Brickwork · Arlington, VA
Brick Herringbone Walkway
Red clay brick set in a herringbone bond, photographed during installation with the field being closed unit by unit.
- Service
- Brickwork
- Material
- Clay brick pavers
- Location
- Arlington, VA
Herringbone is the strongest bond you can lay in a brick field, which is why it is worth the extra labour it costs. Every unit locks against its neighbours in two directions, so the surface distributes load instead of letting individual bricks work loose — the reason it has been the pattern of choice for paved surfaces since long before anyone was laying them by machine.
Set by hand, one at a time, with a mallet and a string line. The cuts at the perimeter are what the work is judged on: a herringbone field meeting its border cleanly means every edge unit was measured and cut to fit, and there is no way to hurry that part.