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Brickmasons and Blockmasons
Lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.
Also Known As:
Block Layer
Block Mason
Blockmason
Brick Mason
Brick and Block Mason
Bricklayer
Mason
Masonry Installer
Tender
Wages
Annual wages for Brickmasons and Blockmasons in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
75,000
3% Change From 2023
Explore Brickmasons and Blockmasons video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
- Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
- Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
- Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
- Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
- Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper.
- Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
- Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
- Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
- Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.
- Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
- Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
- Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
- Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
- Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
- Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
- Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
- Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")