Question 1

What are angled bricks used for?

Accepted Answer

Angled bricks serve a crucial purpose in UK construction by enabling the creation of masonry elements that deviate from standard 90-degree angles. Their unique geometry allows builders and architects to achieve specific design features and overcome structural challenges where traditional rectangular bricks would be unsuitable. Primarily, angled bricks are used to:

Form Bay Windows: A hallmark of many British architectural styles, bay windows rely on precisely angled bricks to create their characteristic outward projections and multi-faceted appearance, allowing for increased interior light and space.
Construct Arches and Curves: While not always a single angle, a series of carefully chosen angled bricks facilitates the smooth curvature of arches over doorways, windows, and other openings, adding architectural interest and structural support.
Create Chamfered Corners and Edges: Angled bricks are used to soften sharp 90-degree corners on walls, pillars, and other structural elements, enhancing safety, preventing damage, and providing a more aesthetically pleasing, often traditional, finish.
Facilitate Specific Angles in Walls and Structures: In projects requiring non-perpendicular wall junctions or uniquely shaped structures, angled bricks provide the necessary geometry for precise construction.
Add Decorative Detailing: Angled bricks can be incorporated into brickwork patterns and designs to create visual interest, introduce geometric elements, and enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of a building's facade or interior features.

Essentially, angled bricks are the key to achieving bespoke and architecturally significant masonry details that move beyond the conventional right angle, allowing for greater design flexibility and structural solutions in a wide range of building projects.

Question 2

What is the difference between a single cant brick and double cant bricks?

Accepted Answer

Both single and double cant bricks are specialised units designed to create chamfered or beveled edges, but they differ fundamentally in how many of their edges are angled.

A single cant brick features one of its longer edges cut or molded at an angle, typically 45 degrees. This creates a single sloping face along the brick's length. Single cants are commonly employed to soften 90-degree corners on window reveals, door jambs, and wall returns, providing a neat, angled transition on a single plane. They can also be used as a subtle decorative detail or for creating a slight chamfer on the top edge of a low wall.

Conversely, double cant bricks have two opposing longer edges that are angled, again usually at 45 degrees. This results in a brick with two parallel sloping faces. Double cants are often utilised as coping bricks on top of low walls or parapets, creating a double-beveled capping that is both aesthetically pleasing and helps to direct water runoff. They can also be used to form more pronounced decorative bands or features within brickwork, offering a more substantial chamfered profile compared to single cants.

In essence, the choice between a single and double cant brick in a building project depends on the desired level of chamfering and the specific location. Single cants provide a subtle softening of a single edge, while double cants offer a more prominent double-beveled finish, often used for capping or more significant decorative elements.

Question 3

Are angled bricks available in different angles?

Accepted Answer

Yes, angled bricks are indeed available in a variety of angles beyond the commonly encountered 45-degree units. While 45-degree angled bricks are widely used for standard bay window construction and chamfered corners in the UK, the specific requirements of architectural designs often require bricks with different angular cuts.

Here's a breakdown of the different angles you might find in specialised brickwork:

30-Degree Angled Bricks: These are often used for creating shallower angles in bay windows or for more gradual transitions in decorative brickwork.
45-Degree Angled Bricks: As mentioned, a very common choice for standard bay window facets and softening 90-degree corners.
60-Degree Angled Bricks: Utilised for creating sharper angles in architectural features or specific geometric patterns.
Squint Bricks: This term often refers to bricks cut at an angle other than 90 degrees, and while many are 45 degrees, they can also be manufactured or cut to various other angles to accommodate specific wall junctions or designs that aren't right-angled.
Custom Angles: For particularly unique or complex architectural projects, brick manufacturers can often produce bespoke angled bricks tailored to the precise degree required by the design.

The availability of angled bricks in this spectrum of degrees provides builders with significant design flexibility, allowing for the creation of visually interesting and structurally sound buildings that move beyond traditional straight lines and right angles. When sourcing angled bricks for your project, it's crucial to specify the exact angle required to ensure a perfect fit and the desired aesthetic outcome.

Angled and cant bricks

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