Tools and Equipment for Masonry
Tools and Equipment for Masonry tests correct selection, safe use and maintenance of hand tools and plant: bricklayer’s trowel, pointing trowel, floats, jointers, club hammer, bolster, chisels, line and pins, plumb bob, spirit level, mason’s square, straight edge, mortar board, mixer, vibrator, hoist and cutting equipment.
Core rules
- Use a brick trowel for picking up and spreading mortar; a steel float for dense finishing; a wooden float for plastering and textured finishes.
- A plumb bob checks verticality; a spirit level checks level and plumb; a line and pins maintain course alignment over long walls.
- Keep cutting blades sharp and use water suppression or dust extraction when cutting masonry.
- Mechanical mixers need correct power supply, guards and cleaning after use; never reach into a running drum.
- Hoists and scaffolds must be rated for the load; distribute materials evenly and never overload a platform.
Worked example
A worker must raise 1,000 bricks, each about 3 kg, to a 6 m scaffold. The load is 3,000 kg or 3 t. A single fixed pulley changes direction but gives no mechanical advantage, so the pull remains about 3 t. A two-rope movable block gives an ideal mechanical advantage of 2, reducing the pull to about 1.5 t, still too high for manual lifting. The correct choice is a powered hoist with a rated capacity above 3 t and a trained operator.
Traps that cost marks
Using a trowel as a hammer, a worn level that cannot be adjusted, or an unrated rope for lifting are unsafe. Do not assume a pulley always reduces effort; only a movable block or tackle system gives mechanical advantage.
Key points
- Match the float to the finish: wooden for plaster, steel for dense smooth work.
- Plumb bob checks vertical; spirit level checks level and plumb.
- A single fixed pulley gives no load reduction.
- Hoist loads must be within rated capacity and evenly distributed.
- Control dust when cutting and never reach into a mixer drum.