Soldier Courses and Special Brick Shapes

Summary

Soldier courses are one of the most recognisable decorative brickwork details on UK housing, particularly Victorian and Edwardian terraces and the many later developments that reference that style — a horizontal band of bricks standing on end above a window or door opening, contrasting with the surrounding stretcher-bond coursing. The visual effect comes from the change in brick orientation and often a contrasting brick colour or type, but the structural implications are just as important as the aesthetic ones: bricks laid on end have a smaller mortar bed area per brick and a less favourable load path than bricks laid flat in standard coursing, which is why a soldier course over an opening is almost always paired with a concealed lintel doing the actual structural work.

Special brick shapes go beyond soldier-course orientation to genuinely different manufactured forms — bullnose (rounded arris), cant (chamfered corner), plinth (stepped profile for a wall base), and radial/radius bricks (curved for bay windows or curved walls) are all produced in purpose-made moulds precisely because cutting a standard brick to achieve these profiles either isn't possible cleanly or produces a weaker, less durable result than a brick manufactured to the shape from the start.

Both soldier courses and special brick shapes matter for accurate quoting: special bricks cost significantly more per unit than standard facing brick, often have longer lead times (particularly for colour-matched specials on repair/extension work), and soldier course detailing takes longer to lay accurately than standard coursing due to the more exacting joint consistency needed for a neat appearance.

Key Facts

• Soldier course — bricks laid on end, narrow (header) face showing, long axis vertical; most common location is directly above a window or door opening as a decorative lintel-concealment band
• Rowlock course — bricks laid on their side with the long narrow (stretcher) face down and the end visible — sometimes confused with soldier coursing but a distinct orientation
• A soldier course over an opening is not normally structural on its own — a concealed steel or concrete lintel (see lintel types) carries the actual load, with the soldier course laid in front of or incorporating the lintel as a decorative facing
• Soldier courses need consistent, tight joints to look correct — because each brick's narrow face is showing, even small dimensional variations between bricks are more visually obvious than in standard stretcher bond, making brick selection and consistency more important
• BS EN 771-1 — the specification standard for clay masonry units, covering both standard and special-shaped bricks
• Bullnose brick — rounded arris (corner edge), commonly used at external corners, window reveals, or steps where a sharp 90° arris would be vulnerable to damage or is aesthetically undesirable
• Cant brick — a chamfered (angled, not rounded) corner, an alternative to bullnose for a different visual/detailing effect
• Plinth brick — a stepped or angled profile used at the base of a wall where the wall steps back (commonly where a thicker foundation wall steps in to a thinner wall above)
• Radial/radius brick — curved bricks manufactured to a specific radius, used for bay windows, curved garden walls, or circular structures — a fixed radius, so must be specified to match the actual curve required, and cannot be improvised from standard bricks without a faceted (multi-angle) approximation
• Special bricks cost substantially more per unit than standard facing brick and often carry longer lead times, particularly for colour-matched specials needed on an extension or repair to an existing building — always factor this into quote timelines, not just unit cost
• Cut bricks are not a substitute for purpose-made specials in most cases — a cut brick can approximate a chamfer or rounded edge poorly but will show a visibly different (and often weaker, more absorbent) cut face than a fired, purpose-moulded special
• Frost resistance classification (F0/F1/F2) applies to special bricks the same as standard bricks — an exposed soldier course coping or plinth detail needs an appropriately frost-resistant special, not just a matching colour

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

Laying a soldier course above an opening

1. Confirm the lintel is correctly installed first — the soldier course is a facing detail, not the structural member; see lintel types for cavity lintel bearing requirements (100mm minimum bearing is standard).
2. Set out the course dry first — because joint width variations are much more visible in a soldier course than standard bond, dry-lay the row to check brick consistency and plan joint width before mortaring.
3. Use a string line and gauge rod for both the top and bottom edge of the course — any inconsistency in the vertical alignment of a soldier course is highly visible from a distance, more so than an equivalent inconsistency in standard coursing.
4. Tie back to the lintel or backing wall — soldier-laid bricks have a smaller bed area, so mechanical fixing or a supporting angle behind the course is sometimes specified on wider spans, particularly where the course is a full-depth facing rather than backed directly by a cavity lintel's outer leaf.
5. Consider movement joints either side on long soldier course runs — the reduced bed area and different orientation can behave differently under thermal movement than the surrounding stretcher bond, so follow the same NHBC Chapter 6.1 movement joint spacing principles as the rest of the elevation (see expansion joints).

Specifying special-shaped bricks

The most common quoting mistake with special bricks is treating them as an afterthought priced at the last minute — because lead times for colour-matched specials (particularly on a repair or extension to an existing building where an exact match matters) can run to several weeks, specials should be identified and ordered at the earliest practical point in the project, not once the surrounding brickwork is already underway.

When specifying:

• Confirm the exact profile needed (bullnose radius, cant angle, plinth step dimension, radial curve radius) against manufacturer catalogues rather than assuming a generic size will fit.
• Match frost resistance classification (F0/F1/F2) to the exposure the special will experience — an exposed coping or plinth at ground level needs the same or better frost resistance as the surrounding facing brick.
• For radial bricks specifically, confirm the radius against the actual curve required on site — these are typically made to a fixed radius per batch and cannot be adjusted after firing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a soldier course need its own lintel, or does it sit on the main opening lintel?

In almost all standard domestic openings, the soldier course is a decorative facing detail sitting in front of (or incorporating as a facing skin) the same lintel that spans the opening structurally — see lintel types for cavity lintel bearing and padstone requirements. A soldier course should not be relied upon as the sole structural support over an opening of any meaningful span.

Can I cut a standard brick to make a bullnose or cant shape instead of ordering specials?

Technically possible for very small quantities or where budget is the overriding constraint, but the result is visibly and functionally inferior — a cut face shows a different, more absorbent surface than a fired special, weathers differently over time, and rarely achieves a true rounded (bullnose) profile at all, only an approximated angled cut. For any meaningful quantity or a visually prominent location, order purpose-made specials.

Why do radial bricks cost so much more than standard facing brick?

Radial bricks are manufactured to a specific fixed radius in a purpose-made mould, which means they cannot be produced from standard production runs and are typically made to order for the specific project — this drives both the higher unit cost and the longer lead time compared with standard or even other special shapes like bullnose or cant, which are more commonly stocked.

Is a soldier course purely decorative, or does it ever do structural work?

In UK domestic construction it is treated as decorative facing in the overwhelming majority of cases, with a concealed lintel carrying the actual load over any opening. There are historic and some bespoke structural brick arch forms (see brick arch construction) where brick orientation does contribute to genuine structural load transfer, but a standard soldier course over a window or door opening should not be assumed to be one of these without specific structural engineering justification.

Regulations & Standards

• BS EN 771-1 — specification for clay masonry units, covering standard and special-shaped bricks including frost resistance (F0/F1/F2) and water absorption classification

• Approved Document A (Building Regulations) — structural provisions; confirms that lintels, not decorative brick coursing, must be relied upon for opening spans

• NHBC Standards Chapter 6.1 — movement joint spacing guidance applicable to brickwork including soldier course and special-brick detailing

• BS 5628 / Eurocode 6 (BS EN 1996) — structural masonry design code, relevant where any brick detailing is proposed to contribute structurally

• Brick Development Association: Special shaped bricks — industry body guidance on special brick shapes and specification

• gov.uk: Building Regulations Approved Document A — Structure — statutory guidance confirming lintel requirements over openings

• BSI Group: BS EN 771-1 — specification standard for clay masonry units covering standard and special-shaped brick classification

• lintel types — cavity lintel bearing requirements, padstones, and structural detail behind decorative soldier courses

• brick bonds — stretcher, English, Flemish, and other standard bonds for contrast with soldier/rowlock coursing

• brick types — BS EN 771-1 classification, frost resistance, and water absorption for standard and special bricks

• brick arch construction — a distinct structural brick detail where orientation does contribute genuine load transfer, unlike a standard decorative soldier course

• expansion joints — NHBC Chapter 6.1 movement joint spacing relevant to soldier course and special-brick detailing on long elevations