In this article, we’ll discuss some basic masonry techniques that will help give you an idea of how to tackle any masonry job you desire, like an avid handyman.
A few masonry tips to take into account for a nice, neat and resistant finish would be to put the mortar well, use a trowel and place the bricks.
Make the mortar right:
- The sand should have a bit of clay in its consistency for body in the mortar
- The sand should not be fine.
- Clean sand, without foreign matter, helps the quality of the finish of your joints.
- For a light colored mortar finish, use a lighter colored grit, and for a darker finish, use orange brick grit.
- To get the best consistency from your mortar, follow the instructions on the bag of cement for the best proportions. that is, how many shovels of sand per cement. (whenever possible, use measuring equipment such as buckets).
- The water in the mix is crucial, it mainly depends on how much moisture is already in your sand. The mortar must be wet enough for it to stick to the trowel and dry enough to hold its body.
- Applying a small amount of lime is used to make the mortar collapsible.
USING THE TROWEL
- Before using the trowel, familiarize yourself and feel how to hold the tool correctly.
- Positioning yourself when laying bricks is very important for neat, clean and orderly work. A skilled mason should have the left side of the body (brick hand) facing the face of the wall and the right side (trowel hand) facing the materials. Reverse this position if you are left-handed.
- A right-handed mason should place his feet with his right foot slightly in front of his left, feet slightly apart to assume a well-balanced stance. Reverse this for the left-handed brick layers.
- Maintain such a position at all times to prevent clothing from soiling the line, approximately 100-150mm from the wall. Their head must continually move into a position that aids in eye-hand coordination.
- The best way to trowel the mortar would be to take out a full trowel and fold it once or twice, then pick it up and apply it to the brick wall repeating to cover about 3 bricks away. once applied with the tip of the trowel furrow the mortar bed.
Laying the brick:
The most important thing to keep in mind when laying bricks is to take your time and not rush.
- Pile your mortar in the center of your wet mortar
- Pick up enough mortar on your trowel
- Brick bed spread with mortar for 2 – 4 bricks
- Spread and groove the mortar bed, making sure to trim excess mortar from the bed
- Select your brick with your brick hand
- Butter brick on each face of the head for its transversal joints
- Lay the brick on your brick line making sure to cut away any excess mortar to keep the surface clear and clean.
