Building A Block Wall

There is something mesmerizing about watching a mason build a block wall. There is something about the way they lay that mud on the block, and how smooth and natural they make it happen. Masonry is a classic example of something that looks a lot easier than it actually is. The weight of the blocks, the task of balancing mud on the trowel, and the mandatory precision make this is a really challenging trade - at least if you want to do it at a high level. The good news is that the process is simple and if you have some time and patience, anyone can learn it and make a nice product. I would recommend starting on a smaller size job though!

In this video we cover the entire process of building a block wall. This project starts at the footing excavation and rebar placement, and finishes with grouting the new 8ft tall, 1350 ft long wall.

These masons did a great job on this wall, and we are quite pleased. On any job of this size there will be some speed bumps, but this crew handled everything with professionalism and mutual respect.

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[AppalachianLife]

My dad is a retired 75 year old Marine (Vietnam) and later master mason. He was the best around laying brick, block and stone. I remember him spit shining his Red Wing work boots. His hands are now rough as brick and his back and knees are shot. As I sit hear at my cushy IT job watching this video, I'm reminded of all those years my dad worked his butt off to provide for my mother, brothers and me.

[johnthomas]

When I was a VERY young man I worked as a mason laborer for three days in the Florida summer sun. Just three days. That was the hardest work I have EVER done. The crew would lay two complete houses in one day. I never went to sleep so fast when I got home in all my life. Those guys earn every penny.

[rustyshackleford]

If I could pick a dad or grandpa in this world. It would be you. For some reason, the way you explain things and edit your videos, the information just sticks with me. Thank you so much.

[saber]

O.K!! I've been a mason for 45 years and have watched multiple videos and this one is for real. I Love the fact that he's explaining to the masses so they can understand. Do It Right. Old mason motto. Great Job!!!

[jonrobbin]

I just want to salute the skilled laborers who worked on this wall and many others. Very impressed 👍

[felipeserrano]

I'm an owner operator
( truck driver), 20 years.
When I'm trucking, I can't wait to come home and work on my projects.
Old fashion brick ovens, walls, cement planters, ect..my next project will be a shed made of brick, with a Boveda ceiling.
There's nothing better to do your own cement work, drink a cold one, and give it your personal touch, and say I did it.
And when I'm dead, someone will say,
This cement work was done by a crazy truck driver.Thank you to all the masons, Albañiles, Maistros..for sharing in Youtube.

[superglue]

Awesome stuff. I especially liked the extended bit at the end where we got to watch the masons at the craft. I was raised upper middle class with a physician for a father and a psychotherapist for a mother. My dad, especially, had a bit of a "nose-in-the-air" sort of attitude toward "less important" occupations, and, I'm sorry to say, this attitude bled into me a bit as a I was growing up. Thanks to folks like Mike Rowe and others on YouTube (Essential Craftsman!) I have been discovering a deep appreciation for the trades and all that the tradesmen/women of the world do to truly make the way of life we all enjoy possible. Thank you, sir, for your work in opening your world to silly folks like me.

[elliottdiedrich]

Bricklaying runs in my family. My dad was a bricklayer and he said, "Son, do not become a bricklayer. All bricklayers are alcoholics." But then I became an alcoholic so I thought that I may as well be a bricklayer.

[marshallmoneymaker]

My uncles and cousins were block and brick masons by your definition. My father was a laborer. I slung block and brick along side my father couple of summers and said, " nope", this is not for me. So I took the easier route and became a fireman. LOL. Real tradesmen. Real craftsmen. Under paid. Under appreciated and earn every beer they drink.

[beathaknockturnal]

I'm a mason of over 20 years now. I love my trade, it's what I was put here to do. I hope I can continue doing it for a while. This video was great!

[MrKMan]

My grandfather was a commercial mason with his own company, my dad was a commercial mason with his own company, and I spent my time from young to before becoming an engineer as a brick/block laborer and mason for my dad. I named my son Mason because of it. Like my late grandfather and father I miss it. Anytime I do a little mason work for myself or see it done it reminds me of my life back then and my father and grandfather. Peace to you.

[bkl]

I'm a high school teacher. Teaching is hard. Easy to be mediocre at and really hard to be great at. This man is a GREAT teacher.

[ryangwin]

Having worked in Masonry in Iowa for several years in my 20’s, I can tell you that this is a well under appreciated trade. It looks simple enough and its always done so quickly. However, the masonry trade is not for the faint of heart. I began as tender/laborer for the company I worked with and learned from the boots up how to complete a professional job. I no longer work in that trade but am super glad to have the skill set it allowed me. I can run equipment, mix all types of mortars, build and repair scaffold as needed safely and still strike off some pretty heads and beds. Anybody who wants a real trades experience should get a few years working with concrete and blocks. You wont regret it. Love the materials. Will you be my grandpa? I don’t have much family and I could use a guy like you as an extension family. Haha!

[generalesdeath]

Those boys did great work! I live in Florida where EVERYTHING is built using CMU or tilt up concrete walls and I can't even count the number of jobsites I've been on with block masons. You can always tell a good crew by the way they work together. It's like a swarm of bees, if you don't know what you're looking at (or for) it just looks like a chaotic jumble, but if you sit there a little while and really watch you start to see the intricate ways in which everything works. Each man has his one specific job that he repeats hundreds of times a day which adds to what the next man is doing and so on and so forth until you've got 2-3 dozen guys going all at once and it seems like the work appears fully built 4' at a time. You can also tell a good block mason by his rhythm, they get into a groove and there's almost a grace to their movements. Love your stuff E.C., I've watched this stuff being done countless times but it was still entertaining and enlightening watching this video.

[charlescompton]

As a bricklayer who has poured footings and then stood in some chest deep laying 12" block to ground level, I thank you for complimenting the labor involved with that first "lift". As troublesome as those block are they are 8" tall per course as compared to 3 courses of brick to reach the same height. I served a 4 year apprenticeship and after a few years taught Masonry in a vocational school. I have worked on all sizes of projects and I do appreciate your evaluation of the skill and effort the Mason does have. Many do not understand that just because we are not rocket scientists doesn't mean we don't have smarts. Thanks, Greg.

[markgazelka]

True craftsmen are a joy to watch. Mesmerizing! I was a block tender, but mostly worked with concrete slabs as a college laborer. It put me thru college and had the privilege to work and train under craftsmen. It was the most valuable lesson I learned compared to a college degree.

Later I transitioned into carpentry. And at age 72.5, I helped run a concrete slab for our church. Not as flexible as age 22 though!

[charlesmiller]

As a small child I watch a older guy, around 70 put us in a block wall to make a bedroom out of our Garage, it was around 10 foot by 20 foot, that wall was so nice, basically perfect, I visited that house a couple of years ago, at that time the wall had been there for 60 years, still perfect as the day he built it. My Dad thought it costs a little to much. He paid the high cost of 100 dollars to have it done, this included all materials. The guy was a Craftsman like yourself.

[imskeptic]

Most people walk past a concrete block wall and don't think much about it. I personally see it as art. There is a right way and a not right way. These craftsmen are artists, no other way to call it. I sometimes go to sleep at night wonderin' how this kind of thing comes into being. Thank you for this educatin' glimpse into this fascinatin' art.

[chrisfreemesser]

3:00 That is ALL SORTS of impressive. You can always tell when somebody is a master of their craft...no matter what the craft is, it's mesmerizing to watch them work.

[Stevenowski]

Thanks for the wonderful video. It brought back some great memories of my father-in-law building a wall in the front of our house at the age of 80! He laid up 900 blocks! He said it was easy. He said, "It's just like buttering toast", when he put the mortar on the blocks.