very descriptive of a not so hard task. would be nice to show apprentice's though. It can be difficlt to express in words how to properly mud a wall or how to butter a brick.

 

this wall looks wiggly....how not to lay brick maybe:whistling

 

They tried that before reading the 'laying to the line' section.

 

there was mention of a few building practices that do not meet code and should not be used.

 

You guys missed the point. It's a manual from the turn of the century. If you read on, they talk about how to build brick foundations, multi-wythe brick buildings, etc. etc. All stuff that is outdated, but still interesting to see.

 

If you want to really learn how to lay brick, read this:

"Frank B. Gilbreth’s Research:

The Quest of the One Best Way"

 

I have never read The Quest Of The One Best Way however,i agree wholeheartedly Frank B. Gilbreth's book Masonry Systems is an excellent read. Like all books,there will be concepts we concur with and those we do not. Over all,the book has many more concepts that would be helpful.


One of my favorite chapters is chapter #1. In that first chapter is a nuance that i feel has not been taught to new bricklayers wanting to enter the trade. For that matter,some long time masons have not ever learned it. That concept is the SET IN or sometimes called Roll ,in facing off bricks laid.


This nuance is best described on pages #3 and #4 of the first chapter. here is the quote straight from the book. "While the amount of overhang and set-in of each course is slight,it is enough to show very plainly. If you sight down the face of the wall you will see nothing but mortar. If you sight up the wall you will see nothing but brick".



I wish the young fellas that want to be hired had a grasp of that concept,it seems so basic. That is why i want planks jacked when it is time,you cannot "sight " the bricks properly laying brick much higher than chest high.


The aforementioned book can be read here.http://books.google.com/books?id=if...NAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false


Scroll to pages #3 and #4 for a visual depiction.


Great tread, thank you for starting it !

 

I always recommend telling people who pop in to admire the simplicity of work, to say it's not easy we just make it look that way

 

What a great read. Besides the ideal wall stuff (in my opinion it's terrible) it's great. I`m always interested in how they used to do things.

 

I thought that the rolling of the wall was only done with the older more irregular brick. Most of the brick today is so regular and square (unless it`s supposed to not be) that rolling the wall is a non issue

 

On page #3,figure #1 shows a hand made brick,figure #2 shows a "modern" wire cut brick.

 

I don`t have that book, I was just reading about it in that article that artisanstone posted

 

Actually,i was not referencing the book by Artisanstone but rather the one by Tscarborough.

 

Practice,Practice, Practice

 

here's another way :whistling :laughing:

 

I thought you meant rolling the brick because if it were laid flat the bottom would make a lipper about a half inch. I can roll em back and forth pretty good and get a semi flat wall out of a horrible irregular brick. But I wouldnt want to do it every day....

 

25. Some brick are wider upon one side than the other, due to the slight batter of the vertical surfaces of the molds to permit the removal of the brick. In this case, the brick may be laid flat, if the wider side is laid at the top, automatically producing the desired result. Other brick have both the face and the cull surfaces parallel but sloping at a slight angle

from the sides. The brick may be laid flat but with the facc so placed that the upper edge projects beyond the lower edge.

26. Some bricklayers claim that they can tell by the feel of the brick the proper side to select for the top and turn the brick to the right position while it is in motion from the scaffold to the wall, doing this almost unconsciously from practice.



I thought this was rolling the wall

No wait, here it is

23. Roll.-As the top edge of the brick is always laid to the line, it is this edge which should be the most prominent upon the face of the wall so that one looking up from the ground will see the upper edges projecting slightly beyond the lower edges of the brick, forming a series of parallel lines for each course. This tends to hide any irregularities on the facf of the brick, giving the entire wall the appearance of careful and accurate workmanship. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to give the brick a slight "roll," that is, to slope the brick so as to bring the bottom edge slightly in from the line of the wall.

 

Oh I have no idea, im just saying how I roll the brick to keep them somewhat flat. Maybe the book is saying something I dunno.

 

I was posting for FJN. I think what JBM has indicated is about right, but I'm not sure. I haven't had a lot of instruction in bricklaying, more waytching my bosses work and learning howe to best save time

 

For all practicalities regarding this discussion the U.S. has three nomenclatures for brick,they are FBA,FBS,FBX. There are others but they do not pertain to topic. The vast majority of brick used in my local fall into the FBS,FBA class. The FBX brick are used most often on commercial,institutional and religious buildings. Those brick have the most exacting tolerances. Irregardless as to how the brick was formed,wether it was extruded or wood molded,there is a certain amount of distortion in the brick. Again,FBX brick is the least prone to this distortion. That distortion needs to be "adjusted " for,that is what the author presented on pages #3 and #4 in Gilbreth's book. Attached please find the B.I.A. tech note that eloborates on this topic. If you scroll down to TABLE #7 DISTORTION TOLORANCES it is explained there. http://www.gobrick.com/Portals/25/docs/Technical Notes/TN9A.pdf