A quarter bat is a quarter of a whole brick: the brick is cut across its length into four parts. The Dutch name for it is klezoor. The width and height stay those of a whole brick; only the length is quartered. On a 210 mm Dutch brick that gives a piece of roughly 53 mm, or about 45 mm once the joints are taken into account.
The quarter bat belongs to a family of cut pieces the bricklayer uses to make a bond work out:
| Name | Share of brick length | Length on a 215 mm brick | Length on a 210 mm brick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole brick | 1/1 | 215 mm | 210 mm |
| Three-quarter bat | 3/4 | about 161 mm | about 158 mm |
| Half bat (header) | 1/2 | about 107 mm | about 105 mm |
| Quarter bat | 1/4 | about 54 mm | about 53 mm |
Where it is used
- Closing the bond at corners and reveals — the quarter bat produces the required stagger of the perpend joints
- Raking stretcher bond — a bond in which every course is offset by a quarter of a brick against the one below
- Junctions with openings — at reveals and piers the bricklayer adjusts the bond with quarter and three-quarter bats
- Patching — when repairing existing brickwork, the bond of the old wall has to be followed
Practical tips
- Cut or split — traditionally a bat is struck off with the side of the trowel or the brick hammer; a masonry saw gives a crisp but visibly sawn edge. On handmade facing bricks a struck fracture looks more natural
- Avoid tiny pieces — anything smaller than a quarter bat is fragile and conspicuous; solve a dimensional problem through the setting out rather than with ever smaller pieces
- Work to the brick module — calculate in advance how many whole bricks fit a panel (brick plus joint); you then need fewer cut pieces along the way
- Safety — wear eye protection when cutting or sawing brick
Related terms
- Three-quarter bat
- Raking stretcher bond
- Bond pattern
- Brick
- Perpend joint
- Cross bond brickwork
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