MASONRY TOOLS

Masonry is the art of shaping, forming, arranging, laying, and uniting stone, bricks, building
blocks, plastering, etc. to form walls and other parts of the building.

Masonry tools are so designed to accomplish many types of masonry work. Masonry tools
also include some of the carpentry tools like the measuring tools, testing tools, and guiding tools.
Masons also use other kinds of special tools aside from the previously enumerated tools adopted to
the kind of work involved.

Measuring Tools

1. Push-Pull Tape rule – is used to measure long distances, available from 1meter to 50meters
long.
2. Slide Caliper rule – is used to measure outside / inside diameter of cylindrical objects.
3. Two Foot Four Folding rule – is generally used in measuring short distances. It is usually
made up of four folds connected by three hinges spaced at 6 inches of 15 cm apart which
could be folded-up.
4. Extension Rule – extension rule - a folding rule having a sliding part equal in length to one
section so as to permit exact measurement of internal dimensionsb used for measuring
inside distances such as doors, windows, etc.
5. Zig-zag rule – is available in 4 ft. (1.20m) and 6 ft. (1.80m) commonly used for rough layout.

Marking Tools

1. Chalk or charcoal line – is used for marking a very rough work.

2. Round pencil lead – used for marking rough work.
3. Scratch awl – used in marking semi-rough work.
4. Compass – is used to inscribe arcs or circle.
5. Divider – is used in dividing distances into equal parts particularly an arc or circumference.

Testing and Guiding Tools

1. Level – used for both guiding and testing the work to a vertical or horizontal position.
2. Plastic hose with Water – is the best and accurate tool for guiding the work in establishing a
horizontal level.
3. Plumb Bob – used to check or obtain a vertical line. The word plumb means perpendicular to
a horizontal plane.
4. Square – is also known as “Trying Square”. Square is a right angle standard at 90 degrees
used in marking or testing work.
Roughing Up Tools

Roughing up is the process of preparing the surface and parts of masonry work. It involves the rough
work of dressing, and preparation of the different phases of masonry work. Tools for this type are
mostly striking tools and those that also need a striking medium.

1. Mason’s Axe or Hammer – is also known as Ax-Hammer used in two different ways. The axe
to serve as a chisel and the hammer for driving nails and other rough work in masonry.
2. Brick Hammer – Is another type of combination hammer which is used for dressing and
cutting bricks, stone or concrete and other driving operations.
3. Patent Hammer – is a hammer wherein the head is composed of a group of thin chisels used
for dressing stone or concrete.
4. Crandall – A tool with sharp pointed steel spikes used for dressing stone or concrete.
5. Cross Peen Hammer – is a cross head hammer where one is shaped like a wedge used for
various striking need in masonry work.
6. Cold Chisel – is a common tool for carpentry and masonry work used for dressing or cutting
stone, concrete, metal and other materials with the aid of hammer.
7. Star Drill – used for boring or drilling holes on hard surface such as rock, stone, or concrete.
8. Bolster – a tool similar in appearance with the cold chisel including its services but has a
wide blade edge. It is also known as blocking chisel.
9. Wrecking bar – a very useful tool made of steel bar used in demolition work and in pulling-off
large nails. Also known as the crowbar.

Surface Finishing Tools

Tools of this classification are categorized into:

1. Floats – flat tools with a handle at the back usually made of wood. There are different kinds
of float:
1. Common float – used for smoothing or for producing textured surfaces on cement or
plaster.
2. Bull float – a tool used to smooth freshly placed concrete.
3. Devil or Nail float – a tool used to roughen the surface of plaster to provide a key for
the next coat.
4. Carpet float – used in plastering to produce a fine grained texure in sand finishes.
5. Angle float – used for finishing corners and for plastering.
 1. Trowels – flat hand tools used for applying, spreading, and mortar to produce a relatively
smooth finish on concrete surfaces in the final stages of finishing. The kind of trowels are:
1. Ordinary trowel – similar in appearances as the ordinary float but with a steel blade.
2. Pointing trowel – a trowel used in pointing, removing, or laying mortar in masonry
joints.
3. Brick trowel – a trowel with an offset blade used to pick-up or spread mortar.
4. Buttering trowel – a small trowel used to spread mortar on bricks and tiles before it is
laid.
5. Edger – a finishing trowel used on the edges of fresh concrete or plaster to form a
rounded corner.
6. Margin trowel – its sides has a box-like appearance especially used for working
corner angles.

Miscellaneous Masonry Tools

There is so much duplicity in the functions of masonry tools. There are also tools which can
easily be fabricated by a prolific mason. Tools of this kind are those simple tools but are considered
worthy of notice since they accomplish an important task in making the rigorous work involved in
masonry simpler.

1. Spade – a basic construction tool used in many of the dirty work in the concrete mix or
plaster.
2. G.I. Pail – in the absence of a chute or a buggy, it is used as vessel in handling especially in
transferring concrete mix, mortar, or plaster from the mixing board.
3. Mixing Board – usually made of wood or concrete used for mixing concrete in the absence of
a concrete mixer. This is usually fabricated on-site.
4. Mason’s Box – a shallow box, made of wood, used to contain mortar or plaster to make it
easily accessible to the mason.
5. Measuring box – a box, made of board or plywood with handle, used for measuring sand,
gravel, etc. prior to mixing. This tool is also fabricated.
6. Rubber foam – used to obtain a fine-grained texture in plastering.
7. Painter’s brush – its use in masonry work is similar to the foam.
8. Plastic or nylon string – used for marking and guiding the block laying, tile laying, etc. to
produce a uniform and straight course.
9. Aligning stick – various names can be attributed to this tool which is simply a straight piece of
lumber, more or less 1.5m long used in plastering and concreting the pavement to assure
alignment or a straight surface.
10. Jointer – used in forming seals in brick, block, or stone.
11. Brick Tongs - tools used in carrying a number of brick at once.