Specmix Bricklayer 500

stacker

i had never heard of this contest until i got a magazine in the mail.it had an articial on the competion .seems the winning mason laid 791 brick in an hour.
Mike Boll, age 34, working for G Porter & Company, from Oak Lawn, Illinois, sits inside his new loaded Ford F-250, V10, XLT, CrewCab, SuperDuty, 4 x 4, with custom wheels and Baja tires. The grand prize he won at the 2007 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® National held on Wednesday, January 24, 2007, at the World of Concrete/World of Masonry. Mike also received a check for $5,000 in cash, and thousands in sponsor prizes for his 1st place performance with 791 brick laid in sixty minutes.

i am thinking,what kind of quality brickwork is this?the mason has to spread his own wall,strike his own joints,raise his own line,and fill all voids.they lay a 26 foot double wyth wall,and they have one tender.

http://www.specmixbricklayer500.com/

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life is short,do your masonry naked!!
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concretemasonry

Spec Mix has been supporting the competition for a number of years at the cost of $300,000+(?) per year. It is a great show to see and good for the masonry industry!

There are are many regional competitions to get into the WOC finals. There was also a smaller competition at the Masonry Contractors (MCAA) convention in Orlando in February.

The rules are available and have requirements in the judging for both production and quality. I think there are production deductions for quality below the standards set. The rules are available if you ask for them since they are always looking for more local competitions.

The competition was on TV and accessible from the internet.

Keep in mind this is a short competition so the hourly rate is not realistic, but it is a measure of who can build a good looking wall quick. - Maybe not perfect, but good enough for average accepatance and much better than than the average guy. It is a speed contetest and was called the "Worlds Fastest Trowel" and may still be called that.

I think there is a comprtition for the best tenders also.

This is a short competition under the ideal conditions with great logistics, short suply distances and obviously perfect mortar (no stones and not too wet for speed).

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

Tscarborough

I have watched the finals and assisted with our regional competitons. The winner does not build a wall that would be bought by an architect, but they are no worse than some of the residential work I see day to day.

concretemasonry

Agreed!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The walls are not bad, but not a work of art. That is why you never see a classy car in a NASCAR race, even though they can go faster.

The quality guys have better things to do but it is good to recognize those that can put out volumes of work in a very short period of time that is adequate for ordinary construction.

The local contests are a ball to participate in and to observe!

__________________
Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

6stringmason

I would love to put my tender in one of those, just to show him how much he really sucks at tending when he comes in dead last.

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Tscarborough

The local guys that participate are very good masons, don't get me wrong. They do commercial work, brick and block, and do excellent work on the job. They practice just for the competition, on their own time, and the requirements of the contest are somewhat different than those of normal line work.

There is also an apprentice competition, where they are given a pile of materials and a set of drawings. It is interesting to see how they interpret those drawings, and the amount of variations in the finished product. There is also a telehandlers competition, and it is pretty amazing how good some of these guys are with a skytrack.

stacker

im with you on that one!ive had tenders who have thought they knew it all and could do it all,and would rather sit on their butts at home than make 10.00 cash and hour working for me.and the sad part is not a one of them would last 10 mins working for any commerical mason.

__________________
life is short,do your masonry naked!!
http://ok.local.yahoo.biz/knabemasonry/index.html

Dik Redi

Tuff occupation ,got to love it to make it . to many want to jump up the ladder to fast and not learn it, or just looken for afew pay checks here and there,,, their loss