Glossary
9 pages link to Glossary
A
| Acid Washing | Hydrochloric acid used for cleaning brickwork, also called Spirits of Salts. acid washing |
| Arch | Span over an opening forming an arc of brickwork arches |
| Arch Ring | The headers (voussoirs) that form the actual arch arches |
| Arris | The intersecting corner formed by two faces at 90 degrees, ie, the edge of a brick bricks |
| Autogenous Healing | When hairline cracks develop in lime mortar, or cement based mortar with lime in it. The hydrated lime reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This reaction produces limestone which helps to seal the crack. |
B
| Brick Bat | A Brick Bat is half of a brick when cut half way along the long axis at 90ºbricks |
| Bed Joint | Mortar on which bricks are bedded or laid. parts of a wall |
| Bolster | Wide chisel used for manually cutting bricks. basic tool kit |
| Bonds | Bond is the overlap of the bricks as compared to the bricks below. bonds |
| Brick Trowel | Trowel used to spread mortar and lay bricks with. basic tool kit |
| Brick | Masonry unit, Australian nominal measurements 230x110x76mm. bricks |
| Brick on Edge | Brick usually laid with the face up at right angles to the wall face, normally laid to cap off a wall, or as a window sill. bonds |
| Brickwork | Any construction made from bricks. |
| Butter | The action of putting the perp mortar joint on the brick before laying. videos |
| Buttress | Supporting structure, usually an attached pier to add weight and support to outward thrusts on brickwork. (also see flying buttress) |
| Bulls Eye | Round arch, usually done around a round window or opening such as a vent. arches |
C
| Cavity | Air space between 2 or more brick skins or between brick and timber frame. flashing |
| Cement | Slurry of lime and clay fired in a rotary kiln to form chunks, ground with a small quantity of gypsum then bagged. |
| Chuff | An under fired brick. bricks |
| Clinker | An over fired brick. bricks |
| Course | One layer of bricks. parts of a wall |
| Core Fill | Filling concrete blocks with fine concrete. Concrete Blockwork |
| Corner Block | Block to hold a string line, can be either home made out of timber or manufactured from plastic. basic tool kit |
| Compo | Same as Mortar mortar |
| Concrete | Mixture of gravel sand and cement, uses include foundations, paving, house slabs. Ratio, 3:2:1 |
| Concrete Block | Masonry unit made from fine concrete. Concrete Blockwork |
| Control Joint | Vertical joint where the full width of the brickwork is kept clear of mortar and bonding, used to allow expansion and movement of the brickwork without cracking. Usually filled with a foam strip and caulked, also know as expansion joint. expansion joint |
D
| Damp Proof course. | A course into which Damp Proof material is added, either chemical or physical. flashing |
| Damp Proof course.>Chemical. | Chemicals are added to the mortar at the mixing stage. Can also be injected into older brickwork if rising damp is present. |
| Damp Proof course.>Physical. | Plastic damp proofing is used now a days, comes in a roll. Sometimes also used is Bitumen, or Aluminium also on a roll, earlier Slate or Hot Bitumen was used |
| Datum mark | A reference point that all other measurements are taken from for the entire job, this ensures consistency, can either be a height mark or a distance mark. plumb and level |
| Dough Boy | An under fired brick. bricks |
| Dutch Jointer | Long thin piece of metal with handle, used for grouting and ramming mortar into holes in brickwork joints. basic tool kit |
| Dutch Pin | Very strong pin used for holding profiles against set brickwork, driven in with a hammer. basic tool kit |
E
| Efflorescence | Salt deposits on masonry, can be washed off with water, may have to be repeated many times to remove completely. faults Efflorescence |
| Excavation | Removal of soil to accommodate the foundations. |
| Expansion Joint | Vertical joint where the full width of the brickwork is kept clear of mortar and bonding, used to allow expansion and movement of the brickwork without cracking. Usually filled with a foam strip and caulked, also know as expansion joint. expansion joint |
| Extrados | External face of and arch ring, or, the topside of the arch ring. arches |
F
| Face work | The good side of the brickwork, usually the side the wall is laid from. parts of a wall |
| Finishing off | Final process for completing brickwork. finishing brickwork |
| Finishing off>Bagging Brickwork | Applying a slurry of mortar to the wall to give a textured finish. Bagging Brickwork |
| Finishing off>Brushed | Brushing the brickwork to fill holes and smooth off the joints. finishing brickwork |
| Finishing off>Raked | Removing the joints to a set depth. finishing brickwork |
| Finishing off>Round Jointed | A concave finish. finishing brickwork |
| Finishing off>Troweled | Both Struck and Weathered joints are troweled joints. finishing brickwork |
| Flue | Brick flues are built on top of fire places and form the chimneys that let out the hot gases |
| Flying Buttress | Same as buttress, but usually formed as an arch clear of the building until higher up where contact is made. |
G
| Gauge | Actual measurement for each course in height, normally 86mm in Australia but can vary depending on brick size. tables gauge |
| Gauge Rod | Measurements marked on a stick or rod so all the courses end up the same height. tables gauge |
| Gauged Brickwork | Very precise brickwork, an old technique where very soft bricks were rubbed to shape to form arches relief work etc. Old Bricklaying Methods |
| Green | Green brickwork is when the mortar has not set properly, usually within a day or two depending on weather conditions. |
| Gone Off | Brickwork has Gone Off once the mortar has gone through the initial set, about 10 hours.. |
H
| Head | Window or door head is the very top of the window or door. gauge |
| Header Course | Bricks laid at right angles to the wall face, can be laid flat or on edge. bonds |
| Herring Bone Bond | A bond that was supposed to represent the bony skeleton of a fish. bonds |
I
| Intrados | Internal face of and arch ring, or, the underside of the arch ring. Also know as the soffit. arches |
J
| Joint | The mortar that holds the bricks together usually bed joints and perpend joints. |
L
| Levels | A tool used to make sure the wall is true in the horizontal plane. levels |
| Level>Water | A Water level consists of a clear flexible plastic tube filled with water, water will find its own level and is easily seen through the tube,. |
| Level>Spirit | A Spirit level is a manufactured level with vials filled with spirit, comes with plumb and level vials. plumb and level |
| Level>Laser | A Laser level uses a laser light and a receiver to set the levels. plumb and level |
| Lime Pit | A fault in fired bricks, a lime inclusion in the clay will expand more than the clay as the brick is fired, it usually spalls off small round areas on the brick. Bricks |
| Line | String line used as a guide to laying bricks or setting out a job. basic tool kit |
| Line block/Corner Block | Block to hold a string line, can be either home made out of timber or manufactured out of plastic. basic tool kit |
| Line Pin | Hardened pin that holds a string line that can be driven into set mortar. basic tool kit |
| Lintel | Usually an angle iron section that carries brickwork over an opening, can also be a "T" bar or an "I" bar. Lintels can also be Stone or Timber. |
M
| Marking Out | See Setting Out |
| Mastic | Made of lime mortar and red lead, sometimes linseed oil was added. |
| Mortar | Mixture of sand, cement and lime used for laying bricks, Lime mortar was common before the advent of cement. mortar hand mixing mortar machine mixing mortar mortar colours |
| Mortar Board | Flat board on which mortar is placed to make it easier to get off with a trowel |
| Mud | Same as mortar. |
| Muck | Same as mortar. |
P
| Perp Joint | Perpendicular/horizontal joint between two bricks. parts of a wall |
| Pier | Usually consists of free standing square or rectangle brickwork, main purpose is to support either another member, ie timber or steel, or a brick wall, can also be bonded or tied to other brickwork piers |
| Pig | When the wall is built 1 course out of level, the wall has been built with the string line 1 course higher at one end. (it happens if the courses are not counted down from the Datum plumb and level on both ends) |
| Plasticizer | A chemical aerating liquid that makes mortar easier to use, added at the mixing stage. mortar |
| Plugging chisel | Long thin chisel designed for removing old mortar out so bricks can be removed. basic tool kit |
| Plumb | Plumb is when the wall is true in the vertical plane, and not leaning. plumb and level |
| Pointing | A troweled finish to joints piers |
| Pointing trowel | Small trowel used for smaller jobs like patching holes, or for re-pointing brickwork Much like a Brick Trowel. basic tool kit |
| Portland Cement | Known as GP or General Purpose in Australia |
| Prices | General prices. |
| Profile | Usually a straight edge that is rigid, usually a box section of steel or aluminium, profiles can be any shape i.e an Arch profile arch profile making |
Q
| Queen Closer | A brick that is split length ways along the face. bonds |
R
| Raker | Finishing tool with wheels that holds a concrete nail at a set depth, it is used to drag the mortar from the joints. basic tool kit |
| Racking back | A corner that is built and racks back (steps) 1 half of a brick per course odds and sods |
| Rollback | Fireplace back wall, built leaning forward to direct heat into the room, forms the smoke shelf. chimneys |
| Round Jointer | Finishing tool made of round section material, steel or plastic and is run along the joint to produce a concave finish. finishing brickwork also basic tool kit |
| Rubbers | Very soft bricks from yesteryear that were "rubbed" to shape so as to form shapes for corbels, arches etc. |
S
| Setting out | The process of marking out the job as to where it will be situated, checking for square etc. footings and setting out |
| Sill (Window) | Bricks laid Brick on Edge to form sill in such a way as to shed water away from the window. bonds |
| Skin | One thickness of bricks, ie 110mm thick parts of a wall |
| Soldier Course | Bricks laid on their ends standing up with the face showing. bonds |
| Sailor Course | Bricks laid on their ends standing up with the bed face showing. bonds |
| Snots | Mortar that squeezes out from between the bricks when laying. mortar |
| Smoke shelf | Top of the rollback inside a fire place, creates the venturi that aids in sucking the smoke up the chimney. chimneys |
| Soffit | The underside of the voussoirs in an arch. arches |
| Spandrel | Triangular brickwork formed by a line plumbed off the springing point of arches and the top of the arch. |
| Springing point | The point that the voussoirs on an arch start, or spring, from. arches arch profile making |
| Stretcher Course | Bricks laid length ways to the string line on the face of the wall bonds |
T
| Tingle | A tingle is used to support a long stretch of string line to stop it from sagging, can be made of any material, use whatever is available at the time. top tips |
| Throat | Area formed in a fireplace by the back of a chimney breast and the rollback/smoke shelf. |
| Tom | A Tom is a prop (usually timber) used to support a lintel and stop it from sagging from the weight of the bricks laid on it, the Tom is removed once the brickwork above has gone off. odds and sods |
| Toothing | A method of joining brickwork, as in, joining new brickwork to old. bonds |
| Tuck Pointing | An older method of making very ordinary brickwork look good, the joints were pointed with red mastic to make a smooth homogeneous finish, then a line of white lime mortar was applied over this to form very thin fake joints.tuck pointing |
Tools
| Brick Trowel | Large trowel for spreading the bed and buttering the brick. basic tool kit also videos |
| Dutch Jointer | Thin metal tool, used for grouting up toothings etc. basic tool kit |
| Dutch Pin | Strong sturdy pin driven into hard mortar to secure temporary profiles. basic tool kit |
| Gauge Rod | Rod or stick with brickwork course heights marked onto it. |
| Level | Usually a box section of aluminum with bubbles in it to check for "level" and "plumb". plumb and level |
| Line block/Corner Block | Used to secure a string line to a corner. basic tool kit |
| Line Pin | Strong sturdy pin capable of being driven into hard mortar with a string line attached. basic tool kit |
| Plugging chisel | Long slender chisel used for taking out hard mortar joints. replacing a brick also basic tool kit |
| Pointing trowel | Small trowel used mainly for pointing up brickwork |
| Profile | Straight edge used for pulling a line off so the wall is built straight. basic tool kit |
| Raker | A finishing tool, basically a nail held at a set distance so as to scratch out fresh mortar. basic tool kit |
| Round Jointer | Round section 12mm in dia that is run along the joints to finish them off, can be steel or plastic. basic tool kit |
V
| Voussoirs | The header course that forms the ring in arches |
| Vent | Made of pressed steel to allow air flow under a building, older vents were cast iron or clay. ventilation |
W
| Wall Ties | Usually manufactured metal that is used to hold two skins of brickwork together, or to hold brickwork to a timber frame wall ties |
| Wall Joint | Joint that runs parallel to the face of the wall between two skins of brickwork parts of a wall |
| Weep Holes | Perpends that are clear of mortar to allow the escape of any moisture that has entered the wall cavity. Weep holes can be any size required, ie, part brick size. weep holes |
9 pages link to Glossary