Book excerpt: The BDA Guide to Successful Brickwork is the definitive practical guide to obtaining successful results in brickwork construction. Written by a team of experts from the Brick Development Association, the representative group in industry for brickwork construction, this best-selling text has now been brought fully in line with the latest British and European Standards, including the requirements of the new European Standard for Bricks EN771-1, to ensure readers are receiving the most up-to-date and accurate information available in the field. Based on actual teaching practice, the book is highly illustrated throughout to increase accessibility of the text for the reader in its exploration of the practical aspects of brickwork. It also includes an extensive glossary of brickwork terms for ease of reference. The third edition contains new material detailing recent innovations in brickwork, in the areas of components, systems and techniques, which includes the development of thin-joint techniques for both brickwork and blockwork. Students following NVQs and Construction Awards in Trowel Occupations (bricklaying route, at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced level) from CITB, will find this book to be an invaluable source of information which will accompany them throughout their studies. The text has additional relevance to BTEC National and Higher Nationals in Construction, as well as GNVQ Intermediate and AVCE Construction and Built Environment courses. Building professionals concerned with the design, detailing and specification of brickwork will also find The BDA Guide to be an essential reference.