All bricks are laid as stretchers on every course
Image: BDA (1974) Bricks, Their Properties and Use
Image: BDA (1974) Bricks, Their Properties and Use
To gain maximum strength, the half-lap must be followed at all times. However, at a T-Junction, there is a quarter-lap formed by the header. So a couple of three-quarter bats are inserted either side, to maintain the bond. Hodge (2006) Brickwork for Apprentices
Notice the words used in this diagram, such as:
Return Angle, ½ Bond and Cross Wall
"As the art of bricklaying is generally supposed to be so simple as to require little or no attention, it will be necessary to remove this false impression by a somewhat particular detail of the facts which relate to it.There are many persons, and even some workmen, who suppose that nothing more is required than that the bricks should be properly bedded and the work level and perpendicular.
But the workman who would attain perfection in his business should acquaint himself with the different arrangements made use of in placing the bricks, so that one part of the work shall strengthen another, and thus prevent one portion from a greater liability to give way than another".
John Smeaton (engineer who built this iconic tower in Plymouth) writing in the 1790's, quoted in Walker (1885) Brickwork: A Practical Treatise
