Brick arches

A large number of brick arches, such as the gothic, segmental or axed arch, are extremely difficult to erect and need years of experience to execute successfully. But there are two basic types—the soldier arch and the ringed arch, which anyone with basic bricklaying skills can build.

Soldier arch:
This is a square-shaped arch which is purely decorative and non-loadbearing. Generally it is used to cover the reinforced lintel or rolled steel joist that bears the weight of the wall from above and which is placed behind it. The exact design of the arch varies according to the position of the lintel and the thickness of the wall into which it is built. A single leaf wall or an opening backing on to an existing house wall usually has a brick arch on only one side of the opening, while a double thick or cavity wall has an arch on both sides.

Ringed arch:
This is the simplest type of rounded arch to construct since it involves no complex geometry or cutting of bricks to fit the design. It is semi-circular in shape with all of the bricks facing inwards towards the centre of the arch. To add a decorative finish, two or even three rows of brick are often set on end—one above the other. Once you decide the type of arch you want to build, familiarize yourself with some of the terms used in arch construction.

Arch design

Brickwork arches can be built as part of a new wall construction or inserted into an existing wall over a door, window, or other suitable opening. If you are building a new wall and want to include brick arches as part of the overall construction, site them carefully and make sure they are included on building plans. Design door and window openings so they are just wide enough to build an arch using a convenient number of whole bricks. Also, take into account how any proposed arch will look once it is built-avoid over-large arches which look out of place above a small opening, such as a narrow door.