CAREER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
INSTRUCTOR: MR. BRIAN IASIELLO
Study Guide Chapter 4:
MASONRY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
structioneDEFINITIONS:
Corner poles- Eliminates the need for constructing masonry leads
Dense Industrial 65 - The industry standard recognition for sawn
planking.
Point up - The process of filling mortar joints.
Sawn planking - Scaffold boards sawn from timber wood.
Scaffold buck - Another term for a scaffold end frame.
Supported scaffolds - Platforms supported by legs, beams, or other
approved rigid supports.
Suspension scaffolds - Platforms suspended by ropes or other non-rigid.
STUDY GUIDE:
***If electrical problems occur tell your instructor***
*Power operated equipment is more dangerous, it continues to operate.
 1st thing a student should do before attempting to operate a piece of
power equipment is check for any loose parts.
A. Mortarboards and Pans:
1. Made of wood, fiberglass, steel, or polyethylene, most mortar
boards have 24” to 30” square shapes.
a. Round, 55-gallon steel drum lids are sometimes used as
mortarboards.
b. The steel or polyethylene mortar pan measures
approximately 30”X 30” and 7” deep.
2. Mortarboard or mortar pan stands made of tubular steel fold for
easy transportation.
B. Mortar Box:
1. Mortar is mixed manually in a mortar box made of steel or
polyethylene.
C. Mortar Hoe:
1. A mortar hoe is used to manually mix or temper mortar in a mortar
box or wheelbarrow.
D. Shovels:
1. Both round point and square point shovels are used in masonry.
a. The round point shovel is designed for ground digging.
b. The square point shovel is designed for handling loose
materials such as sand, gravel, and soil. Both are used for
shoveling mortar and sand.
c. Either style is available with long handles or short, “D”
handles.
E. Rakes, Mattocks, Picks, and Scrapers: (Ground Tools)
1. A heavy-duty rake is used to level or clean up the work area.
2. A pick or mattock is used for digging.
3. A frequent use of scrapers is to remove hardened mortar from
foundation footings, concrete surfaces, and masonry walls.
F. Wheelbarrows:
1. Wheelbarrows are used to transport brick, block, and mortar.
a. A brick and block wheelbarrow is made of seasoned
hardwood.
b. Tray wheelbarrows are used to transport mortar, sand, and
other aggregates.
G. Brick Tongs:
1. Made from welded steel or malleable iron, brick tongs permit
quick, single-handed carrying of several brick.
2. Avoid lifting above your chest.
H. Mortar Mixers:
1. Either gasoline engines or electric motors power mortar mixers.
a. The slow-turning paddles mix the masonry cement, sand, and
water in a fraction of the time taken to mix manually with a
mortar hoe.
I. Masonry Saws:
1. Electric or gasoline powered masonry saws make quick and
accurate cuts on all types of masonry materials.
2. The large, stationary saw is equipped with a 14” or 16” diameter
abrasive or diamond blade.
3.Hand-held electric or gasoline saws are available also.
4. The compact electric 5’ tuck pointers grinder removes mortar joints
quicker than hand chiseling.
5. High-speed diamond-coated router bits permit using a router to cut
out mortar joints.
J. Paver Splitters:
1. Paver splitters operate on the principle of mechanical leverage or
hydraulic pressure, applying force to solid masonry units that is
intended to break them.
K. Grout Bags:
1. A grout bag is a heavy vinyl bag with a metal tip and is used to fill
mortar joints.
L. Grout Guns:
1. Mortar is fed through the tip of a grout gun by an auger powered
by an electric drill.
M. Scaffolding:
1. Scaffolding is a temporary work platform designed to
accommodate both workers and materials.
2. Supported scaffolds are platforms supported by legs, beams, or
other approved rigid supports.
3. Suspension scaffolds are platforms suspended by ropes or other
non-rigid means from overhead.
4. The 5’ wide step-type end frame scaffolding is made of welded,
tubular steel.
a. Being no more than 5’ in height, structural metal coupling
pins permit multitiered assembly of this type of scaffolding.
b. Two end frames are connected with diagonal braces.
5. The 6’ 4” or 6’ 6” tall walk through end frame scaffolding allows
the entire 5’ width of the end frames to be planked for accommodating
the materials and workers.
a. This scaffolding also requires diagonal bracing.
b. Insert pins permit stacking.
c. The design of walk through frames permits alternate height
positions for side brackets.
* OSHA standards permit brackets supporting
cantilevered loads to only support personnel unless a
qualified engineer has designed the scaffold for other
loads.
6. Both base plates and leveling screw jacks are designed for ladder
type and walk through end frame scaffoldings.
a. Rigid base plates prevent the tubular scaffold frames from
sinking into the ground.
b. Leveling screw jacks permit leveling scaffolding setups.
7. Material platform scaffolding is free-standing scaffolding requiring
no bracing between panels.
8. The scaffold towers or continuous climbing platform scaffolding
are mast-climbing work platforms that can stand freely up to 70’
high.
9. Guardrails prevent falls.
a. Guardrails consist of vertical posts, horizontal top rails, and
mid-rails.
10. Toe boards extending 31⁄2” vertically above the exposed edges of
platforms prevent falls of materials and debris from the edges of
planking.
N. Scaffolding Planking and Platforms:
1. Wooden planks or platforms bear the loads of both workers and
materials.
a. OSHA standards require sawn wood planks to meet the
industry standard known as Dense Industrial 65.
b. Construction-grade material is not suitable for scaffolding
planks, because it is engineered for supporting a load on edge
rather than when laid flat.
2. Laminated Veneer Lumber, also known as LVL, is used for
scaffolding planks.
3. A scaffold platform consists of a plywood or metal deck supported
by an aluminum frame.
O. Scaffold Weather Enclosures:
1. Reinforced polyethylene weather enclosures attached to the
scaffold framing with special clips prevent precipitation from
halting work.
P. Swivel Head Hoist Arm and Wheel:
1. The gin wheel or well wheel is a 10_ to 12_ pulley. The attached
rope is used to hoist materials to most heights.
Q. Builders’ Levels:
1. Builders’ levels are used to lay out and level footings, foundations,
and other walls.
2. The two classifications of builders’ levels are glass optical lens
levels and laser light levels.
a. Optical levels require two persons to check results.
b. Laser levels permit one person alone to verify level footings,
masonry corners, or walls.
R. Corner Poles:
1. Corner poles or masonry guides eliminate the need for constructing
masonry leads.
2. Telescoping braces are available for bracing corner poles when
framework is not present.