I thought more bricks

[runamok]

29700

These brick walls built in England use less bricks then a straight wall.

[dishuser]

you thought right

[runamok]

If you straighten curved wall it would stretch out longer

[dishuser]

If you straighten curved wall it would stretch out longer

as it is with anything
to cover the distance in pic is a waste of bricks

[Justdroppedin]

Every once in a while you might notice a brick wall that serpentines instead of cutting straight across. These so-called crinkle crankle walls are more common in England, but are found here and there in the U.S. as well. Their jump across the Atlantic is probably thanks to Thomas Jefferson, who directed them to be built at the University of Virginia (UVA) in the 1800s.


A single row of bricks laid in a sine wave pattern is as strong or stronger than a standard straight wall and requires fewer bricks. (https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/how-to-reset-a-loose-brick/) (In the case of UVA’s walls, about 25 percent less.) That’s because straight walls need two rows of bricks and sometimes buttresses to survive over time, whereas wavy walls need just a single row.


“So it was more efficient, and that’s why they did it,” says Porter. “These walls actually act like an arch, and so that makes it strong for wind loads that might push on the wall.”