TOOLS OF THE TRADE
This flat tool with a pointed end is used to spread mortar.
What is a trowel?
These holes in concrete blocks make them lighter and easier to handle.
What are cores?
This type of stone veneer is manufactured from concrete but looks like natural rock.
What is cultured stone?
Water + sand + cement + this ingredient= mortar
What is lime?
When someone yells for “mud” on site, they are asking for this.
What is mortar
Masons use this long, straight tool filled with liquid to check if something is perfectly horizontal or vertical.
What is a level?
The most common size of brick in North America is called this.
What is modular brick?
Half the height of a modular, standard block is referred to this.
An ashlar.
This type of mortar, known for its high strength, is commonly used in foundations.
What is type S?
This joking phrase describes a wall that is not perfectly aligned.
What is “the wall is swimming“
The Romans famously used this shape to span wide openings and support heavy loads.
What is an arch?
This tool cuts stone or brick and is usually struck with a hammer.
What is a chisel?
The long side of a brick, when visible, is called this.
What is a stretcher?
This stone is often the most difficult to lay, and found naturally on the surface of the land?
What is fieldstone?
This type of mortar is the most flexible and is used for historic and soft brick.
What is type O?
When a mason plumbs a wall, and exclaims ”bang!” they mean this.
What is a perfectly level wall?
This famous Italian tower is known worldwide for what masons try very hard to avoid.
What is the leaning tower of Pisa
This saw, often used on job sites, uses water to cool the blade while cutting masonry.
What is a wet saw?
This brick pattern alternated stretchers and headers in every row.
What is a Flemish bond?
This term describes stones arranged with no consistent pattern, usually jagged and irregular.
What is rubble masonry?
Mortar must “_____“ before it can support weight or continue building.
What is cure?
When a laser level reads a perfect height, it is commonly referred to as this on site.
What is “Flatlined“?
Before modern levels, masons commonly used this weighted string tool to check vertical alignment.
What is a plumb bob?
This tool is used to create concave or “tooled” joint in mortar for weather resistance.
What is a jointer?
The vertical space between two bricks, filled with mortar, is called this.
What is a head joint?
This extremely hard and dense stone is often used for high end countertops but also appears in masonry facades.
What is granite?
This additive improves cure time and protects mortar from freezing
What is accelarator?
“Butter the brick“ means doing this.
What is applying mortar to the end of a brick before laying it?
This term describes stone blocks shaped so precisely they can be stacked with minimal mortar.
What is dry stacked?