Is this small piece of brick in a wall acceptable?

woody7777

On a friends recent conservatory he was wondering if this small brick in the middle would weaken the wall.

fenwick458

it won't weaken it no, just doesn't look very good.

Phil4432

Probably fine.  Conservatories have a life expectancy of 15 years or less, you'll probably also find it has shallow foundations.

woody7777

fenwick458 said:

it won't weaken it no, just doesn't look very good.

Good to know it's still strong. Why is it in there?

casper_gutman

It'll be fine structurally. They've just not planned out the joints very well - it would have looked better to have two just-over-half bricks at the ends of the wall rather than this little sliver in the middle.

To be honest, I don't know that I'd expect them to do anything about it, especially if it's on a less obtrusive part of the wall.

Then again, the main builder for our extension insisted his bricklayer rebuild part of the front wall that was like that, because "he couldn't bear driving past and seeing it like that"!

If it's facing right onto a seating area where it'll be sitting staring at you all summer, then will there be any plants or anything to screen it?

stuart45

I agree that it won't affect the structure, but you wouldn't get away with a quarter closer in the middle of the wall on site. Conny builders are a law to themselves though. 
The brick bond  should really be set out before you get out the ground. Normally you would try and tighten up the cross joints to make the closer into a half and stick it the end of the wall. Increasing the size of the halves at the ends doesn't work with stretcher bond.

rob7475

I wouldn't be happy with that brick work. I'm not sure if it's the angle of the photo but if you look at the bricks near the bottom left, they haven't been set out right. I'd expect bricks to overlap by half but that doesn't look even. The pointing isn't the best either. 

GDB2222

I quite like those little pieces of brick. No accounting for taste, is there?

stuart45

Some people do like a mix in the wall. When I did my daughter's porch, I did a single skin of brickwork, but 9 inch jambs for the door. I had to use closers to get the size she wanted. It was all rendered, so was a mix  of odd bricks, but I was surprised how many people really liked the cuts and different colours, and couldn't believe it was getting rendered over.

Ectophile

It wouldn't bother me.  I can only think it's done like that because whoever specified the length of the wall didn't make sure it was an exact multiple of the length of a brick, with mortar.  So when the brickies came to build it, they were left with an odd little bit of a brick to add, to make it the correct length.

Presumably, if they missed out that bit and made the wall a couple of inches shorter, then the conservatory wouldn't fit on top of it.

stuart45

There isn't a valid excuse for ending up with a closer in the wall in stretcher bond. 
One of the rules is that nothing less than a half bat should be in the wall. The only exception is when the wall is corbelled or on an over sailing course. 
They should have tightened up the cross joints and reversed the bond with a 3/4 in the centre if needed.