The bed face is the largest face of a masonry unit: the face on which the brick normally sits on the course below. It transfers the weight of the masonry above and rests on the mortar bed.
An ordinary brick has three kinds of face, and the names recur on every working drawing:
- Bed face — the two large, broad faces, top and bottom.
- Stretcher face — the long narrow side, seen when a brick lies lengthways in the wall.
- Header face — the short narrow end, seen when the brick lies across the wall.
The bond determines which of these shows: in stretcher bond you see stretchers only, while in English and Flemish bond stretchers and headers alternate.
Why the bed face matters
- Load transfer. Masonry is strong in compression, and that compression passes from brick to brick through the bed faces, with the bed joint between them. A fully filled bed face — mortar spread right across, no voids — governs the compressive strength of the wall.
- Laying level. A brick whose bed face is not sitting flat twists and pulls the whole course out of line. Hence the constant use of the spirit level and the line.
- On perforated bricks and blocks the bed face is partly open. There the mortar must support the edges fully; two mortar ribbons alone are rarely acceptable in load-bearing work.
- Cutting and snapping. When cutting a brick, keep the bed face intact where you can; a broken bed face gives an unstable unit.
The natural bed in stone
With natural stone the term takes on an extra meaning. Sedimentary stones such as sandstone and limestone were deposited in layers and therefore have a natural bedding plane. The rule is to lay such stone on its natural bed, that is with those layers horizontal, parallel to the bed face.
Lay the stone face-bedded or edge-bedded — with the layers standing upright — and moisture finds its way between the layers while frost forces them apart. The result is spalling and the surface coming away in sheets. In restoration work this is one of the first things a stonemason checks.
Practical points
- Fill the bed joint completely. Half-filled beds are a common fault that only shows years later as cracking and water penetration.
- Wet strongly absorbent bricks lightly before laying so they do not pull the water straight out of the mortar; bricks that are too wet will slide instead.
- Mind the intended face side. Handmade bricks often have one best face; lay it outwards and keep the bed face in the mortar.
- With natural stone, ask for it supplied on bed. A good supplier marks the blocks and saws them in the right direction.
Related terms
- Stretcher course
- Header course
- Bonding pattern
- Course height
- Joint
- Perpend joint
- Claystone
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