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If you are building on to your home or building a new home probably the major part of the work will involve masonry or brickwork. Masonry refers to binding any types of units together with mortar to create a structure; these units may be bricks, stone, or marble. Brickwork is a particular type of masonry referring specifically to the use of bricks to build a structure.

The Advantages of Brickwork for Building Your Home

Bricks are quite commonly used in the construction of new houses or additions to houses, but what are the benefits? The first benefit of brickwork for constructing your home is that brick can often increase the thermal comfort of a home, feeling cooler in summer and warmer in a cold winter. Brickwork also often does not require painting and so can save you money from having to paint and maintain the paint application.

The Disadvantages of Brickwork and Masonry for the Construction of Your Home

It is important to carefully select the bricks that you are going to use in the building of your home if your area is prone to extreme temperatures as some bricks do not cope well with extreme weather. Brickwork and masonry also require strong foundations on which to build and if you have a difficult area for foundations or have problems with your foundations then this can become extremely costly.

Other Types of Masonry

Apart from brickwork there are also other types of masonry that are used to create different buildings. Concrete block is another quite popular building material and stonework.

How Brickwork is Done

Brickwork involves laying layers of bricks in a specific pattern and then bonded together to hold them in place. Bricks may either be stretcher bricks or header bricks. Stretcher bricks are laid with the longest side exposed to the outside, while header bricks have the shorter side exposed. There are also different types of bonding including stretcher bond, English bond, header bond and Flemish bond.

Masonry and brickwork is often used to build your new home or add an extension onto your home. It is strong and durable and also often does not require painting which helps to lower your costs. You can find a contractor to do the brickwork or masonry of your home using the HandyAmerican.com directory or posting a project on our website.