Dragging Me Down seen it happen a few times. Wouldn’t be laughing if it pops your corner half way through building it. One of the first things I was taught on site
The "twanging the line" one brings back memories of when I started out as an apprentice.....Journeyman shouts over to me "Jim, there's a train coming, I'm like.... eh, what do you mean? Then he roars at me "GET OFF THE F***ING LINE!!" After that all he said was "choo, choo" ......I soon got the idea!
As a concrete mason, I always told the younger guys on the crew to wear an apron or tool belt to keep their tools on hand. Once you set down a pencil or a tape measure or a utility knife, it’s easy to walk away and forget where you left it. Northeast USA...also unpredictable weather
i come from germany and our rule is never hit the level with anything . another thing ist that you not allowed to use gloves at any fast spinning tool .
Great vid. i've worked with a lot of shady crews in the past that didn't do half of this. I had to learn the hard way. Always take pride in your work and be responsible.
I'm in Ontario Canada. We always cover any cement products and everything In the winter. But in the spring and summer we dont cover our clay bricks. Sometimes it's nice to have them wet down. Especially if were working on a tighter bond.
I'm from New Jersey masonry contractor what I was employed I work in New York City bricklaying is a rewarding trade now all I do is watch the work go up and run the business
Hello from Mississippi. I learned to lay brick from my dad when I was in high school. This was back when the trowel handles were all wooden. He always said when he saw a guy come to the job with a rubber crutch tip stuck on the end (obviously they didn't come that way), that he probably didn't do good work because he was having to beat on the brick (or level) too much. And, down in the south we're prone to sudden thunderstorms in the summer and a lot of rain in the winter so I'm with you on covering the brick and turning the scaffold boards. I still love the smell of curing mortar. We just call it mud here, lol!
Hello. I have been thinking about starting a career in the construction industry for a long time. I would like to learn the art of bricklaying. Does health suffer greatly in this profession? Tall people like me have a lot of discomforts? I am considering Roofing, as well.
Haha ken that’s funny man if I wear a hard hat I seem to bounce off everything ..... if I don’t wear a hard hat I never bang my head so..... I’m on the fence on that one..... below the scaffold I agree
I saw a chap jump a short distance from scaffolding onto a building and smash his face into a length of scaffolding he could not see because of the peak of his helmet. So much for 'safety' helmet. He was dazed and bloody with his glasses hanging down his face. Helmets good where something can fall on your head otherwise I hated them.
@@railway-share3820 I worked in work health and safety for 30 years. I heard that excuse many times. Where I live there is no tolerance for those who don't wear their safety equipment. First off, that chap shouldn't have jumped in the first place, not good. His helmet could have been worn backwards, like steel riggers, if needed. The same bs I heard about steel toes: "Those steel caps will cut your toes off if you drop a heavy block on your foot". If the block is heavy enough to have the cap cut your toes it would then be up to the surgeon to cut them, because they would be irremediately destroyed. No safety equipment is 1000% proof, but good enough to save you from most kinds of harm.
Turn the boards over here, no chance lol. The builders will always pay some one to clean the brickwork here with acid and pressure washer. First thing I noticed here was how messy the walls were after they were built. We used to use offcuts of kingdspan/Celotex/spot board to cover the bricks with, and had to prop our walls at the end of the day with planks and plocks to prevent them from getting blown over. Reason for one boot wearing out on the toe more than the others is because you kneel down on one knee. I was guilty when I was younger of not wearing PPE but now I always use it, the safety squints still get used from time to time but in general I wear it. Top name by the way mate Cheers
I've been a American brickmason for over 40 years. I can remember something a old school Mason use to tell me. It's not the level that is out of plumb or out of level. It is the brick or block. So why are you beating on a level that cost a fortune 🤔. Every one of the bad habits your talking about is exactly what I use to fuss about when I was a foreman. Good points. Greetings from 🇺🇸
Also, when spreading your bed any excess mortar flick straight into the cavity wall, keeps everything tidy and helps the labourer!. You can also clean off any unused mortar on your board at the end of the day this way!.😁 One last thing, Never hit your level with your trowel, use a lump hammer!....
The main you have missed is the clip joint A proper bad job that is or when its toothed out and someone puts a brick in and just covers the gap with a joint not actually filling in. Also a very good one but not very known one is when you brush off the face work but still leave all the tails in perps or brushed when it's still wet. Leaves the brush marks all over. I work with n absolutely decent old boy brickie and as he says "the levels are made to be tapped or hit". If you just slightly tap it when building corners I don't see an issue but if you are smashing the granny of it then yes it's bad. Thank you very much for your videos. The way you present the bricklaying channel is special and unusual. Keep it up!
If I'm laying block I don't clean my trowel.next day just come to work smack it against a block and some mortar comes off but it sticks good to my trowel.some people act like u got to baby it clean it every day if I need to clean it it dont take long just at the end of the day poor some water on the sand lay it down n take the bottom of my boot to rub against it.
@@doughay9742 ha well you don't speed the same as you do with block. U won't it to slid off with brick. Brick u won't it it stick.my old boss thought me that.the people I work with now hate it
When I first started out i broke the end off my trowel putting it under 9in block to pull the bottom straight was gutted my mate bought me a new one for doing some work for him I have had it 17 year and it's still as good as new 👍
I just built my first thing, a couple of steps that go to my sunroom door off my new patio. The problem is that I worked slowly and was kinda messy. I have Type S mortar stains all over my brick. How do I get them clean now that they have dried with that white haze all over?
Funnily enough I was working in flip flops at the weekend. Stepped on a nail about 2 hours into a job, bled everywhere. Pity they don't make safety sliders.
Another is not telling the laborer to grab bricks from more than one pallet. This prevents patchy colored walls seen from a distance. bricks are just loaded from the same part of the kiln at the brick-works. These can be a slightly different shade from other parts of the kiln. Mixing up the bricks on site makes the walls look more uniform in color when viewed at a distance. Also don't forget to batch the mortar using buckets not uneven shovel-fulls.
Lol I used to play the banjo.. Got many the bricks thrown at me.. Plus the level being hit with my throw... Good video keep up the good work.. Im Irish it rains a lot here..
Tapping level, Never. Tap brick or steel straight edge.. Clean tools, Always.. Someone else may have to use tools after you.. Cover bricks, most of the time.. PPE, Always.. Scaffolding has always been aluminum w/ traction & drainage holes.. Steel toed boots, Always.. Hitting the line.. Depends on which hand I use to mud bricks.. Army instructors are different from civilian instructors.. Army Sergeant have serious consequences for bad habits. They get rid of those early.. Especially when it comes to safety.. And you have to wear "Always" wear a hard hat..
Oh no , hitting the level GUILTY 😬. It’s actually a bit of a running joke with Ginger Dust that one . Goggles a must . I was cleaning an old spade up with a grinder , went ok . A few days later sore eye ..... turns out I had a metal splinter in the centre of my pupil , didn’t know it was there till it started to rust , then it was sore 😳. Great video pal 🧱👍🏼
Bricklaying With Steve and Alex exactly the the same thing happend to me. The pain was excruciating. The eye doctor told me it would of turned ulcerous and I potentially could of been blind in that eye, luckily it’s a small scar.
Got plaster in my eye once that was quite unlucky being a bricky . The hospital was too far away it would have gone off . So they tried to drown me in the water butt 😷 because we all know how sanitary they are . Did the trick though. Ah happy days 😁
Realest tip is about the line etiquette, probably the number 1 thing you start to notice laying with others, the longer the wall and tbe more masons, the more you notice and the more important not fiddling with it becomes, laying brick in Houston and one of the older guys has the habit of moving the line out to spread and it can really get on your nerves on a wall with 5 or 6 masons, you have to learn to read the joints and not wait for the line to come back and it leads to less even bed joints, its normal and acceptable to give the 'banjo' one 'stum' every now and again if the line is reading higher or lower than you expect, or you suspect the position changed due to geting hung up on something, brick, another perpendicular line, lineblock or pole running perpendicular, plumb line or a bit of mortar, but Id say its not necessarily every course you need to do pop or check the line, just good to be aware to move it as little as possible to not slow other masons down or worse move a twig so the line reads slightly out
Not a brick layer but I will be replacing a lentil on Sunday. The demolition was a pain. I'm going to take my time laying the new brick. In Ohio, USA. The bid for the replacement was $ 1,300 US for one window, 3 feet wide X three courses high, so DIY it is. By the was this is for ground level work.
I’m in the United States (Virginia) I don’t do a lot of brick work but I repair broken or wore out bricks. I remodel and restore homes so the more I can learn, the better. I’ve tapped on my 4’ level and know not to do that again. Thanks for the info. I love watching your video’s.
Sounds like therws quite a few of you guys watching un the USA. I'd love to come work over there some day 🤞🏻 Glad to hear you're enjoying the vids and my knowledge is helping in some way. Cheers for the comment 😁👍🏻
I've had so many labourers in my time and they've all had to be told what to do after it needed to be done. Could have done with a guy of your caliber! Keep up the good work bud 😁👍🏻
@@wanchaipombua4176 50p a brick. If you're set up right and make sure you never have to go back to summat you can earn good money. Ya need to be in a good team also, with everyone knowing what they're doing
Ha ha that made me laugh out loud for ages! Maybe it is a bad habit butbi love it and would never change it. Our side with your mates building stuff to be proud of, living the dream ha ha. Let's not talk about winter ha ha.
I am interested to know, I see some places where they suggest that you should wet down bricks, and here you suggest they must be dry.. I am not a bricklayer, an enthusiastic handyman.. But what is the correct answer?
Ask the manufacturer. Or draw a circle on a brick size of a quarter. Squeeze twenty drops of water. If the water is sucked up smaller than the circle in a minute and half. They need water
i agree with all your points except the boots.... im pretty sure regardless of whether you're wearing tennis shoes or work boots, stepping on a 4 inch nail will do the same amount of damage to your foot... the only way to prevent that would be to watch where you're walking. yes they do make steel shanked work boots, but the steel shank only covers 2-3 inches directly under the arch of your foot to make the rungs on ladders less painful to climb all day long. Personally, i prefer steel toed tennis shoes on a jobsite. they're more comfortible, lighter, and not nearly as hot. being in the midwest USA where summer temps reach 115 Fahrenheit with 90-100% humidity, keeping cool is a huge factor to consider unless you want to bring 2 or 3 extra pairs of socks and take regular breaks to dump the sweat out of your boots every couple hours. As far as one toe wearing out faster than the other. i think that boils down to a few things. when you kneel to do low work, which toe drags on the ground? which toe do you use to steady the bottom of your level when you're plumbing the wall? which toe is generally closest to the wall when working and most likely to have stuff dropped on it? think those are all factors, unless you just have bad luck like i do and drop a 100lb steel tub on your brand new $200 boots the second day you've worn them. (was really glad they were steel toe, definitely would've had broken toes otherwise) Anyway great video, keep em coming!
I always kept small offcuts of thermalite block to clean my trowel(s) at the end of the shift. Good for cleaning around the heel and the tang. Wash off and dry on a rag, or yer jeans. Another bad habit is shaking bits of muck off the trowel anywhere else than onto the spot board. A mate of mine did it all the effin time and we called him Flicka because of it.
Another bad habit is not batching the mortar resulting in different colored mortars of various strengths. What is a shovelful when using dry, blocky, wet or whatever sands? Use buckets, make sure the cement does not stick inside the mixer instead of being incorporated in the mix etc. Batch by volume. Mix the bricks from different pallets so as to ensure an even and not a patchy look to the finished work. The client is expecting work done to specifications - no excuses. Laborers have to be educated in using the mixer correctly to ensure consistent and correct mortar mixtures. A good knowledgeable brickies laborer is an important asset. All this is taught at building colleges run by ex qualified tradesmen and other building experts. All tradesmen should have at minimum a building certificate (2 years F.T.) or better still a diploma of building. These can be done at night school part-time when working in the day.
turn boards back, rub wall on way down w/ scaffold,,,, clean & cover windows,,,,throw straw around the base of the wall so roof drip won't splatter wall at the bottom,,,cover your sand, water, & walls when its going to freeze at night,,,, cover the top of your walls,,,,, if you get water in bricks w/ holes ,,pour sand in holes , to dry water before laying over top,,,use bond marks,,,etc,,,etc,,,
Another tip, put a piece of insulation board down on the scaffold first to stack bricks out on, when it rains the bricks wont soak up the water from bottom up.
The boot cuts probably come from bumping the wall with prominent foot in deeper footings. Pushing wheelbarrow too! I'm always kicking the legs when I push one depending on terrain. Most are unpleasant. Lol
crick is no better than sands and costs twice as much. i'll stick with sands. i've been watching a lot of videos like this from all over the world lately, and from what i've seen, the only masons in the world that spend a fortune on wooden levels are American masons. most others tend to use cheap aluminum levels. (unless other countries just paint their wooden levels yellow or blue for some reason). As far as the trowels with the leather wrapped handles. i prefer a marshaltown with the red rubber comfort grip and black rubber bumper at the end of the handle. that leather wrapping stuff is ugly as hell and generally ends up peeling off a trowel under heavy use. Plus with the marshaltown trowel, its full tang and actually screwed into the handle, wooden handled trowels generally loosen up and fall out of their handles over time. i've seen quite a few guys go to fling mortar off their wooden handled trowels only to have the entire business end slip out of the handle and fly a good 5 to 10 feet away.
@@Smokey420Greenleaf my trowel is over 10 yrs old, and no mason I know that uses a Rose has ever had the things you are describing happen, they usually only replace trowels when they are sufficiently worn from cutting brick with them... then again, the masons I know take care of their tools. I sincerely hope you're not equating all wood handle trowels to be of the same quality.... As for the aluminum levels, they may read level and plumb just as well as on purchase, but that doesn't mean they are as good quality. I'm willing to bet I will never have to replace my set of Crick levels that are already a decade old in my career, but I doubt that most aluminum level guys will be able to say the same. I mean you can argue that wooden or metal mortar boards are just as good as gatorbacks but until you've used them for a while you have no idea what youre missing.
Southern east parts of America.when I first started I wore boots but Josh came to work with shoes on one day and after that I did the same for a while. Yeah my old boss got on me pretty quick about taping the brick or block not the level. Never use my blade to tap always the but end of the handle but if I'm building a lead and I go to level and its just a love tap or two from getting level yeah I do it. And with the poing the line deal I never do it with my trowel but I'll take my fingers every so often and pop the line just to make sure if any mortar is on the line it comes off.keep up the good work and congrats with the craft God blessed you with
Go over and above everything thats asked of you when you're doing your apprenticeship. I bought a book called " The BDA guide to successful brickwork" and read it over and over before starting my apprenticeship . So much information that isn't in the college books. Its a very in depth book but I would advise at least looking through it. I use it still to this day. Its almost my bricky bible 🤣 Pay attention to literally everything and try to look a few steps ahead and pay attention to your surroundings. When you make mistakes (because you will) dont worry too much, learn from them and continually test yourself. If you have the ability too, try to have a small area in your garden or somewhere like that that you can build small practise walls. I hope this is of some help to you. Let me know how it goes with your apprenticeship. Good luck buddy 👍😁
![ESSENTIAL BRICKLAYING TOOLS [Bricklaying for beginners e.p 1]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/H6iYoin0vIg/mqdefault.jpg)
Don’t lean your level against the wall when on a scaffold. The board will flex and the level will catch in a bedjoint and lift the bricks
Bang on buddy
Your fucking brilliant
@@jasonmorris2213 It make G Dam sense. What's the problem
Haha what’s the odds of that happening. Never heard of it
Dragging Me Down seen it happen a few times. Wouldn’t be laughing if it pops your corner half way through building it. One of the first things I was taught on site
The "twanging the line" one brings back memories of when I started out as an apprentice.....Journeyman shouts over to me "Jim, there's a train coming, I'm like.... eh, what do you mean? Then he roars at me "GET OFF THE F***ING LINE!!" After that all he said was "choo, choo" ......I soon got the idea!
🤣🤣
😂😂🚂
👍😂
😂😂😂
I got the same advise , " there's a train coming, get off the fu**ING line. You do learn fast.
To clean your trowel at the end of the day stick I it in the sand pile that is a quick and easy way to clean I use to lay brick
Thats what i do dip it in pull out then rub off sounds like a porno 😆 😂
From London ... love your videos I think you're a great teacher, thank you very much for explaining so clearly and thoroughly
if your trowel gets rusty, use wet and dry with a bit of water, it polishes the trowel, gets the rust off and makes it feel brand new.
As a concrete mason, I always told the younger guys on the crew to wear an apron or tool belt to keep their tools on hand. Once you set down a pencil or a tape measure or a utility knife, it’s easy to walk away and forget where you left it. Northeast USA...also unpredictable weather
i come from germany and our rule is never hit the level with anything . another thing ist that you not allowed to use gloves at any fast spinning tool .
I'm from Poland, but was working in Ireland for quite long. Great brickwork mate. Greetings from Poland!
One boot wears down more usually because when you kneel down on one knee, you’ll have the the toe facing the ground
I’m from Wisconsin and I am guilty of bad habit #4. In early spring and late fall we get a large fluctuation in weather from sun, snow sleet and rain.
We are all guilty of at least one at some point in our careers
Rodian ..love your posts!! The wrapping your level and the banjo screwing with the line are my favorites...big no-no's!!🧱🧱
Great vid. i've worked with a lot of shady crews in the past that didn't do half of this. I had to learn the hard way. Always take pride in your work and be responsible.
I'm in Ontario Canada. We always cover any cement products and everything In the winter. But in the spring and summer we dont cover our clay bricks.
Sometimes it's nice to have them wet down. Especially if were working on a tighter bond.
I'm from New Jersey masonry contractor what I was employed I work in New York City bricklaying is a rewarding trade now all I do is watch the work go up and run the business
Hello from Mississippi. I learned to lay brick from my dad when I was in high school. This was back when the trowel handles were all wooden. He always said when he saw a guy come to the job with a rubber crutch tip stuck on the end (obviously they didn't come that way), that he probably didn't do good work because he was having to beat on the brick (or level) too much. And, down in the south we're prone to sudden thunderstorms in the summer and a lot of rain in the winter so I'm with you on covering the brick and turning the scaffold boards. I still love the smell of curing mortar. We just call it mud here, lol!
Does a wet brick not produce efflorescence ?
Brilliant that mate, you’re a humble guy,🙌
I’m a paver but sett brick as and when. A lot of that what you said carry’s over to our game.
Cheers mate
I've laid brick full time for 49 years full time in America . I agree with everything you said , not much with your cap on backwards . Lol
Best one I'm guilty of is the bond!!! especially on a Friday "we will sort it on the next course "
😂😂 We've all been there buddy
Amen🤣
I hate that phrase "we'll get it on the next course" no you'll fucking get it now😂.
Lasher
Been there
Hello.
I have been thinking about starting a career in the construction industry for a long time. I would like to learn the art of bricklaying. Does health suffer greatly in this profession? Tall people like me have a lot of discomforts?
I am considering Roofing, as well.
Always wear a helmet when working around scaffolding !
Haha ken that’s funny man if I wear a hard hat I seem to bounce off everything ..... if I don’t wear a hard hat I never bang my head so..... I’m on the fence on that one..... below the scaffold I agree
I saw a chap jump a short distance from scaffolding onto a building and smash his face into a length of scaffolding he could not see because of the peak of his helmet. So much for 'safety' helmet. He was dazed and bloody with his glasses hanging down his face. Helmets good where something can fall on your head otherwise I hated them.
@@railway-share3820 I worked in work health and safety for 30 years. I heard that excuse many times. Where I live there is no tolerance for those who don't wear their safety equipment. First off, that chap shouldn't have jumped in the first place, not good. His helmet could have been worn backwards, like steel riggers, if needed. The same bs I heard about steel toes: "Those steel caps will cut your toes off if you drop a heavy block on your foot". If the block is heavy enough to have the cap cut your toes it would then be up to the surgeon to cut them, because they would be irremediately destroyed. No safety equipment is 1000% proof, but good enough to save you from most kinds of harm.
Thanks for the advice, Rodian! Should keep me out of trouble when I start my a apprenticeship. Upstate New York, rain rain rain!
I interview for bricklayers pre apprenticeship in Michigan on Thursday. Can’t wait
Good luck bro!!! Let me know how it goes!
Rodian Montague Builds thank you. I will
All good advice, as a kid I could tell what was done b4 lunch (at the pub) and after....
Turn the boards over here, no chance lol. The builders will always pay some one to clean the brickwork here with acid and pressure washer. First thing I noticed here was how messy the walls were after they were built. We used to use offcuts of kingdspan/Celotex/spot board to cover the bricks with, and had to prop our walls at the end of the day with planks and plocks to prevent them from getting blown over. Reason for one boot wearing out on the toe more than the others is because you kneel down on one knee. I was guilty when I was younger of not wearing PPE but now I always use it, the safety squints still get used from time to time but in general I wear it. Top name by the way mate Cheers
I've been a American brickmason for over 40 years. I can remember something a old school Mason use to tell me. It's not the level that is out of plumb or out of level. It is the brick or block. So why are you beating on a level that cost a fortune 🤔. Every one of the bad habits your talking about is exactly what I use to fuss about when I was a foreman. Good points. Greetings from 🇺🇸
Also, when spreading your bed any excess mortar flick straight into the cavity wall, keeps everything tidy and helps the labourer!. You can also clean off any unused mortar on your board at the end of the day this way!.😁 One last thing, Never hit your level with your trowel, use a lump hammer!....
The main you have missed is the clip joint
A proper bad job that is or when its toothed out and someone puts a brick in and just covers the gap with a joint not actually filling in.
Also a very good one but not very known one is when you brush off the face work but still leave all the tails in perps or brushed when it's still wet. Leaves the brush marks all over.
I work with n absolutely decent old boy brickie and as he says "the levels are made to be tapped or hit". If you just slightly tap it when building corners I don't see an issue but if you are smashing the granny of it then yes it's bad.
Thank you very much for your videos. The way you present the bricklaying channel is special and unusual. Keep it up!
Good points buddy. I agree a few taps of the level is all good. A good whacking isn't good 🤣 Definitely the clip joints! Seen that a few times
Glad to hear you're enjoying the videos buddy. Thanks 👍🏻😁
If I'm laying block I don't clean my trowel.next day just come to work smack it against a block and some mortar comes off but it sticks good to my trowel.some people act like u got to baby it clean it every day if I need to clean it it dont take long just at the end of the day poor some water on the sand lay it down n take the bottom of my boot to rub against it.
you animal lol 🤣
@@doughay9742 ha well you don't speed the same as you do with block. U won't it to slid off with brick. Brick u won't it it stick.my old boss thought me that.the people I work with now hate it
Spread excuse me
Block u won't it to stick
North Carolina and all these I’ve done and do. We wet cut now with a pump sprayer
Thanks for all your videos! From Florida.
Been a bricklayers labourer for 5 years now can lay a little bit can lay to the line any tips
I'm from Denton Texas in the US. My levels are wood and I tap them every now and then.
When I first started out i broke the end off my trowel putting it under 9in block to pull the bottom straight was gutted my mate bought me a new one for doing some work for him I have had it 17 year and it's still as good as new 👍
Least you learnt not to do that again 🤣
@@RodianBuilds sure did lol
🤣🤣
What type of trowel lasts 17 years?
@@Tommy14525 Marshalltown I been of the sites for a few year so does not get hammered as much these days steady away 👍
I’m from Lincolnshire and the builders at our place atm keeps leaving our bricks uncovered and it’s sooooo annoying bc I know the risks
I just built my first thing, a couple of steps that go to my sunroom door off my new patio. The problem is that I worked slowly and was kinda messy. I have Type S mortar stains all over my brick. How do I get them clean now that they have dried with that white haze all over?
brick acid , shit stuff but gets it off
@@SshiggyY Thanks. I ended up using white vinegar and a scrub brush. It worked.
@@michstanifer ah brilliant that sounds a bit safer ill actually remember to try that if i ever get messy on small feature work
Great content mate! From Western Australia 🇦🇺
Funnily enough I was working in flip flops at the weekend. Stepped on a nail about 2 hours into a job, bled everywhere.
Pity they don't make safety sliders.
Another is not telling the laborer to grab bricks from more than one pallet. This prevents patchy colored walls seen from a distance. bricks are just loaded from the same part of the kiln at the brick-works. These can be a slightly different shade from other parts of the kiln. Mixing up the bricks on site makes the walls look more uniform in color when viewed at a distance. Also don't forget to batch the mortar using buckets not uneven shovel-fulls.
Lol I used to play the banjo.. Got many the bricks thrown at me.. Plus the level being hit with my throw... Good video keep up the good work.. Im Irish it rains a lot here..
I'm from North Dakota the shelters we have to build here every winter are pretty crazy lol
Quality content mate. Look forward to following your uploads
Cheers buddy 👍🏻😁
Texas has a lot of rain too, forgetting to cover cement is also a bad habit.
Tapping level, Never. Tap brick or steel straight edge.. Clean tools, Always.. Someone else may have to use tools after you.. Cover bricks, most of the time.. PPE, Always.. Scaffolding has always been aluminum w/ traction & drainage holes.. Steel toed boots, Always.. Hitting the line.. Depends on which hand I use to mud bricks.. Army instructors are different from civilian instructors.. Army Sergeant have serious consequences for bad habits. They get rid of those early.. Especially when it comes to safety.. And you have to wear "Always" wear a hard hat..
Oh no , hitting the level GUILTY 😬. It’s actually a bit of a running joke with Ginger Dust that one .
Goggles a must . I was cleaning an old spade up with a grinder , went ok . A few days later sore eye ..... turns out I had a metal splinter in the centre of my pupil , didn’t know it was there till it started to rust , then it was sore 😳.
Great video pal 🧱👍🏼
Bricklaying With Steve and Alex exactly the the same thing happend to me. The pain was excruciating. The eye doctor told me it would of turned ulcerous and I potentially could of been blind in that eye, luckily it’s a small scar.
Boris Johnson . Same here pal , they got it out before it did too much damage 😬🧱👍🏼
Steve you shud do some thing like this coz i never heard you talk lol on ur utube channel
Chris Whitehead mmmm , the talking is a bit scary ....maybe one day 😬🧱👍🏼
Got plaster in my eye once that was quite unlucky being a bricky . The hospital was too far away it would have gone off . So they tried to drown me in the water butt 😷 because we all know how sanitary they are . Did the trick though. Ah happy days 😁
Also, a good idea is to see the brick line not as a banjo but as a violin and the trowel as your bow!.😊
London Ontario, Canada watching, great video. All is sound advice. Wet brick is definitely a bad time!
Nice, I've always wanted to see Canada! Hopefully one day 🤞🏻 I hate laying wet bricks, smudges the hell out of the wall unless you're careful
Because you/we always kneel down on one knee.!
🤣🤣 that's true
if anyones getting a new stabila you can get them for £50 on amazon
Travis and Perkins have them for £42 inc vat 😉
Yeh , a shit narrow college stabila
Pete Steele nah mate the 96-2, the good one
@@jackbircham439 I use stabila Lego brick level. £80
Would not buy or use cheap £40-£50
Pete Steele it’s the same one every bricky uses, only saying so you don’t go into a shop and spend the extra 20-30 quid 👍
I’ll slightly tap the level when doing brick to level them. When I do block work I never tap the level to level my block course.
Why hit the level at all ? It's the work that's out not the Stabila
@@Seany-boy You can hit a Crick every single day for 10 years and it'll always be level.
Great job on this video as always Brother!!!
Cheers buddy 👍🏻😁
Yo bro, nice vidio,spot on, eliminate bad habits,that goes for any job, it's called pride in your work
Realest tip is about the line etiquette, probably the number 1 thing you start to notice laying with others, the longer the wall and tbe more masons, the more you notice and the more important not fiddling with it becomes, laying brick in Houston and one of the older guys has the habit of moving the line out to spread and it can really get on your nerves on a wall with 5 or 6 masons, you have to learn to read the joints and not wait for the line to come back and it leads to less even bed joints, its normal and acceptable to give the 'banjo' one 'stum' every now and again if the line is reading higher or lower than you expect, or you suspect the position changed due to geting hung up on something, brick, another perpendicular line, lineblock or pole running perpendicular, plumb line or a bit of mortar, but Id say its not necessarily every course you need to do pop or check the line, just good to be aware to move it as little as possible to not slow other masons down or worse move a twig so the line reads slightly out
When cleaning trowel, use another trowel edge to clean it. Come up better than washing or brushing with a wire brush.
Alwyn Maguire personally I wouldn’t use a wire brush on my trowel, I find it puts fine grooves into the metal and makes the mortar adhere to it easier
Interesting, never thought about that
Like the flip bord trick. And as a block paver always one boot gets a hole before the other due to how i sit when cutting blocks with block splitter.
I never realized it was because of kneeling down 🙈
Watching your videos all the way in Plano, Texas
Not a brick layer but I will be replacing a lentil on Sunday. The demolition was a pain. I'm going to take my time laying the new brick.
In Ohio, USA. The bid for the replacement was $ 1,300 US for one window, 3 feet wide X three courses high, so DIY it is. By the was this is for ground level work.
I’m in the United States (Virginia) I don’t do a lot of brick work but I repair broken or wore out bricks. I remodel and restore homes so the more I can learn, the better. I’ve tapped on my 4’ level and know not to do that again. Thanks for the info. I love watching your video’s.
Sounds like therws quite a few of you guys watching un the USA. I'd love to come work over there some day 🤞🏻 Glad to hear you're enjoying the vids and my knowledge is helping in some way. Cheers for the comment 😁👍🏻
You alter change scaffold then risk being thrown off site
Very true. Been a while since I've been on a site.
From northern Ireland 32years bricking I've done them all, like father like son.
im a hod in the kent. i always cover the bricks and scrape the front two boards if rain is comming.
I've had so many labourers in my time and they've all had to be told what to do after it needed to be done. Could have done with a guy of your caliber! Keep up the good work bud 😁👍🏻
Guilty of wearing trainers, I might give the level a tap sometimes
South Australia. When cutting, glasses is a must .
Shout out from Canada, apprentice for 4 years now and looking forwards to a trip to the uk to lay some bricks 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Nice! Hope you get a chance to lay a few over here 👍🏻😁
It was drummed into you from first day on job...you never hit a level ...never
In Western Australia have hosed bricks down several times.
The worst habit is when the beer cans get launched down the cavity
Guilty lol
That is a world ending habit🤣
The Line is lava and Australia , I’ve stood on nails through my boots before aswell need nail proof ones aha
Being a bricklayer is a bad habit 😂
🤣🤣🤣
My bad habit gets me £1250 a week. I love bad habits 😂
That's good compared to Australia the rates are shit
@@wanchaipombua4176 50p a brick. If you're set up right and make sure you never have to go back to summat you can earn good money. Ya need to be in a good team also, with everyone knowing what they're doing
Ha ha that made me laugh out loud for ages! Maybe it is a bad habit butbi love it and would never change it. Our side with your mates building stuff to be proud of, living the dream ha ha. Let's not talk about winter ha ha.
It took him a WEEK to learn. I was gonna hire him but he was STILL wearing trainers on that job after how long as a brickie
from nova scotia i agree with all you said 20 years in the trade
Nice. Love hearing where everyone is from 😁👍🏻 20 years, keep it up buddy
From Hamilton Ontario Canada I'm always beating on my levels, not the blade of the trowel but the end.
I am interested to know, I see some places where they suggest that you should wet down bricks, and here you suggest they must be dry.. I am not a bricklayer, an enthusiastic handyman.. But what is the correct answer?
Ask the manufacturer. Or draw a circle on a brick size of a quarter. Squeeze twenty drops of water. If the water is sucked up smaller than the circle in a minute and half. They need water
South Africa.
Hi guys and thanks for the tips Rodian
Why are all of the brickwork videos from the UK??
Not a clue mate 🤣
The dutch have some as well. Interesting to watch. Just google "dutch bricklayers".
or you can just brush off any mortar of the scaffold bead every time you finish.
I'd better get a brush eh 👍🏻🤣
Good information, thank you!
Anytime buddy 😁👍🏻🧱
whats up brother!!! I love your videos. your a kickass bricklayer!!I'm a 3rd gen mason from so. cal. USA.
Which direction is the correct direction to twang the line, is it A) down to ground direction or B) back toward yourself or C)Both?
i agree with all your points except the boots.... im pretty sure regardless of whether you're wearing tennis shoes or work boots, stepping on a 4 inch nail will do the same amount of damage to your foot... the only way to prevent that would be to watch where you're walking. yes they do make steel shanked work boots, but the steel shank only covers 2-3 inches directly under the arch of your foot to make the rungs on ladders less painful to climb all day long.
Personally, i prefer steel toed tennis shoes on a jobsite. they're more comfortible, lighter, and not nearly as hot. being in the midwest USA where summer temps reach 115 Fahrenheit with 90-100% humidity, keeping cool is a huge factor to consider unless you want to bring 2 or 3 extra pairs of socks and take regular breaks to dump the sweat out of your boots every couple hours.
As far as one toe wearing out faster than the other. i think that boils down to a few things. when you kneel to do low work, which toe drags on the ground? which toe do you use to steady the bottom of your level when you're plumbing the wall? which toe is generally closest to the wall when working and most likely to have stuff dropped on it? think those are all factors, unless you just have bad luck like i do and drop a 100lb steel tub on your brand new $200 boots the second day you've worn them. (was really glad they were steel toe, definitely would've had broken toes otherwise)
Anyway great video, keep em coming!
I always kept small offcuts of thermalite block to clean my trowel(s) at the end of the shift. Good for cleaning around the heel and the tang. Wash off and dry on a rag, or yer jeans.
Another bad habit is shaking bits of muck off the trowel anywhere else than onto the spot board. A mate of mine did it all the effin time and we called him Flicka because of it.
I worked with a guy called mick, he was mick the flick as his muck went everywhere!!!!
Another bad habit is not batching the mortar resulting in different colored mortars of various strengths. What is a shovelful when using dry, blocky, wet or whatever sands? Use buckets, make sure the cement does not stick inside the mixer instead of being incorporated in the mix etc. Batch by volume. Mix the bricks from different pallets so as to ensure an even and not a patchy look to the finished work. The client is expecting work done to specifications - no excuses. Laborers have to be educated in using the mixer correctly to ensure consistent and correct mortar mixtures. A good knowledgeable brickies laborer is an important asset. All this is taught at building colleges run by ex qualified tradesmen and other building experts. All tradesmen should have at minimum a building certificate (2 years F.T.) or better still a diploma of building. These can be done at night school part-time when working in the day.
Playing the banjo😆in the past we had a real Hank Marvin on the line. We soon weeded him out👍🏻
🤣🤣
Nothing more annoying than working next to someone who is always in the line.
turn boards back, rub wall on way down w/ scaffold,,,, clean & cover windows,,,,throw straw around the base of the wall so roof drip won't splatter wall at the bottom,,,cover your sand, water, & walls when its going to freeze at night,,,, cover the top of your walls,,,,, if you get water in bricks w/ holes ,,pour sand in holes , to dry water before laying over top,,,use bond marks,,,etc,,,etc,,,
Some very good points. I could make another vid with all these 🤣
Another tip, put a piece of insulation board down on the scaffold first to stack bricks out on, when it rains the bricks wont soak up the water from bottom up.
Good tip!! I'll remember that one when it rains next
@@RodianBuilds, been in the game for 32 years and still learning.
I dont think anyone should ever think they know everything. The more you learn the better you get!
Down in southern New Mexico where I am we don’t know what rain is……
I remember building a footing when I was an apprentice it was wet conditions. Guess who slipped and fell thru the wall when rolling up the line.
The worn toe is possibly from kneeling. That's the leg of which you place your knee down which brings the toe into contact with the ground.
From america and all bad habits spot on think this is universal all apprentices should be required to watch this
It took me a few years to het out of some of those habits. I agree, all apprentices should watch it 😁👍🏻👍🏻
Well thanks for the vid from across the pond brother
Good video!
The boot cuts probably come from bumping the wall with prominent foot in deeper footings. Pushing wheelbarrow too! I'm always kicking the legs when I push one depending on terrain. Most are unpleasant. Lol
Actually i keep kicking the legs too!!! maybe thats where its from 😁👍
@@RodianBuilds no idea why your boots have the hole but know mine are like that bc of kicking out the towing pin on the vehicle
I'm in the line all the t il me but I'm solo.
Do yourself a favor and order some crick levels and a w rose leather handle trowel...
I'm happy with what I have but when it comes round to renewing tools I'll look into it 😁👍🏻
Crick and W. Rose are the best of the best!
@@TNskinny just make sure you get a good rose. ive had some shite ones that i could cut in half with a pointing trowel
crick is no better than sands and costs twice as much. i'll stick with sands. i've been watching a lot of videos like this from all over the world lately, and from what i've seen, the only masons in the world that spend a fortune on wooden levels are American masons. most others tend to use cheap aluminum levels. (unless other countries just paint their wooden levels yellow or blue for some reason). As far as the trowels with the leather wrapped handles. i prefer a marshaltown with the red rubber comfort grip and black rubber bumper at the end of the handle. that leather wrapping stuff is ugly as hell and generally ends up peeling off a trowel under heavy use. Plus with the marshaltown trowel, its full tang and actually screwed into the handle, wooden handled trowels generally loosen up and fall out of their handles over time. i've seen quite a few guys go to fling mortar off their wooden handled trowels only to have the entire business end slip out of the handle and fly a good 5 to 10 feet away.
@@Smokey420Greenleaf my trowel is over 10 yrs old, and no mason I know that uses a Rose has ever had the things you are describing happen, they usually only replace trowels when they are sufficiently worn from cutting brick with them... then again, the masons I know take care of their tools. I sincerely hope you're not equating all wood handle trowels to be of the same quality....
As for the aluminum levels, they may read level and plumb just as well as on purchase, but that doesn't mean they are as good quality.
I'm willing to bet I will never have to replace my set of Crick levels that are already a decade old in my career, but I doubt that most aluminum level guys will be able to say the same.
I mean you can argue that wooden or metal mortar boards are just as good as gatorbacks but until you've used them for a while you have no idea what youre missing.
Great job man!
Cheers buddy 👍🏻😁
Always use 4 blocks when stacking spot boards, tuck clipped bricks under spot, so you wont trip over the waiste when running in
At 4:55 there’s another bad habit....stretcher /Queen closer,
Would have looked better if you made it 3/4/1/2 perhaps
I'm from Brazil. Here there are the same bad habits. I'm not a bricklayer, but a Architecture and Civil Engineering Professor.
Not heard from anyone from Brazil yet, welcome 😁 Seems like the same bad habits are world wide 🤣🤣
Southern east parts of America.when I first started I wore boots but Josh came to work with shoes on one day and after that I did the same for a while. Yeah my old boss got on me pretty quick about taping the brick or block not the level. Never use my blade to tap always the but end of the handle but if I'm building a lead and I go to level and its just a love tap or two from getting level yeah I do it. And with the poing the line deal I never do it with my trowel but I'll take my fingers every so often and pop the line just to make sure if any mortar is on the line it comes off.keep up the good work and congrats with the craft God blessed you with
Nice to hear from all you Americans. Would love to work over there at some point. See the differences. Thanks for the comment 😁👍🏻
I’m from Australia. Through summer we sometimes have to hose all the bricks down with water they are that dry
I did soak down those bricks when it was super hot here but doubt it was anywhere near as hot as you get in Oz 😎☀️
Im addicted to your videos atm ! From Australia🤟🔥
Advice on a bricklayer pre-apprenticeship?
Go over and above everything thats asked of you when you're doing your apprenticeship. I bought a book called " The BDA guide to successful brickwork" and read it over and over before starting my apprenticeship . So much information that isn't in the college books. Its a very in depth book but I would advise at least looking through it. I use it still to this day. Its almost my bricky bible 🤣 Pay attention to literally everything and try to look a few steps ahead and pay attention to your surroundings. When you make mistakes (because you will) dont worry too much, learn from them and continually test yourself. If you have the ability too, try to have a small area in your garden or somewhere like that that you can build small practise walls. I hope this is of some help to you. Let me know how it goes with your apprenticeship. Good luck buddy 👍😁
Rodian Montague Builds thank you so much. First time watching your videos. I’m now a loyal subscriber!
No worries, glad to be of help 👍🏻😁
Hole in the boot, while working on the knees you are dragging foot along, so the workingground sckraches the tip of the boot