Brick Tools and Equipment

No such thing as free masonry

The basics

Nothing in the repertoire of masonry tools is so essential and so simple as the hammer and chisel. Since the tensile strength of stone and brick is much lower than wood, cutting either is quite a bit easier than most people anticipate. Scoring and chiseling can halve a brick or rock in a matter of seconds; precision cuts though are a whole other kettle of fish.

A masonry chop saw can be very expensive and is specialized for the precision cutting of rock, brick, concrete, and ceramic tile. If clean cuts are needed on a small scale you may want to consider purpose made files for fine stonework, metal files, and masonry files. These tools can create the desired smoothness after the stock has been chiseled.

Brick masonry tools

The following is a list of must-have tools when laying brick. Without these basic tools you are out of business.

Float: A trowel that allows you to smooth and level mortar.

Jointer: Makes the smooth rounded indentions in the tuck-pointing between bricks.

Masonry chisel: Used for scoring, cutting or trimming brick or masonry block.

Pointing trowel: Used for making small masonry repairs in mortar joints etc. Also used for mixing and moving mortar in bricklaying.

Hawk: A mortarboard, not to be confused with the hats worn during graduation. Used for holding mortar.

Mason's hammer: Used for setting and cutting brick, block, and stone. Usually 15 to 24-oz. with a wooden, fiberglass, or steel handle.

Mason's folding rule: For measuring and marking brick, scaled on one side to measure brick courses and lengths, the other is scaled, graduated in 1/16-inch increments.

Construction line: Used in conjunction with a line level, the line is used to check that brick is both level and plumb.

Brick tongs: A simple metal tool that can hold six to eleven bricks between them and act as a handle on top.

More information on brick and block tools