What Masons Do

Welcome

Hello, and welcome. This is Super Structures General Contractors — a national general contractor headquartered in Powhatan, Virginia — here to help you and your clients build something that lasts. We're glad you're with us, and we look forward to connecting with you.

Alright, What Masons Do. Don't let the plain title fool you. Here's the part that actually matters on the job: Masons build with brick, block, and stone — the structures and the skins that outlast everything around them — and the trade stretches from structural block walls to veneer, cut stone, and the restoration of buildings a century old. Learn it well and you'll understand why a good mason is still hired by the wall, not by the hour.

Masonry is construction from individual units — clay brick, concrete masonry units (CMU), and natural or manufactured stone — bonded with mortar and often reinforced with grout and steel. The mason's craft is laying them plumb, level, straight, and to the bond, with full joints, so the wall carries its load and sheds water for decades.

The branches of the trade

• Brick — face brick veneer on houses and commercial buildings, structural brick, arches, pavers, chimneys, and fireplaces.
• Block (CMU) — the structural workhorse: foundation walls, load-bearing walls on schools, warehouses, and retail, and the backup wall behind brick on commercial jobs.
• Stone — fieldstone and rubble walls, cut limestone, granite, and sandstone on civic buildings, retaining walls, and the thin and manufactured stone veneers common on today's homes.
• Veneer systems — a single wythe of brick or stone hung on a wood or steel stud backup, tied back with anchors and kept dry with flashing and weeps. Most new masonry in the United States is veneer.
• Restoration and repair — repointing (tuckpointing) deteriorated joints, rebuilding parapets and chimneys, replacing spalled units, and matching historic lime mortars.

Where the work happens

Residential masons build foundations, veneer, chimneys, and outdoor living spaces. Commercial masons build the block and brick walls of schools, hospitals, and warehouses from scaffolds and mast climbers. Restoration masons work on courthouses, churches, and storefronts where the goal is a repair nobody can see.

A day on the wall

Lay out the wall from the drawings and the story pole, build the leads (corners) first, stretch the mason's line between them, spread mortar, butter the unit, set it to the line, check it with the level, and strike the joints when the mortar is thumbprint hard. Around that rhythm sit mortar mixing, ties, flashing and weeps, and grouting. Tenders (helpers) mix, stock, and move scaffold so the mason never stops laying.

The skills

A steady eye for plumb and level; comfort with a 4-foot level, a line, and a modular rule; the strength to handle 35-pound block all day; the ability to read plans and details; and a willingness to work high on scaffold in heat and cold.

Going Deeper (Intermediate)

Masonry is one of the few trades that is both structure and finish. A reinforced CMU wall carries roof loads and resists wind and earthquake; the brick outside is the weather skin. That dual role is why the design code, TMS 402/602 (Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures), is referenced by the International Building Code and why structural masonry draws special inspection under IBC Chapter 17. The trade is divided by union and open shop, but the craft is the same.

Advanced / Pro-Level

Pros understand that masonry moves: clay brick expands as it takes on moisture, concrete block shrinks as it dries, and both move with temperature. Every crack a pro sees tells a story about a missing movement joint, a restrained lintel, or a tie that couldn't flex. They understand water management as the real purpose of a veneer wall — the brick is a rain screen, the cavity is the drainage plane, and the flashing and weeps are the exit.

From the contractor's side, masonry is a critical-path trade on most commercial buildings: steel and roofing wait on bearing walls, and finishes wait on the building being dry.

Practice Challenge

A client wants "a brick house." The drawings show 2x6 wood framing with brick on the outside. What does the mason actually build? (Answer: anchored brick veneer on a wood-framed house — a single non-load-bearing wythe tied to the sheathing with corrugated ties over a water-resistive barrier, with a 1-inch air space, flashing and weeps at the base and over openings, and steel lintels over the windows. The brick is the weather skin, not the structure.)

In Practice

A contractor who knows the difference between a structural CMU wall and brick veneer orders the right inspection, the right mortar, and the right crew. A contractor who treats them the same gets a wet wall or a failed inspection.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming all masons do all masonry — brick, block, stone, and restoration differ
• Treating veneer as structure or structure as veneer
• Ignoring the weather window for mortar and grout
• Scheduling masonry without the inspection and grouting sequence

Takeaway: Masons build with brick, block, and stone — the structures and the skins that outlast everything around them — and the trade stretches from structural block walls to veneer, cut stone, and the restoration of buildings a century old.

Educational overview only — not hands-on masonry instruction, a safety program, or a substitute for training under a qualified mason. Follow OSHA 29 CFR 1926 (including Subpart L, 1926.706, and 1926.1153), TMS 402/602 and the adopted building code, your state's contractor licensing rules, the project specifications, and your employer's procedures for your work.