DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
47-2021 Brickmasons and Blockmasons
Occupational Description:
Lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures. Excludes “Stonemasons" (47-2022). Installers of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units are classified in "Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers" (37-3011).| Percentiles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| Northeast Minnesota | 90 | 30 | $35.02/hr | $2.65/hr | $25.85/hr | $30.65/hr | $33.73/hr | $38.00/hr | $49.47/hr |
| Minnesota | 1,100 | 173 | $30.69/hr | $1.04/hr | $19.61/hr | $28.38/hr | $32.10/hr | $35.21/hr | $39.50/hr |
| U S | 57,090 | 1,370 | $24.45/hr | $0.24/hr | $14.06/hr | $17.49/hr | $22.54/hr | $30.04/hr | $37.83/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change 2010 - 2020 | |
| Carpenters | 710 | $23.20/hr | 24.1% |
Tasks for Brickmasons and Blockmasons
- Lays and aligns bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
- Applies and smoothes mortar or other mixture over work surface and removes excess, using trowel and hand tools.
- Measures distance from reference points and marks guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
- Examines brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
- Fastens or fuses brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
- Cleans working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scrapper.
- Sprays or spreads refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
- Removes burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.
- Breaks or cuts bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using edge of trowel, hammer, or power saw.
- Mixes specified amount of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixture.
- Calculates angles and courses and determines vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.