From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Bricklayer

Craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork

Field	Value
name	Bricklayer
synonyms	Builder, construction worker
pronounce	ˈbrɪkleɪə
image	Kuben murer.jpg
caption	Bricklayer apprentice practising at Kuben Vocational Arena in Oslo, Norway
type	Craftsperson
activity_sector	Construction
formation	Apprenticeship
employment_field	Civil engineering

A team of bricklayers preparing to lay courses of bricks (1917)

Illustration of how the bricklayer, on clearing the footings of a wall, builds up six or eight courses of bricks at the external angles

A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie". A stone mason is one who lays any combination of stones, cinder blocks, and bricks in construction of building walls and other works. Bricklaying is a part of masonry.

Bricklaying may also be enjoyed as a hobby. For example, the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did bricklaying as a hobby.

Bricklayers occasionally enter competitions where both speed and accuracy are judged. The largest is the "Spec-Mix Bricklayer 500" held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Required training

Professional bricklayers usually go through a formal apprenticeship which includes about three to four years of on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction, though some bricklayers may learn entirely from on-the-job experience. Unions and employers may offer apprenticeships, which allow individuals with little or no experience in bricklaying to learn fundamental skills under a more experienced employee. Contemporary masons in many countries must attend trade school and/or serve apprenticeships in order to complete curricula signifying that they understand fundamental related concepts such as the effects of humidity and water ingress, thermal insulation, and general knowledge regarding the science of construction materials, as well as occupational health and safety.

In fiction and popular culture

Italian-American author John Fante featured brick hod carriers, bricklayers, and stonemasons prominently in several novels and short stories. This was due to the autobiographical nature of much of Fante's writing; his father, Nick, an Italian-born bricklayer descended from — at least in Fante's fictions — a long line of Italian artisan bricklayers and stonemasons. Fante also spent a significant portion of his youth apprenticed to his father.
In Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the title character, a Gulag prisoner, worked as a bricklayer.
The long-running British children's TV series Look and Read featured "Bill the Brickie" ("brickie" being a British and Australian colloquialism for "bricklayer"), who would 'build' words with bricks to demonstrate the use of morphemes, such as '-ed' or '-ing'.
In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo's mother, Dolores Aveiro, stated in an interview for Sporting Clube de Portugal's official television channel (Sporting TV) that her son would have become a bricklayer if he hadn't become a professional football player.
In 2024, The Bricklayer, an American action thriller film directed by Renny Harlin and written by Hanna Weg and Matt Johnson, based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Paul Lindsay, who used the pen name Noah Boyd, was released.

References

Richard T. Kreh. (2003). "Masonry Skills". Thomson Delmar Learning.
"Brickie and Other Construction Nicknames: How Tradespeople Get Their Colloquial Names".
"Stonemason {{!}} Explore careers {{!}} National Careers Service".
"Bricklayer Job Description".
(March 2015). "Churchill as Bricklayer".
(2023-10-10). "'Spec Mix Bricklayer 500' incites fierce competition and ample learning in masonry".
"SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® {{!}} SPEC MIX".
"Job Information".
"Become a Bricklayer {{!}} Key Skills, Qualification & Salary".
"Bricklaying apprenticeship Level 2 - Find an apprenticeship".
(2018-07-06). "Foundations of Success as a Bricklayer {{!}} Builders Academy".
"Bricklayer: Occupations in Alberta - alis".
(2015-04-09). "John Fante: A Real American Writer".
"ADN de Leão {{!}} Episódio 37: Dolores Aveiro".
(2024-01-05). "The Bricklayer {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

bricks artisans construction-trades-workers crafts masonry

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Bricklayer — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report