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Building bricklayers are one of the professional types of civil engineering and one of the most popular types of work. Bricklaying is a skillful physical labor that involves the operator's hands, eyes, body, waist, and steps. Today, I will introduce several bricklaying methods commonly used by bricklayers.

"Three-in-one" bricklaying method

"Three-in-one" bricklaying method is also known as the shovel-and-press method. Its basic operation is "one shovel, one brick, and one kneading and pressing".

(1) Step method

When operating, people should stand diagonally along the wall, with the left foot in front about 150mm away from the wall, and the right foot in the back 300-400mm away from the wall and the left heel. The bricklaying direction is from front to back, so that you can check whether the brick wall is straight at any time. After laying 3-4 bricks, take a big step back with the left foot (about 700-800mm) and a half step back with the right foot. The person can lay about 500mm diagonally against the wall. After laying, take a half step back with the left foot and a step back with the right foot to return to the position when laying bricks.

(2) Shoveling mortar and taking bricks

When shoveling mortar, you should first use the bottom of the shovel to flatten the mortar surface to facilitate the control of the amount of mortar. Then use the wrist to rotate horizontally to shovel mortar to reduce arm movements. The amount of mortar taken should be based on the thickness of the mortar joint to meet the required amount of one brick. When taking bricks, you should select the next brick as you take them. Hold the brick with your left hand and shovel the mortar with your right hand, and pick them up at the same time to reduce the number of times you bend over and save time for laying bricks.

(3) Spreading mortar

You can use a large square shovel or a peach-shaped shovel to spread mortar. The shape and size of the large square shovel are similar to the mortar spreading area of ​​the brick surface. The mortar spreading actions can be divided into throwing, sliding, throwing, and buckling. When laying bricks, if the wall is not high and is far from the operation site, the slipping method is generally used to spread the mortar; if the wall is high and the bricks are laid close to the body, the buckling method is often used to spread the mortar; in addition, the throwing method can also be used to spread the mortar.

No matter which mortar spreading action is used, the mortar strips laid out must be similar to the shape of the bricks, 10 to 20 mm longer than a brick, about 80 to 90 mm wide, about 20 mm from the outside of the wall, and connected to the mortar strips of the previous brick.

(4) Kneading bricks

Take the brick with your left hand and start squeezing it flat about 30 to 40 mm in front of the already laid bricks, and knead it gently with your hands. When kneading the bricks, look at the line above and the wall skin below. Then extend the middle finger of your left hand at the same time to touch whether the upper and lower brick edges are flush. After laying a brick, scrape the squeezed mortar back with a shovel and put it in the vertical joint or into the mortar hopper. The main purpose of kneading bricks is to make the mortar full. If the mortar on the brick surface is thin, the kneading force should be smaller; if the mortar is thick, the kneading force should be larger, and the kneading force should be forward and backward or left and right according to the position of the mortar. In short, it is appropriate to knead until the "bottom is flush with the brick edge and the top is flush with the line". It should be flat, lightly placed, and gently kneaded.

Mortar spreading and squeezing method

Mortar spreading and squeezing method is to spread a section of mortar with a mortar spreading tool, and then squeeze the mortar to lay bricks. Mortar spreading tools can be mortar spoons, large shovels, or ladle-type mortar spreaders. Squeezing mortar for bricklaying can be divided into two methods: two-handed squeezing and one-handed squeezing.

(1) Two-handed squeezing method

Steps: When operating, the person stands with one foot against the wall, with the toes slightly tilted toward the wall, and the other foot steps diagonally forward about 400mm (moving flexibly with the bricklaying action), so that the two feet stand naturally in a "T" shape. The body is about 70mm away from the wall, and the chest is slightly tilted outward. In this way, turning around to pick up bricks, squeezing and checking the edges are flexible and convenient. The operator always moves forward in the direction of masonry, and each step forward can lay two bricks along the length.
Spreading mortar: When using a mortar spoon, use a tile trowel to spread the mortar flat each time. When using a mortar spoon, a large shovel or a tile trowel to spread mortar, the mortar should be leveled to prevent the formation of grooves and gaps. The mortar should be spread slightly narrower than the thickness of the wall to form shrinkage mortar.
Take bricks: When taking bricks, you must first look at the direction and size of the bricks, turn around and take a half step to take the bricks, first move the hand against the wall, and then the other hand will follow (sometimes both hands take bricks at the same time). After taking the bricks, retreat to a "T" shape, turn your body to the wall; select the edges and corners of the bricks and grasp the front of the bricks, and then squeeze the mortar.
Squeeze the bricks: The hand against the wall squeezes the bricks first, and the other hand quickly follows. For example, when laying Ding bricks, when the brick in your hand is 50-60mm away from the original brick on the wall, lift one side of the brick by about 40mm, insert the brick into the mortar, and then lay the brick flat. Do not squeeze it with your palm, just rely on the tilting self-falling force of the brick to press the mortar and push it forward. For laying Shun bricks, when the brick in your hand is about 130mm away from the original brick on the wall, lift one end of the brick by about 40mm, insert the brick into the mortar, and then lay the brick flat. Do not squeeze it with your palm, just rely on the tilting self-falling force of the brick to press the mortar and push it forward. If the vertical joint is too large, you can use your palm to apply a little pressure to compact the mortar joint to 10mm. Then look at the brick surface. If it is uneven, press it with your palm to make the brick flat; because the Shun brick is long, pay special attention to the lower edge and upper flat line of the brick to prevent the wall from being concave, convex, and uneven.
(2) One-handed mortar squeezing method

Steps: When operating, the person should walk backwards along the direction of masonry, holding the brick in the left hand and the trowel (or large shovel) in the right hand. Before operating, stand in the standing posture of two-handed mortar squeezing, but a little further away from the wall.

Spreading mortar and holding bricks: The key points of the action are the same as those of two-handed mortar squeezing.

Mold squeezing: The key points of the action are the same as those of two-handed mortar squeezing.

Full-knife mortar scraping method

The full-knife mortar scraping method is to use a trowel to scrape the mortar on the brick surface and then carry out masonry. The scraping is generally divided into four steps. The full-knife mortar scraping method has better masonry quality, but lower production efficiency. It is only used for special parts such as brick arches, window sills, stoves, etc.