A masonry profile is a batten, board or steel post set up vertically and plumb beside the masonry, marked with the course gauge. A line is strung between two profiles, so every course is laid at the correct height, in a straight run and truly plumb. In British practice a timber version is called a gauge rod or profile, and the steel version a corner profile or profile post.
Why use a profile?
Without one you measure every course afresh and the height drifts unnoticed — a millimetre per course is two centimetres after twenty courses, and then your lintel or sill no longer lines up. A profile fixes the setting out once:
- Course gauge — the fixed dimension per course: unit height plus joint thickness (for a standard UK brick, 65 mm plus a 10 mm bed joint gives 75 mm per course)
- Height of openings — mark the underside of frames, sills, lintels and soldier courses on the profile
- Plumb and face line — the profile stands plumb and so defines the face of the wall
Types
- Timber profile — a straight, dry batten (say 30 × 70 mm) braced or fixed to existing work; cheap and easy to mark up yourself
- Steel profile post — a system with a telescopic post, adjustable base and line holders; faster to set up and adjust
- Gauge rod — a loose batten marked with the course gauge for checking heights, even without a fixed profile
Setting up in four steps
- Place profiles at both corners of the wall, just clear of the future masonry
- Set them plumb (check in two directions) and brace them firmly — a profile that shifts is worse than none at all
- Mark the course gauge from the datum or levelling course, and add the heights of frames and lintels
- String the line between the profiles, moving it up course by course; check flatness with a straightedge every few courses
On long walls, add a third profile in the middle or support the line, otherwise it sags and the course follows it.
Related terms
- Gauge
- Gauge rod
- Bricklaying
- Plumb bob
- Spirit level
- Masonry bond
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