examination of the emnparative merits of these two species of Bond, will be gratified in the perusal of Mr. G. Saunders' Tract on Brick bond; it is sufficient in this place to observe generally, that whatever advantages are gained by the Flemish Bond in tying a wall together in its thickness, are lost in the longitudinal bond ; and vice versa. To remove this inconvenience, in thick walls, some builders place the bricks in the core at an angle of forty-five degrees, called herring-bone, parallel to each other throughout the length of every course, but reversed in the alternate courses; so that the bricks cross each other at right angles. But even here. though the bricks in the core have sufficient bond, the sides are very imperfectly tied to the core, on account of the triangular interstices formed by the oblique direction of the internal bricks against the flat edges of those on the outside.
With respect to English bond, it may be remarked, that as the longitudinal extent of a brick is nine inches, and its breadth four and a half; it is usual—to prevent two vertical joints from running over each other at the end of the first stretcher from the corner, after placing the return corner stretcher, which becomes a header in the face that the stretcher is in below, and occupies half the length of this stretcher—to place a quarter briefs on the side, so that the two together extend six inches and three-quarters, leaving a lap of two inches and a half for the next header. The but thus introduced is called .a closer. A similar effect might be obtained by introducing a three-quarter bat at the corner of the stretching course, and then the corner header being laid over it, a lap of two inches and a half will he left at the end of the stretchers below, for the next header, which being laid, the joint below the stretchers will coincide with its middle.