Mason Work
Mastering the Craft: Exploring the World of Masonry Construction
Masonry is a construction trade that entails building structures out of component parts made of various materials, such as brick or stone. Practitioners of masonry, known as masons, are manual labourers who lay these components together and usually bind them with a substance such as mortar, a paste made with a mixture of cement, lime, sand and water that hardens when dried. Masonry involves skilled labour, as most forms of mason work involve laying individual components in precise arrangements and are thus resistant to mechanisation.
The specific duties of a mason may vary depending on the type of masonry, but there are some activities that are common among masons, such as:
Dressing components; masons are responsible for cutting and shaping the materials they work with, such as bricks and stones.
Mixing binding substances: in addition to preparing components, masons also mix the mortar or cement they use to bind the components into cohesive structures. Transporting and placing components: laying the components to build structures is the fundamental work activity of the mason. Reading and adhering to building plans: masons follow technical drawings created by architects when laying materials for
structures.
