# What does "french brick" look like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090 "2016-02-25T13:37:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/1 "2016-02-25T13:37:24Z")
There is an island near my city that is rumored to have treasure on it. There are many old structures on the island, but it is no longer settled. People do camp on it though, and the whole island is public land. Anyway, legend has it that the treasure is in a vault made of “French brick”. There are other brick structures on the island, how do I tell the difference between regular brick and french brick? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/2 "2016-02-25T14:01:27Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > brick structures on the island, how do I tell the difference between regular brick and french brick? The basic brick is very much the same, there is no specific french development. When building a double brick wall, the two walls are held together by some means. In the past this has been by putting some bricks across the gap, to bond the two walls. french is one particular _pattern_ for the location of these bond bricks See [Brick bonds | Steenfabriek De Rijswaard](http://www.rijswaard.com/brick-bonds/) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/3 "2016-02-25T16:35:31Z")
I thought Oak Island was privately owned. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/4 "2016-02-25T16:52:35Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I thought Oak Island was privately owned. I was asking about Jewell Island. It’s owned by the state, and Maine Island Trail Association maintains trails and camping there. If you have a way to get out there, you are free to explore it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/5 "2016-02-25T18:04:42Z")
Ze Franch bricks are ze ones wit zeh black and white stripes, no? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/6 "2016-02-25T19:00:40Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Ze Franch bricks are ze ones wit zeh black and white stripes, no? They’re the ones in the corners wearing barets and smoking cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/7 "2016-02-27T06:26:34Z")
They’re the one surrendering to the German bricks ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/8 "2016-02-27T08:15:26Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > The basic brick is very much the same, there is no specific french development. > > When building a double brick wall, the two walls are held together by some means. > In the past this has been by putting some bricks across the gap, to bond the two walls. > > french is one particular _pattern_ for the location of these bond bricks > See [Brick bonds | Steenfabriek De Rijswaard](http://www.rijswaard.com/brick-bonds/) The words are used slightly differently around here. A “double brick wall” is a cavity wall, held togethor by ties. Very old walls were solid, and held together by bonding. I haven’t seen anything like that built in the last hundred years, but in locations other than Melbourne double brick took longer to become popular. I’d describe a Frecnh Brick wall as “French Brick”, not “Double Brick” ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/9 "2016-02-27T10:48:01Z")
French bricks are snooty about it. Joke aside, \*\*Isilder \*\*got it in one : French can refer to the \*opus \*of the bricks (the way they’re laid together) rather than the bricks themselves. That said, I don’t know when exactly that nomenclature appeared, or your legend, so the suggestion might be anachronistic. ---
**Author:** ![BuckChongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@BuckChongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckChongo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/10 "2016-02-28T01:28:10Z")
French brick also refers to a style of brick laying, the courses are not perfectly straight, there are slight but noticeable bows in the face of the wall and the mortar is kinda messy. It is almost impossible to do it well but it looks really cool when done by a master. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/11 "2016-02-28T17:39:49Z")
If the area was settled by the French at the time the treasure allegedly was emplaced, could “French brick” in this case just mean “French settlement era brick construction?” IOW to distinguish between then and the later English or German or Italian settlers and the different brick-making tech of that later era. So when digging, if you find, say 1770s bricks you’re in maybe the right place but if you’re unearthing 1820s bricks you know you’re not. I’m not suggesting that the other terms are wrong. This is just another alternative interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/12 "2016-02-28T19:10:56Z")
The very next time that I see [Ignatz Rat](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HfEP0LtJEUI/UMvWObOMIlI/AAAAAAAAAzk/6AU3aI69NV8/s1600/krazzee2.gif), I’ll ask. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/13 "2016-02-28T20:21:55Z")
This site shows many examples of brick bonds (the pattern they are laid out in), including French. [http://www.rijswaard.com/brick-bonds/](http://www.rijswaard.com/brick-bonds/) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/14 "2016-02-29T08:16:11Z")
> [@BuckChongo](#): > > French brick also refers to a style of brick laying, the courses are not perfectly straight, there are slight but noticeable bows in the face of the wall and the mortar is kinda messy. It is almost impossible to do it well but it looks really cool when done by a master. I’ve never seen swagged/scalloped/ festooned brickwork. Where was that? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-french-brick-look-like/747090/15 "2016-02-29T08:23:40Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > This site shows many examples of brick bonds (the pattern they are laid out in), including French. > > [Brick bonds | Steenfabriek De Rijswaard](http://www.rijswaard.com/brick-bonds/) Doesn’t show the “James Bond”.