What is Soldier Course?
Definition of Soldier Course in Construction
Identification of a course of bricks that are installed in a wall vertically. The orientation of the bricks are installed to expose the long narrow side of the brick to make them stand in a row, similar to soldiers. In many cases the soldier course is used as an accent band within a masonry facade, or as a decorative head detail for a window or door. The soldier course will fall into coursing by matching with three courses of a running bond or commonly laid brick. In many instances the soldier course is doubled or tripled to create a wider band of dissimilar laid brick in the facade. Architects may chose to change the coloration of this band. The architect may also design the soldier course to be set back or forward of the face of the rest of the facade. This will detail the soldier course even more, and allow the architect to obtain a different perspective by adding an element of shadow to the facade. The soldier course is a very common method of setting brick and is used to provide highlights around windows, doors, or other openings within the facade