If We Can’t Handle Your Bricklaying, We Can Refer A Local Michigan Bricklayer To You!
Let us help you repair and restore your home’s masonry beauty. Michigan blricklayers association is Oakland County's leading masonry restoration company. We have worked hard to earn a reputation for quality and look forward to showing the residents of Oakland County that it is well deserved. Our goal is to leave every customer satisfied and willing to use us again, or recommend us to a friend/neighbor. Our Bricklayers pride themselves on building, corners not cutting them.
At Michigan blricklayers association we are experts at matching existing brick work. Our staff of bricklayer experts has spent years in the field working with local masonry supply yards. If you have Michigan bricklaying that needs to be repaired or a new construction masonry project one of Michigan blricklayers association’s specialists will be happy to find you the closest possible match, or refer you to a local Michigan bricklayer who can help you. To schedule a masonry consultation please call
Hire a Michigan Bricklayer that treats that take pride in there craft 313-355-3719
us at 313-355-3719.
We Service the following communities in Michigan:
Oakland County, Auburn Hills, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield township, Brighton, Canton, Clarkston, Clawson, Commerce, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Ferndale, Drayton Plains, Eastpointe, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Grosse Pointe, Highland, Highland Park, Howell, Huntington Woods, Keego Harbor, Lake Orion, Lathrup Village, Lincoln Park, Livonia, Madison Heights, Milford, New Hudson, Northville, Novi, Oak Park, Orchard Lake, Orion, Orchard Lake, Ortonville, Pontiac, Redford, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Romulus, Roseville, Royal Oak, South Lyon, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Sylvan Lake, Troy, Utica, Walled Lake, Waterford, West Bloomfield, White Lake Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County, and Livingston County
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Oakland County Chimney Repair & Brickwork Contractor
Michigan blricklayers association 313-355-3719) http://MichiganChimneyRepair.org Is a local Oakland County Michigan masonry contractor with years specialized in masonry restoration and repair. We are experts at matching brick and mortar color. We are not a handyman service. We are a group of masonry craftsman devoted to masonry beautifying Oakland County and surrounding communities. des
Let us help you repair and restore you homes masonry beauty. Michigan blricklayers association is Oakland County's leading masonry restoration company. We have worked hard to earn a reputation for quality and look forward to showing the residents of Oakland County that it is well deserved. Oar goal is to leave every customer satisfied and willing to use us again, or recommend us to a friend. we pride ourselves on building corners not cutting them.
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Brick is one of the oldest building materials man has. Brick has been used as a building material by man for centuries. The earliest bricks were made of clay formed into shapes and dried by the heat of the sun. These bricks were known as adobe. As man’s knowledge of building grew we came to the realization that by heating, (firing) the brick in a kiln they became stronger. The technology used for manufacturing brick in today’s modern era has changed. No longer are brick formed by hand and dried in the sun. Today’s brick are made in giant computer controlled kilns. Brick color and size are no longer limited to the color of the clay. Brick is now available in a variety of sizes, colors, and textures.
A small selection of brick can be found in most building supply yards such as Home Depot or Lowes, but the best place to find brick is in your local brick supply yard. These yards have a variety of shapes, colors, textures, and sizes of brick. There are a variety of brick textures available on the market today. Some of these textures are bark face, rug, buff, shale, vertical mat, bark face with a vine, wire cut, glazed, and that is just to name a few.
When choosing a brick for your brickwork or repair project, you need to be aware that there are two ways to describe brick size. One is the actual brick dimension and the other is nominal. Nominal refers to the size of the brick plus the mortar joint.
When you visit your local Michigan brick supply yard, they will typically have a large selection of brick, mortar and joint styles to choose from. The most common size of brick in Michigan is 3 5/8 in. x 2 ½ in. x 7 5/8 in. and weighs 4-4 ½ lbs. Norman brick are the same height and width as a standard brick, but is longer at 11 5/8 in. Roman brick are 3 5/8 in. x 1 5/8 in. x 11 5/8 in. In Michigan I only know of one supply yard in which you can get roman brick. Many brick when you lay them have a front and a back, the front side having the desired finish. Roman brick have a different finish on both sides and can be laid either way depending on the finish you desire.
Utility brick, often known as king brick, are larger in size and typically used on commercial projects. They are 3 5/8 in. x 3 5/8 in. x 11 5/8 in. Engineered brick, also known as queen brick, are 3 5/8 in. x 2 ¾ in. x 7 5/8 in. It is important to remember that in dealing with brick there can be a slight variation due to shrink and expansion during the kiln firing process. One of the great benefits to purchasing your brick at a local Michigan supply yard is they typically have samples of the brick on panels where you can get a good idea of what your brick will look like up on a wall.
When working with brick supply yards you also have access to a wealth of knowledge. Your local Home Depot or Lowes associate will probably only be familiar with two or three different kinds of brick. Most of the people who work at masonry supply yards have years of experience in matching brick. One of the benefits of having been in masonry repair for the last thirteen years is I have visited several masonry supply yards and have had a chance to acquire a fair amount of knowledge of matching brick myself.
Here are some various facts about Michigan Bricklaying per Wikipedia
Brick dimensions
A wall built in Flemish bond
Brick sizes are, in general, coordinated so that two rows of bricks laid alongside, with a mortar joint between them, are the same width as the length of a single brick laid across the two rows. That allows headers, bricks laid at 90 degrees to the direction of the wall, to be built in and tie together two or more layers, or wythes, of brick. The thickness of a brick wall is measured by the length of a brick, so a wall one brick thick contains two layers of brick, a wall one and a half bricks thick contains three layers, etc. A common metric coordinating size is 215 millimetres (8.5 in) x 102.5 millimetres (4.04 in) x 65 millimetres (2.6 in), which is intended to work with a 10 millimetres (0.39 in) mortar joint: 75 millimetres (3.0 in) course height, 215 millimetres (8.5 in) wall thickness etc. This is based on the earlier inch sizes. There are many different standard brick sizes worldwide, most with some coordinating principle.
[edit] Wall thickness and construction
[edit] Solid brickwork
The simplest type of wall is constructed in solid brickwork, normally one brick thick. Bricks are laid in rows known as courses, the arrangement of headers and stretchers in each course gives rise to different patterns or bonds.
[edit] Cavity walls
In a cavity wall, two layers (or leaves) of brickwork are tied together with metal ties, with a cavity of 2 to 4 inches that may be filled with insulation.
[edit] Brick facing
A non-structural outer facing of brick is tied back to an internal structure: a layer of blockwork, timber or metal studwork etc.
[edit] Terminology
Positions
- Bond: a pattern in which brick is laid.
- Stretcher: a brick laid horizontally, flat with the long side of the brick exposed on the outer face of a wall.
- Header: a brick laid flat with the short end of the brick exposed.
- Soldier: a brick laid vertically with the narrow ("stretcher") side exposed.
- Sailor: a brick laid vertically with the broad side exposed.
- Rowlock or Bull Header[1]: a brick laid on the long, narrow side with the small or "header" side exposed.
- Shiner: a brick laid on the long narrow side with the broad side exposed.[2][3]
Six positions
Brick Types. There are two main types of clay bricks: pressed and wire-cut. Pressed bricks usually have a deep frog in one bedding surface and a shallow frog in the other. Wire-cut bricks usually have 3 or 4 holes through them constituting up to 25% of the total volume of the brick. Some ‘perforated’ bricks have many smaller holes.
Brick Usage. There are three main categories of use, and both pressed bricks or wire-cut brick types are used in all three categories:
- Facing brickwork is the visible decorative work.
- Engineering brickwork, (using engineering bricks) often seen in bridges and large industrial construction but may also be hidden in ground works where maximum durability is required, e.g., in manhole construction.
- Common brickwork is not usually seen and is used where engineering qualities are not required; below ground in domestic buildings and internal walls, for instance.
Frog up/down. A frog is a recessed part of a surface of a brick. Pressed bricks are laid ‘frog up’ when maximum strength is required especially in engineering work. This method also increases the mass of a wall and decreases sound transmittance. Pressed bricks may be laid frog down; this method is favoured by the bricklayer, since less mortar is required for bedding. There may also be a marginal increase in thermal insulation due to the entrapped air pockets. A disadvantage of this method is that, with bricks having a very deep ‘V’-shaped frog, there may be some difficulty in making reliable fixings to the wall when the fixing hits an air pocket.
Wire-cut bricks may be laid either way up but some types of wire cuts have a textured (combed) face, creating folds in the face of the brick, which is directional. It is advisable to lay these bricks with the folds hanging downward to maximise the weathering characteristics of the brick.
Ties or cavity ties are used to tie layers of brickwork into one another, to form a structural whole. A common type is a figure-eight of twisted wire, in general stainless steel to avoid failure due to corrosion. The loop at either end is buried in the mortar bed as the wall is built up.
Mortar is a mixture of sand, lime, and Portland cement, mixed with water to a workable consistency. It is applied with a bricklayer's trowel, and sets solid in a few hours. There are many different mixes and admixtures used to make mortars with different performance characteristics.
[edit] British Bricklaying Terms
Air brick - a brick with perforations to allow the passage of air through a wall. Usually used to permit the ventilation of underfloor areas.
Bat - a cut brick. A quarter bat is one-quarter the length of a stretcher. A half-bat is one-half.[4]
Bullnose- Rounded edges are useful fo window sills, and capping on low and freestanding walls.
Cant - a header that is angled at less than 90 degrees.
Closer - a cut brick used to change the bond at quoins. Commonly a quarter bat.
- Queens closer - a brick that has been cut over its length and is a stretcher long and a quarter-bat deep. Commonly used to bond one brick walls at right-angled quoins.
- Kings closer - a brick that has been cut diagonally over its length to show a half-bat at one end and nothing at the other.
Corbel - a brick, block, or stone that oversails the main wall.
Cramp - or frame cramp is a tie used to secure a window or door frame.
Creasing tile - a flat clay tile laid as a brick to form decorative features or waterproofing to the top of a garden wall.
Dog Leg - a brick that is specially made to bond around internal acute angles. Typically 60 or 45 degrees.
Dog tooth - a course of headers where alternate bricks project from the face.
Fire Wall - a wall specifically constructed to compartmentalise a building in order to prevent fire spread.
Honeycomb wall - a wall, usually stretcher bond, in which the vertical joints are opened up to the size of a quarter bat to allow air to circulate. Commonly used in sleeper walls.
Indent - a hole left in a wall in order to accommodate an adjoining wall at a future date. These are often left to permit temporary access to the work area.
Movement Joint - a straight joint formed in a wall to contain compressible material, in order to prevent cracking as the wall contracts or expands.
Noggin - infill brick panels in timber framework buildings
Party Wall - a wall shared by two properties or parties.
Pier - a free-standing section of masonry such as pillar or panel.
Plinth - a stretcher that is angled at less than 90 degrees.
Quoin - a corner in masonry.
Racking back - stepping back the bond as the wall increases in height in order to allow the work to proceed at a future date.
Saw tooth - a course of headers laid at a 45-degree angle to the main face.
Shear Wall - a wall designed to give way in the event of structural failure in order to preserve the integrity of the remaining building.
Sleeper wall - a low wall whose function is to provide support, typically to floor joists.
Snapped Header - a half-bat laid to appear as a header. Commonly used to build short-radii half-brick walls or decorative features.
Squint - a brick that is specially made to bond around external quoins of obtuse angles. Typically 60 or 45 degrees.
Stopped end - the end of a wall that does not abut any other component.
Toothing - the forming of a temporary stopped end in such a way as to allow the bond to continue at a later date as the work proceeds.
Tumbling in - bonding a battered buttress or breast into a horizontal wall.
Voussoir - a supporting brick in an arch, usually shaped to ensure that the joints appear even.
Withe - the central wall dividing two shafts. Most commonly to divide flues within a chimney.
Bat - a cut brick. A quarter bat is one-quarter the length of a stretcher. A half-bat is one-half.[4]
Bullnose- Rounded edges are useful fo window sills, and capping on low and freestanding walls.
Cant - a header that is angled at less than 90 degrees.
Closer - a cut brick used to change the bond at quoins. Commonly a quarter bat.
- Queens closer - a brick that has been cut over its length and is a stretcher long and a quarter-bat deep. Commonly used to bond one brick walls at right-angled quoins.
- Kings closer - a brick that has been cut diagonally over its length to show a half-bat at one end and nothing at the other.
Corbel - a brick, block, or stone that oversails the main wall.
Cramp - or frame cramp is a tie used to secure a window or door frame.
Creasing tile - a flat clay tile laid as a brick to form decorative features or waterproofing to the top of a garden wall.
Dog Leg - a brick that is specially made to bond around internal acute angles. Typically 60 or 45 degrees.
Dog tooth - a course of headers where alternate bricks project from the face.
Fire Wall - a wall specifically constructed to compartmentalise a building in order to prevent fire spread.
Honeycomb wall - a wall, usually stretcher bond, in which the vertical joints are opened up to the size of a quarter bat to allow air to circulate. Commonly used in sleeper walls.
Indent - a hole left in a wall in order to accommodate an adjoining wall at a future date. These are often left to permit temporary access to the work area.
Movement Joint - a straight joint formed in a wall to contain compressible material, in order to prevent cracking as the wall contracts or expands.
Noggin - infill brick panels in timber framework buildings
Party Wall - a wall shared by two properties or parties.
Pier - a free-standing section of masonry such as pillar or panel.
Plinth - a stretcher that is angled at less than 90 degrees.
Quoin - a corner in masonry.
Racking back - stepping back the bond as the wall increases in height in order to allow the work to proceed at a future date.
Saw tooth - a course of headers laid at a 45-degree angle to the main face.
Shear Wall - a wall designed to give way in the event of structural failure in order to preserve the integrity of the remaining building.
Sleeper wall - a low wall whose function is to provide support, typically to floor joists.
Snapped Header - a half-bat laid to appear as a header. Commonly used to build short-radii half-brick walls or decorative features.
Squint - a brick that is specially made to bond around external quoins of obtuse angles. Typically 60 or 45 degrees.
Stopped end - the end of a wall that does not abut any other component.
Toothing - the forming of a temporary stopped end in such a way as to allow the bond to continue at a later date as the work proceeds.
Tumbling in - bonding a battered buttress or breast into a horizontal wall.
Voussoir - a supporting brick in an arch, usually shaped to ensure that the joints appear even.
Withe - the central wall dividing two shafts. Most commonly to divide flues within a chimney.
[edit] Brickwork bonds
Bricks may be laid in a variety of 'bonds' or patterns of headers and stretchers on a series of courses. In single-thickness walls, these are purely decorative, but, in double-thickness walls, they strengthen the wall by connecting the layers.
Flemish bond.
Cavity wall-stretcher bond
English bond
[edit] Flemish bond
Ruins of Rosewell Plantation, Gloucester County, Virginia, one of earliest works in America in Flemish bond. The bricks were imported from England.
Flemish bond, also known as Dutch bond, has throughout history been considered the most decorative bond, and for this reason was used extensively for dwellings until the adoption of the cavity wall. It is created by alternately laying headers and stretchers in a single course.[5] The next course is laid so that a header lies in the middle of the stretcher in the course below. This bond is two bricks thick. It is quite difficult to lay Flemish bond properly, since for best effect all the perpendiculars (vertical mortar joints) need to be vertically aligned. If only one face of a Flemish bond wall is exposed, one-third of the bricks are not visible, and hence may be of low visual quality. This is a better ratio than for English bond, Flemish bond's main rival for load-bearing walls.
A common variation often found in early-18th-century buildings is Glazed-headed Flemish Bond, in which the exposed headers are burned until they vitrify with a black glassy surface. Other variants are Monk bond and Wessex Bond, the latter with three stretchers between each header. This is easier to lay than full Flemish Bond and produces a less intense, but nevertheless "pretty" brickwork face.
There are at least 6 buildings built of Flemish Bond Brickwork in and around the Historic Village of Menangle in New South Wales, Australia. The buildings include the Anglican Church, the Historic Menangle School, Gilbulla and three houses on Station Street.
[edit] Monk bond
Monk bond is a variant of Flemish bond, with two stretchers between the headers in each row, and the headers centred over the join between the two stretchers in the row below.[5] It was commonly used in the region around the Baltic Sea until turn of 13th and 14th centuries, then it was gradually replaced by Flemish bond.
[edit] Stretcher bond
Stretcher bond in a brick wall in a restaurant
Stretcher bond, also known as running bond, consists of bricks laid with only their long narrow sides (their stretchers) showing, overlapping midway with the courses of bricks below and above. It is the simplest repeating pattern, but, since it cannot be made with a bond to the bricks behind, it is suitable only for a wall one-half brick thick, the thinnest possible wall.[6] Such a thin wall is not stable enough to stand alone, and must be tied to a supporting structure. It is common in modern buildings, in particular as the outer face of a cavity wall, or as the facing to a timber or steel framed structure. Stretcher bond is now used in building garden and boundary walls that are "stand alone" by incorporating a layer of steel brick-reinforcing mesh, laid every three or so courses, thus acting as headers in tying the two leaves together.
[edit] English bond
This bond has two alternating courses of stretchers and headers,[5] with the headers centered on the stretchers, and each alternate row vertically aligned. There is a variant in which the second course of stretchers is half offset from the first, giving rise to English cross bond or Dutch bond.[7]
[edit] American bond
By one definition, Common, American, or Scottish bond has one row of headers to five of stretchers.[8] The number of stretcher courses may vary from that, in practice. For example, the brick Clarke-Palmore House in Henrico County, Virginia, has a lower level built in 1819 described as being American bond of 3 to 5 stretcher courses between each header course, and an upper level built in 1855 with American bond of 6 to 7 stretcher courses between each header course.[9]
[edit] Garden wall bonds
English garden wall bond - A repeating sequence of three courses of stretchers followed by a course of headers.[5]
Flemish garden Wall Bond - A repeating sequence of three stretchers followed by a header in each course.[5] The courses are offset so that the headers of the courses above and below is centered on the middle stretcher of the course between (so at any header the sequence vertically is header-stretcher-header etc.). A variation of Flemish Garden Wall bond is Flemish diagonal bond - A complex pattern of stretcher courses alternating with courses of one or two stretchers between headers, at various offsets such that over ten courses a diamond-shaped pattern appears.[7]
Water Bond - a nine-inch wall bond where both skins are built in stretcher bond, but the bed joints in are staggered so as not to align. This bond is often specified by local councils in the North of England for manholes.
Flemish garden Wall Bond - A repeating sequence of three stretchers followed by a header in each course.[5] The courses are offset so that the headers of the courses above and below is centered on the middle stretcher of the course between (so at any header the sequence vertically is header-stretcher-header etc.). A variation of Flemish Garden Wall bond is Flemish diagonal bond - A complex pattern of stretcher courses alternating with courses of one or two stretchers between headers, at various offsets such that over ten courses a diamond-shaped pattern appears.[7]
Water Bond - a nine-inch wall bond where both skins are built in stretcher bond, but the bed joints in are staggered so as not to align. This bond is often specified by local councils in the North of England for manholes.
[edit] Rat-trap bond
Rat-trap bond, also known as Chinese bond, is a type of garden wall bond similar to Flemish, but consisting of rowlocks and shiners instead of headers and stretchers (the stretchers and headers are laid on their sides, with the bed face of the stretcher facing outward). This gives a wall with an internal cavity bridged by the headers, hence the name. The main advantage of this bond is economy in use of bricks, giving a wall of one-brick thickness with fewer bricks than a solid bond. The bond also gives the advantage that both skins are tied together. Rat-trap bond was in common usage in England for building houses of fewer than 3 stories up to the turn of the 20th century and is today still used in India as an economical bond, as well for the insulation properties offered by the air cavity. Also, many brick walls surrounding kitchen gardens were designed with cavities so hot air could circulate in the winter, warming fruit trees or other produce spread against the walls, causing them to bloom earlier and forcing early fruit production
Brickmasons (also called Bricklayers) lay brick, stone, structural tile, marble, concrete block, and other masonry materials to build walls, partitions, fireplaces, and other structures. Stonemasons build stone structures such as piers and walls or lay walks, curbstones, or other special types of masonry.
Brickmasons may:
Estimate amount of materials needed
Measure distances and mark guidelines on work surfaces to lay out work
Determine the alignment of brick courses using plumb bob, level and line
Cut bricks to size
Spread mortar to serve as a base and binder for bricks
Apply mortar to bricks and position them in the mortar base
Tap bricks to align, level, and imbed them in mortar
Finish mortar joints between bricks with a shaped tool
Cut to size decorative block units used around doors and windows
Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment
Stonemasons may:
Shape stone before setting
Spread mortar over stone and foundation
Set stone in place by hand or with a crane
Align stone with a plumb line
Finish joints between stone