Clay brick question

[Jeff]

Hi,

I'm rebuilding the hearth on my fireplace from S&H - Stiles and Hart

clay brick. I've never worked with clay brick before and am surprised to find that the dimensions aren't anywhere near uniform. My primary concern is that the width of the brick is generally a lot less than half the length (maybe a 1/4" or more). This creates big spaces when headers are laid. Is this the style, or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for the help. Jeff

[DanG]

You have me a bit confused (not necessarily a rare state). The mortar joints stay uniform in brick work. There never was any reason for thinking 2 headers per brick would make a pattern. Here are a few brick patterns to consider:

[Secolady]

There are different grades of brick - FBX being a higher quality than FBS (which accounts for the size variations in addition to acceptable cracks and chips, so you probably purchased a lesser quality of brick. (dobblers from Mexico vary in size) You can usually make up the difference in the joints. Remember also that most bricks are veneers (which means the color is on the 2 1/2" side and one end) DanG showed some patterns but based on space available will determine whether they can be laid with the 4" up or in a rowlock pattern (on it's side) with the color variation showing.