Brick masonry is one of the oldest building trades still practiced in its original form. A mason lays units of brick, block, or stone in a bed of mortar, leveling each course by eye and by hand. The work looks simple from a distance, but it demands years of practice to do well, and the best masons produce joints so even they look machine-made. Every wall is a record of the person who built it.
The trade rewards patience over speed, and careers often begin in unexpected places. The path to masonry mastery has been walked by people who started as teenagers in grocery stores and other jobs far from a construction site, which proves that the skills are learned rather than inherited. What matters is the willingness to start at the bottom and work up, course by course.
What Brick Masonry Involves
A masonry wall is a system of units and mortar. The units are most often clay brick, concrete block, or natural stone, and the mortar is a mix of Portland cement, lime, sand, and water. The mason spreads a bed of mortar, sets each unit, taps it level, and finishes the joints. Repetition builds speed: an experienced bricklayer lays 500 to 800 bricks in a working day on straightforward wall work, and a crew of two can finish a house-size veneer wall in under a week.
Mortar Types and Their Jobs
Mortar is graded by strength and flexibility. Type N is the general-purpose mix for exterior walls above grade and the most common choice for residential work. Type S is stronger and is specified for foundations and retaining walls. Type M is the stiffest, used for heavy loads and below-grade work. Matching the mortar to the wall matters because mortar that is harder than the brick can crack the brick as the wall moves with temperature changes.
The Weakest Link Rule
The standard guidance is that mortar should always be the weakest link in the assembly, so it can flex instead of the units. A stiff mortar locks the wall rigid, and when the wall moves, something has to give. That is why old brick walls with soft lime mortar survive for centuries, while walls built with overly hard cement mortar crack their bricks in a few decades.
Common Brick Bonds
The bond is the pattern the bricks form, and it affects both strength and appearance. Running bond, where each course is offset by half a brick, is the standard for veneer walls. Flemish bond alternates a stretcher and a header in each course and is prized for its checkerboard look. English bond alternates full courses of stretchers and headers and is among the strongest traditional patterns. Most residential walls use running bond with metal ties, since modern framed houses rarely carry load through the brick itself.
Masonry is also a reuse-friendly trade. Salvaged brick, reclaimed stone, and leftover block find new life in paths, planters, and repairs, following the same logic as upcycling strategies for home and construction projects: a good material is worth a second use. Cleaning and sorting salvaged brick is slow work, but the character of old clay units cannot be reproduced by new manufacturing.
Types of Masonry Work Around the Home
Residential masonry splits into veneer and structural work. Brick veneer is a single wythe of brick attached to a framed wall with metal ties; it carries no load and mostly manages water and appearance. Full masonry walls carry the building above them and are rare in new wood-framed houses. Stone veneer, a thin manufactured product, mimics the look of natural stone at a fraction of the cost and weight.
Beyond walls, masons build chimneys, fireplaces, patios, retaining walls, steps, and mailboxes. A two-story Craftsman home plan typically pairs wood siding with a brick or stone base and porch piers, which puts masonry at the visual center of the house even when it carries no structural load. The same pattern shows up in ranch houses, where a brick front elevation gives the whole street presence.
Veneer vs. Full Brick
Veneer walls run roughly 30 to 50 percent cheaper than full masonry because they use less material and no foundation thickening. They also fail differently: a veneer wall sheds water through weep holes and flashing, while a full wall relies on the mass of the brick itself. Most homeowners only need veneer; full masonry makes sense for accent walls, basements, and commercial projects. If you are unsure which one your house has, look at the windows: a full masonry wall shows brick returns in the jambs, while a veneer wall shows the frame behind.
Estimating the material is straightforward. A modular brick with 3/8 inch mortar joints covers about 7 bricks per square foot of wall, so a 100 square foot wall needs roughly 700 bricks plus a waste allowance of 5 to 10 percent for cuts and breakage. Mortar comes out to about one 94 pound bag of Portland cement per 30 to 40 square feet of veneer when mixed with lime and sand.
Training, Tools, and What Brick Masons Earn
Most masons learn through a formal apprenticeship run by the union or a contractor association. A typical program spans three to four years and combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction in blueprint reading, mortar mixing, and safety. Apprentices start at a percentage of the journeyman rate and advance as they demonstrate skill, usually with a raise every six months or every 1,000 hours.
- Trowel for spreading and cutting mortar.
- Level and straightedge for checking courses.
- Jointer for finishing the mortar joints.
- Line blocks and a mason’s line for keeping courses straight.
- Masonry saw for cutting brick and block.
Pay follows experience and region. Apprentices typically earn half to two thirds of the journeyman rate, and journeyman masons earn more in union shops and in states with strong construction markets. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median wage for brickmasons and blockmasons at about $30 an hour in recent data, and brick mason hourly wages in the United States vary widely from state to state, with the highest-paying regions concentrated in the Northeast and the Pacific states.
| Experience Level | Typical Responsibilities | Indicative Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | Mix mortar, haul material, lay simple courses under supervision | 50 to 65 percent of the journeyman rate |
| Journeyman | Lay walls, steps, and veneer to spec with minimal supervision | Median around $30 per hour |
| Lead or foreman | Lay out jobs, read plans, direct crews | 20 to 40 percent above the journeyman median |
Safety and Silica Dust
Masonry generates respirable crystalline silica, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration set a permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an eight hour shift. Wet cutting, local exhaust ventilation, and respirators are standard on masonry sites as a result. New masons learn the safety routine in their first weeks, because the dust hazard is invisible and cumulative.
Masonry Projects Homeowners Can Take On
Small masonry projects are within reach of a careful homeowner. A paver patio, a brick planter, or a stone border requires patience more than strength, and the tools are cheap compared with most power equipment. The rules are the same at any scale: a compacted base, a level bed, and consistent joints. A typical 10 by 12 foot paver patio takes 150 to 300 pavers depending on the size of the units.
Paver Patio in Five Steps
- Excavate 6 to 8 inches and compact the soil.
- Add 4 inches of crushed stone base and compact again.
- Spread 1 inch of sand and screed it level.
- Lay pavers from a corner, keeping the joints consistent.
- Sweep sand into the joints and compact the surface.
Tuckpointing Basics
Tuckpointing replaces deteriorated mortar in an existing wall. Rake out the old mortar to a consistent depth of about 3/4 inch, dampen the joint, and pack in fresh mortar matched to the original. Do one small section at a time, and stop if the wall shows cracks, because structural damage needs a professional assessment before any repointing. Tuckpointing is slow work: a competent mason repoints 10 to 20 square feet of wall in a day.
Estimating Your Material
The same sizing discipline that helps you sort mason jar sizes for storage applies to material orders: measure carefully, order a little extra, and keep the leftovers for repairs. For a modular brick wall, figure 7 bricks per square foot; for mortar, a 94 pound bag of Portland cement mixed with lime and sand covers roughly 30 to 40 square feet of veneer joints. Add 10 percent to any order and you will never stop mid-project waiting for a delivery.
The Career Outlook for Masons
Demand for masons tracks new construction and renovation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 4,000 openings for brickmasons and blockmasons each year through the early 2030s, with most openings replacing workers who retire or leave the trade. The occupation is not growing quickly, but the replacement need keeps the pipeline steady, and experienced masons rarely struggle to find work in active markets.
The work is physical: lifting 40 pound blocks, kneeling, and working outdoors in all weather. Good jobs reward the physical side with pay, and masons who can read plans, run a crew, or specialize in restoration stonework command higher rates. Restoration work stays busy because old buildings need maintenance no matter what the economy does, and historic districts often require masonry repairs to be done by hand to preserve the original character.
For a homeowner, the takeaway is practical: hire a mason for anything structural, and tackle the small projects yourself once you understand the basics. For someone considering the trade, the entry requirements are simple: show up, learn the mortar, and practice the joints. Either way, brick masonry remains a trade where the work speaks for itself, one level course at a time.