I think it would depend on what forces are gonna ultimately be placed on the wall when it's done. If the brick and mortar pattern is very disorganized, that might lead to certain spots where stresses may concentrate in one place vs another. This would then mean the wall has certain spots where its more prone to failure, compared to a wall with a regular, even distribution of brick and mortar.

It's kinda like why we heat treat some metals. To alter the grain structure of them to give us certain properties.

Wondering the same thing. I mean, people build rock walls out of rocks that weren’t meant to fit together like puzzle pieces.

The massive gaps which are only mortar are a huge red flag. When push comes to shove, they’d give, and the rest would follow.

There are steps you can take internally that could make it just as strong or stronger than a normal wall, but it would make it more expensive.

the problem with using recycled bricks is that they have already lost their weather endurance because that top coat is gone. so adding bricks that have lost their own integrity means your putting flaws in your foundation