What is Face Brick
Definition of Face Brick in Construction
The visually exposed veneer of a brick wall is identified as the face brick of the wall. In many masonry assemblies, constructed years ago, the entire wall was made up of many wyths of brick. A wyth of brick is a single vertical layer of brick. The brick walls of older structures could be made up of several wyths of brick and would diminish as the height of the building increased. Therefore with this type of construction, the front or visible layer of brick was called the face brick of the wall. The face brick of the wall was the better looking brick that was accessible at the time of the construction. In modern construction, the installation of a single veneer layer of brick over the surface of a secondary wall of block, wood or light metal framing is a much more common method of construction. In this method of construction, this face brick was a veneer, or single layer of brick installed over the top of the inner material. This brick is referenced as face brick.