Semi-cirular arch.
An arch, which is the most elegant and structurally efficient method of supporting brickwork, has for centuries been the preferred means of support for brickwork over the small openings for doors and windows and for arcades, viaducts and bridges. The adaptability and flexibility of the small units of brick, laid in mortar, is demonstrated in the use of accurately shaped brick in ornamental brickwork and large span, rough archwork for railway bridges.
An arch, which is the most elegant and structurally efficient method of supporting brickwork, has for centuries been the preferred means of support for brickwork over the small openings for doors and windows and for arcades, viaducts and bridges. The adaptability and flexibility of the small units of brick, laid in mortar, is demonstrated in the use of accurately shaped brick in ornamental brickwork and large span, rough archwork for railway bridges.
The traditional skills of bricklaying have for many years been in decline. Of recent years the use of brick arching has, to an extent, come back into fashion in the form of arched heads to openings in loadbearing walls, brick facework to framed buildings and arcading.
The most efficient method of supporting brickwork over an opening is by the use of a semicircular arch which transfers the load of the wall it supports most directly to the sides of the opening through the arch. Figure 100 is an illustration of a semi-circular brick arch with the various terms used noted.
A segmented arch, which takes the form of a segment (part) of a circle is less efficient in that it transmits loads to the jambs by both vertical and outward thrust.
Fig. 100 Semi-circular brick arch.
Rough and axed arches.
The two ways of constructing a curved brick arch are with bricks laid with wedge shaped mortar joints or with wedge-shaped bricks with mortar joints of uniform thickness, as illustrated in Fig. 101.
An arch formed with uncut bricks and wedge shaped mortar joints is termed a rough brick arch because the mortar joints are irregular and the finished effect is rough. In time the joints, which may be quite thick at the crown of the arch, may tend to crack and emphasise the rough appearance. Rough archwork, which may be used for its rugged appearance with irregularly shaped bricks, is not generally used for fairface work.
Arches in fairface brickwork are usually built with bricks cut to wedge shape with mortar joints of uniform width. The bricks are cut to the required wedge shape by gradually chopping them to shape, hence the name ‘axed bricks’.
The two ways of constructing a curved brick arch are with bricks laid with wedge shaped mortar joints or with wedge-shaped bricks with mortar joints of uniform thickness, as illustrated in Fig. 101.
An arch formed with uncut bricks and wedge shaped mortar joints is termed a rough brick arch because the mortar joints are irregular and the finished effect is rough. In time the joints, which may be quite thick at the crown of the arch, may tend to crack and emphasise the rough appearance. Rough archwork, which may be used for its rugged appearance with irregularly shaped bricks, is not generally used for fairface work.
Arches in fairface brickwork are usually built with bricks cut to wedge shape with mortar joints of uniform width. The bricks are cut to the required wedge shape by gradually chopping them to shape, hence the name ‘axed bricks’.
Any good facing brick, no matter how hard, can be cut to a wedge shape either on or off the building site. A template, or pattern, is cut from a sheet of zinc to the exact wedge shape to which the bricks are to be cut.
The template is laid on the stretcher or header face of the brick as illustrated in Fig. 102. Shallow cuts are made in the face of the brick either side of the template. These cuts are made with a hacksaw blade or file and are to guide the bricklayer in cutting the brick. Then, holding the brick in one hand the bricklayer gradually chops the brick to the required wedge shape. For this he uses a tool called a scutch, illustrated in Fig. 102.
When the brick has been cut to a wedge shape the rough, cut surfaces are roughly levelled with a coarse rasp, which is a steel file with coarse teeth.
From the description this appears to be a laborious operation but in fact the skilled bricklayer can axe a brick to a wedge shape in a few minutes. The axed wedged-shaped bricks are built to form the arch with uniform 10mm mortar joints between the bricks.
Fig.101 Rough and axed arches.
Fig. 102 Axed brick.
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