How Does a Mason Spend a Workday?

What Is a Mason?

A mason is a job that encompasses all types of construction areas. A mason can be a block mason, a brick mason, an apprentice and a bricklayer, among other similar fields. Mainly, a mason is a person that works in the construction field laying bricks, stones, structural tile and cinder block. Not only that, masons also work with building walls and arches, as well as making repairs to walls and partitions.

A mason has many different duties throughout the day. He may start by going to a job site and calculating alignments for the bricklaying. He uses many tools during his day, such as cutting equipment for the bricks or stones, edges and trowels, hammers and saws. Before he can begin to lay the bricks he must prepare the area by cleaning it of debris and dust. He may need to remove caked-on mortar. Once he has the area prepared, he utilizes wire clamps to fasten his building materials to the area. This includes bricks, stones, blocks or tiles. Mathematical skills are a must in this field of work since all measurements have to be exact to construct the area with bricks. Once the bricks are placed in the proper area with the correct measurements, the mason uses mortar to seal the bricks in place. This is another area where math skills are useful since he is also responsible for mixing the concrete and mortar to proper specifications so it dries correctly.

A mason's pay depends on experience, job location and region. Even the employer that a mason chooses can make a large difference in his rate of pay and benefits. Most masons work for a construction company or private contractor and work a common 8-hour workday and have weekends off, depending on the job that has to be completed.