TABLE OF CONTENTS Unit masonry construction consists of the placement of brick or block and mortar and the installation of accessory items such as anchors, ties, reinforcement, flashing, and weeps. The mechanics of brick and block laying are not difficult to learn, but skill and speed will improve only with time and practice. Increasing skill with trowel and mortar makes the work go faster and more efficiently and increases daily production rates. A skilled mason can lay an average of 530 modular brick or 125 heavyweight concrete block or 160 lightweight block in a day.
| Note | TOOLS A mason s tools include a steel framing square, 48-in. mason s level, folding rule, chalk line, line blocks or line pins, story pole, and string for layout; a bricklayer s hammer and brickset for breaking brick; a saw with a masonry blade for cutting block; a hawk or mortar board for holding small quantities of mortar; a trowel and jointing tools for placing mortar and finishing joints; and brushes to clean the surface of a wall (Figure 5-15). Jointing tools include rounded or convex jointers to produce concave joints, V-jointers, raking tools, and others.  FIGURE 5-15: Masonry tools. |
One of the most important elements of masonry construction is keeping the wall straight, level, and plumb and accurately maintaining the horizontal and vertical coursing. The initial layout of a wall discussed above included a dry run of units to establish horizontal coursing and adjust head joint spacing as necessary. Vertical...
