A header course is a row of brick laid with the short end, the header, facing outward instead of the long side, most often used to tie two wythes of solid masonry together into one structural wall.
Because a standard brick is roughly twice as long as it is wide, turning it so the header faces out lets that single brick physically bridge the gap between an inner and outer wythe of a solid masonry wall. Header courses show up in traditional bond patterns like common bond and Flemish bond, usually every fifth, sixth, or seventh row, and they're one of the clearest visual signs that a wall is solid masonry rather than veneer over a frame.
On older brick homes and chimneys around Carroll County, header courses are also where repair work gets tricky. If the mortar around a header course fails, that brick isn't just a face brick, it's structurally tying two wythes together, so repointing has to be done carefully to keep that connection intact rather than just patching the visible joint. We look for header patterns before we quote any repointing job on an older wall, since missing one changes both the material list and how the wall actually behaves once we open it up.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
Chelo's Brick & Stone serves Hillsville, Galax, Wytheville, Fancy Gap, and Independence, VA. Call for a straight answer and a free on-site estimate.
