What does a bricklayer do?
You build walls to a line, level and plumb, at a speed that decides whether the job makes money — and the line is not a suggestion.
Also called: brickie, mason, blocklayer.
A day looks like
- 1You set the profiles and gauge rods first, because everything after that is measured from them.
- 2You run a line for every course, and you lay to the line rather than to the brick below.
- 3You mix to a consistency, and a wet mix is easier to lay and makes a weaker wall.
- 4You tool the joints while the mortar is at the right stage, which is a window of about twenty minutes.
Hardest part
Speed and accuracy pull against each other all day. You are paid by the metre or the thousand, and every shortcut that makes you faster makes the wall worse in a way nobody will see until it is rendered.
Best part
Standing back at the end of a lift and seeing a wall that is dead level, plumb and even, with every perp lined up.
How you actually become a bricklayer
- At schoolAn apprenticeship or a college course; strength and stamina genuinely matter.
- TrainingLevel 2 and 3 bricklaying; CSCS card for site work.
- How longTwo to three years to qualify, and a few more to be fast enough to earn well.
- Your first jobApprentice bricklayer or hod carrier.
Frequently asked questions
- Why lay to a line instead of to the brick below?
- Because errors compound. Following the previous brick copies its small inaccuracy into every brick after it, and a taut line gives every course an independent reference.
- Does the mortar mix really matter?
- A great deal. Mortar strength depends on the water-to-cement ratio, so adding water to make laying easier permanently weakens the wall and increases shrinkage cracking.
- Is bricklaying being automated?
- Robotic bricklaying exists for long, simple, repetitive walls. Everything else — corners, openings, awkward existing buildings, repairs and decorative work — is still hand skill, and the trade is in short supply.
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