Find Your Dream Job
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.
- Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
- Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
- Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
- Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
- Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.
- Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
- Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
- Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
- 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.
- Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
- Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
- 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.
- Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures.
- Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper.
- Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
- Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
- Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
- 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.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- 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.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
Career Coaching
Need a guide to help you on your career journey or to prepare for your next interview?
You May Also Be Interested In
Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")