Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 230 Section 4 Techniques 12.3 Laying Common Brick Walls The procedures for laying several common brick walls are presented in the following sections. The types of walls covered in this chapter include the following: ■ ■■ 4″ common bond wall with leads ■■ 8″ common bond, double wythe wall with leads ■■ 12″ common bond solid wall with leads ■■ Corner layout in Flemish bond ■■ Corner layout in English bond ■■ Cavity wall ■ Single wythe brick bearing wall 12.3.1 Laying a Four Course, Single Wythe, Running Bond Lead Corners (leads) must be carefully constructed because they are generally used as a guide for the entire wall. Laying the corners is called “laying the leads.” Two leads are used, one at each end of the wall. The first course contains three to five bricks laid in each direction from the corner. After the first course in the lead is completed, a second one is begun, starting again at the corner. The first brick in the second course will be laid in the oppo- site direction of the first brick in the first course. This procedure will create an overlapping process from one course to another. The last brick in the second course ends back from the first course. This technique is called racking, racking back the lead, or rack back lead. Figure 12-21 shows a rack-back lead, demonstrating how each course is stepped back, or rack-backed, from the previous course. A mason’s line is stretched between the leads to serve as a guide for laying the rest of the brick between the corners. Sometimes an intermediate lead or single brick is positioned or laid with the appro- priate masonry joint between the corner leads to reduce line sagging. This technique is sometimes called spotting the brick. Placing a midpoint between corner leads reduces the chance of the mason’s line sagging when cor- ner leads are at a long distance apart. 12.3.2 Laying a 4″ Running Bond Wall with Leads Place materials and arrange your workspace for effi- cient work. The mortarboard or boards should be located in the center of the workspace about 24″ from the wall. Stack brick on both sides of the mortar board or boards as shown in Figure 12-23. P R O C E D U R E Laying Up a Four Course, Single Wythe, Running Bond Lead 1. Snap a chalk line where the face of the masonry wall is to be located along adjacent sides. See Figure 12-22, Step 1. Mark the actual head joints along the chalk line for proper placement of the masonry units. 2. Start the first course by laying the first unit from the corner. Note that the placement marks for the head joints are visible even when the unit is in place. See Figure 12-22, Step 2. 3. Complete the first course along both legs of the lead. Each leg should be about the same length. Leads are generally about seven or nine courses high, but a shorter lead may be used for practice, as in this case. See Figure 12-22, Step 3. 4. Lay up the second and third courses, alternating the pattern of brick placement. Lay up the third course similar to the first course. See Figure 12-22, Step 4. 5. Lay up the fourth course to complete the lead. Two bricks on the highest course of the lead provide enough resistance to maintain a tight line. See Figure 12-22, Step 5. P R O C E D U R E Laying a 4″ Running Bond Wall with Leads 1. Establish a wall line using a chalk line. See Figure 12-24. The line is coated with colored chalk. Hold the line taut, then snap it to produce a chalked line on the surface you wish to mark. Check the slab or footing to ensure that it is square before snapping the wall line. The diagonal distance from corner to Author’s image taken at Job Corps, Denison, IA Figure 12-21. The lead has been racked-back to create a stair-step effect. Eventually, the leads will identify height and position of each course to be laid between the corners.