Tools, Equipment and Material Handling
Core concepts
Know each tool, its correct use and its care. Using the wrong tool damages the work and injures the user.
Hand tools you must name and use correctly
- Bricklayer's trowel for laying and buttering mortar; pointing trowel for filling and finishing joints.
- Floats: wooden float for rubbing back and closing mortar, steel trowel for a hard smooth finish, sponge float for texture.
- Hawk and mortar board, jointers or jointing irons, club and lump hammer, cold chisel and bolster for cutting brick, brick hammer with a chisel end.
- Spirit level, plumb rule, line and pins, corner blocks, storey rod, straight edge, set square, tape.
- Darby, screed board, scratcher, notched trowel for plastering.
Plant and equipment
Concrete mixer, poker vibrator, plate compactor, block cutter or angle grinder with a diamond blade, wheelbarrow, shovel, hoe, water pump. All electrical tools must be protected by an earth-leakage device and inspected before use; grinders need their guard fitted and the operator needs eye and hearing protection.
Care and maintenance
Clean mortar off tools before it sets, dry steel tools and oil them lightly, store under cover, replace split handles, and check levels for accuracy against a known true surface. A dirty trowel drags the joint; a worn float tears the plaster.
Material handling
A cement bag is 50 kg: use two people, a trolley or a hoist. Do not overfill a wheelbarrow, keep loads low and balanced, and use ramps of a safe gradient rather than steps. Stack materials where they will be used, so double handling is avoided. When lifting, bend the knees, keep the load close, and turn with the feet rather than twisting the back.
Traps in questions
Using a bolster as a hammer, chipping with the wrong end, cutting dry with a grinder and no mask, or using a damaged tool because it is quicker. Equipment must be inspected and, where required, formally examined before use.