The Fechino Files: Laying Out Brick

Many of us in this industry like masonry enough that when we see a new job, old job, detailed job, or even a poorly crafted job, we slow down and look at it. If the time has not worn our spouses down, we even still describe all the details we notice to them repeatedly as we drive by. I have noticed lately that brickwork—modular and Queen brick mostly—are laid out for quick installation.

Here are some basics that will help you from this point on. I did not create these notes, but I share them as they will be useful for you.

• The Layout—can be done by dry setting the material prior to laying, using a standard tape measure (Imperial method), or by using one of three masonry scales designed for layout. Usually, a couple of these methods will be used for a typical layout.
• Brick Sizes—are not random by any means; bond is determined by the material and type of construction.
• Actual Dimension—is what size the brick is when it arrives at your job. Yes, there are ASTM standards for this; however, once it is on your jobsite, you typically have to look at a handful of brick from different hacks to see what the current job has you working with. The mortar joint is not part of this term.
• Specified Dimensions—is what the brick manufacturer has as the design dimensions once the brick has been fired and cured. The mortar joint is not part of this term. This is not a term we would use during layout unless the actual and the specified dimensions vary a great amount.
• Nominal Dimension—applies to modular brick plus one mortar joint. Sometimes, it is not uncommon for folks to call a nominal dimension of a brick a modular dimension because they are in whole numbers; this makes sense since the bricks are typically dimensioned to work in 4- inch increments. This is what we will use commercially most often.

Modular brick is easy to understand for layout because they are the simplest. They run at 8-inches with a mortar joint and can turn half bond corners without any cutting (4-inch). This makes it a perfect choice for piers, columns, and jambs where visual details are all important.

Queen brick is easy to work with when you take into account the width. Since the width is 2-3/4 inches, the corner detail when it is 1/3 bond works well. When 1⁄2 bond or running bond, the first full brick off the corner must be cut to 3⁄4 of the 7-5/8-inch length so that the corners stay neat, and the head joints run up the wall in a vertical line.

Utility brick is typically laid in a third bond when corners are part of the veneer because they will fit and maintain bond when you turn the corner, otherwise, a half bond will work when you are laying a panel.

Say you have an existing front porch previously clad with siding, and you intend to install brick as the new veneer. The new porch has a 6-foot door and three 36-inch X 48-inch windows in a span of 30 linear feet of wall (not preferred by any means). This will not leave much room between openings (jambs) and will make running your vertical head joints doable, but with required planning.

When laying out brick veneer on a previously clad structure, the first-course spacing is easy to lay out by dry laying the brick across the floor. The trick is that when cladding an older structure that was laid out for lap siding or stucco, the spacing for the new head joints, in many cases, will not line up vertically for the entire wall unless cuts are made. Some things to look at are the punched openings: Can you bond out to where the head joints align with one side of the opening? Will the opening create a shift in the head joints?

The opening in this case is tough to work with because the opening is 36 inches; the rough opening could be 36.5 inches, if you are lucky, so it will be just shy of bonding out with modular or Queen brick. So, what do you do? Begin the first course on the floor, align one side to the top of each jamb, and take a look. If things work out, you may have to cut a brick over the opening of the windows. This is so the bond on the opposite side of the bonded opening will work with a half of third bonded brick in the rest of the wall. If cuts need to be made, making them from the lintel course to the ceiling will be required, but small pieces at the jamb will be eliminated.

The masonry trade uses three layout scales for adjusting bond. If you do not have experience with them, they may seem confusing; however, they are really useful and simple. The oversized masonry ruler is the first one I learned because I began in residential. This scale is typically used to layout queen and King brick (because the difference in these bricks’ heights still falls into the same scales). This would be the only reason I would grab this scale. This scale uses letters A through K and will space the top of the unit evenly in a vertical dimension, so sills, heads, and ceilings can be met.

The Modular spacing ruler is designed for the commercial modular brick and other masonry units that top out on 2-inch, 4-inch, and 8-inch heights. It is useful for concrete masonry unit’s layout as well. This scale is the easiest to use for a beginner—the scale is in increments of 2,3,4,5,6,8 with each (most common) material listed as you unfold the rule to assist you in the layout. This rule does not allow for incremental corrections. This is a good scale to keep in the back pocket.

The spacing ruler is actually able to be used for both oversized and modular materials. This scale is good to use because it allows for the masonry unit and the mortar joint, so when you are marking a corner pole it allows you to see where you will top out (sill, head, shelf angle, or ceiling). It is in equal increments from 0 (10) to 1.

Layout has not probably changed as much as some of our responsibilities. Every once in a while, it is good to take a second, and remember why we enjoy this trade so very much.