Saw the weirdest brick pattern at a hotel in Vegas last week

Honestly, the whole back wall looked like someone let a kid play with the layout, with bricks set at random angles and gaps you could fit a finger through. The foreman on site just shrugged and said, "The architect called it 'artistic expression' and signed off on it." Has anyone ever had to build something that clearly broke every rule in the book just because a plan said so?

4 comments

4 Comments

charles_young921mo ago

Why are we acting like every brick wall needs to follow the same boring rules? Angled bricks can actually make a wall stronger if you know what you're doing, since the offset creates interlocking points that spread weight better than a straight stack. I saw a retaining wall built with bricks set at 15 degree angles on purpose once, and it held up for years without cracking because the mortar was mixed with fiber reinforcement. Maybe the architect had a structural engineer sign off on it too, but nobody here is giving them the benefit of the doubt.

kim.nina3mo ago

Did they at least use extra mortar to hold those angled bricks in place, or was it purely decorative?

the_susan3mo ago

Good question. It's rarely just decorative because angled bricks create a lot of stress points. They usually have to use a stronger mortar mix and sometimes even metal ties hidden behind them. The real trick is making sure the whole wall structure can handle the weight shift.

marydavis3mo ago

Ugh, this reminds me of so many things. Like when a store puts up a fancy shelf that looks cool but can't hold any weight. Or a website with a flashy design that's impossible to use. The pretty part always needs real support behind it, or it just falls apart. People forget the boring stuff holding everything together.