Stretcher bond

What stretcher bond is

Stretcher bond shows only the long face of each brick on the surface. A brick presents two faces, the long side and the short end, and which one is turned outward gives the bond its name.

Tunnel linings use it constantly. The former Hokuriku Line Funagatani tunnel in Fukui Prefecture, from about 1895, is described as a straight tunnel 64 metres long with the standard single-track Horseshoe section, dressed stone side walls and a brick arch laid in this bond.

The former Chuo Line Tamano Fourth tunnel in Aichi Prefecture, built in 1900, is described as a straight tunnel of 75 metres with the same profile, its side walls laid in this bond, with Refuge recess inside and a brick Tunnel portal using dressed stone decoratively at the Coping stone and other key points.

The bond suits curved work because a wall of stretchers follows a curve more readily than one showing brick ends. Records often note where the arch and the side walls differ in this respect.

Compared with English bond

Flat walls are usually built another way. The brick wall at the former Horita Residence in Aichi Prefecture, built in 1912, is described as nineteen metres long and 2.4 metres high, laid in English bond, with buttresses projecting inward every two metres and a corbelled brick moulding along the top.

English bond alternates a course of stretchers with a course of headers, so that bricks run through the thickness of the wall and tie it together. One bond suits curves; the other suits flat walls that need depth.

Records note the bond because it carries information about both structure and date. On site, count what the faces show: nothing but long faces means stretcher bond, while alternating courses of long and short faces mean English bond.