Saw a brick arch in Savannah that made me scratch my head

I was down in Savannah last week checking out the old district and saw this huge brick arch over a garden gate. The thing is, the mortar joints were super thin, like maybe 1/8 inch, and the bricks were cut at these wild angles to fit the curve. How do you even keep that consistent all the way around without the whole thing looking off? Anyone ever had to build something like that and have a trick for it?

4 comments

4 Comments

grantc801d agoMost Upvoted

Pure skill" seems a bit much, it's just bricks.

hernandez.gavin1d ago

Try a laser level, makes those cuts way easier.

charlesschmidt1d ago

Oh man, that is some next level bricklaying. They probably used a wooden form to guide the arch shape, and every single brick was custom cut on site. The thin joints mean they had to be crazy precise. That's old school craft for you, pure skill and a ton of patience. You don't see that kind of detail much anymore.

ben_fisher1d ago

Grantc80 might call it just bricks, but that thin-joint arch is a master class in layout and cutting.