What Brickmasons, Blockmasons, and Stonemasons Do

Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons (or, simply, masons) use bricks, concrete blocks, and natural stones to build fences, walkways, walls, and other structures.

Duties

Masons typically do the following:

• Read blueprints or drawings to calculate materials needed
• Lay out patterns or foundations, using a straightedge
• Break or cut bricks, stones, or blocks to their appropriate size
• Mix mortar or grout and spread it onto a slab or foundation
• Lay bricks, blocks, or stones according to plans
• Clean excess mortar with trowels and other handtools
• Construct corners with a corner pole or by building a corner pyramid
• Ensure that a structure is perfectly vertical and horizontal, using a plumb bob and level
• Clean and polish surfaces with hand or power tools
• Fill expansion and contraction joints with the appropriate caulking materials

The following are common types of masons:

Brickmasons and blockmasons—who often are called bricklayers—build and repair walls, floors, partitions, fireplaces, chimneys, and other structures with brick, precast masonry panels, concrete block, and other masonry materials.

Pointing, cleaning, and caulking workers repair brickwork, particularly on older structures on which mortar has come loose. Special care must be taken not to damage the structural integrity or the existing bricks.

Refractory masons are brickmasons who specialize in installing firebrick and refractory tile in high-temperature boilers, furnaces, cupolas, ladles, and soaking pits in industrial establishments. Most of these workers are employed in steel mills, where molten materials flow on refractory beds from furnaces to rolling machines. They also are employed at oil refineries, glass furnaces, incinerators, and other locations with manufacturing processes that require high temperatures.

Stonemasons build stone walls, as well as set stone exteriors and floors. They work with two types of stone: natural-cut stone, such as marble, granite, and limestone; and artificial stone, made from concrete, marble chips, or other masonry materials. Using a special hammer or a diamond-blade saw, workers cut stone to make various shapes and sizes. Some stonemasons specialize in setting marble, which is similar to setting large pieces of stone.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition