In brick masonry, which course is defined as laying bricks lengthwise?

In brick masonry, which course is defined as laying bricks lengthwise?

• A. The header course
• B. The bond course
• C. The stretcher course
• D. The faced course

Answer: (C)

In brick masonry, the name of a course comes from how the bricks are oriented in that layer. When bricks are laid with their longest dimension along the wall—showing the long face as you look at the wall—that course is a stretcher course. This lengthwise orientation is the defining feature of stretchers, making up the common, continuous appearance on the wall. If the bricks were laid with their short end facing out, that would be a header course, which changes the visible face and is often used to tie different parts of the wall together. The term bond course refers more to the pattern used to bond the bricks (how headers and stretchers alternate) rather than a specific orientation, and faced course isn’t a standard term for this context. So the course defined by laying bricks lengthwise is the stretcher course.

In brick masonry, the name of a course comes from how the bricks are oriented in that layer. When bricks are laid with their longest dimension along the wall—showing the long face as you look at the wall—that course is a stretcher course. This lengthwise orientation is the defining feature of stretchers, making up the common, continuous appearance on the wall.

If the bricks were laid with their short end facing out, that would be a header course, which changes the visible face and is often used to tie different parts of the wall together. The term bond course refers more to the pattern used to bond the bricks (how headers and stretchers alternate) rather than a specific orientation, and faced course isn’t a standard term for this context. So the course defined by laying bricks lengthwise is the stretcher course.