# Bricklayer > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bricklayer > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bricklayer.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricklayer > Source revision: 1348956761 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Person who lays brick For the photograph, see [Bricklayer (photograph)](/source/Bricklayer_(photograph)). Bricklayer Bricklayer apprentice practising at Kuben Vocational Arena in Oslo, Norway Occupation Synonyms Builder, construction worker Pronunciation ˈbrɪkleɪə Occupation type Craftsperson Activity sectors Construction Description Education required Apprenticeship Fields of employment Civil engineering A team of bricklayers preparing to lay courses of bricks (1917) Illustration of how the bricklayer, on clearing the footings of a wall, builds up six or eight courses of bricks at the external angles A **bricklayer**, which is related to but different from a **mason**, is a [craftsperson](/source/Artisan) and [tradesperson](/source/Tradesperson) who lays [bricks](/source/Brick) to construct [brickwork](/source/Brickwork). The terms also refer to personnel who use [blocks](/source/Cinder_block) to construct blockwork walls and other forms of [masonry](/source/Masonry).[1] In [British](/source/British_English) and [Australian English](/source/Australian_English), a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".[2] A [stone mason](/source/Stone_mason) is one who lays any combination of stones, cinder blocks, and bricks in construction of building walls and other works.[3] Bricklaying is a part of masonry.[4] Bricklaying may also be enjoyed as a [hobby](/source/Recreational_activity). For example, the former British Prime Minister [Winston Churchill](/source/Winston_Churchill) did bricklaying as a hobby.[5] Bricklayers occasionally enter competitions where both speed and accuracy are judged. The largest is the "Spec-Mix Bricklayer 500" held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.[6][7] ## Required training Professional bricklayers usually go through a formal apprenticeship which includes about three to four years of on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction, though some bricklayers may learn entirely from on-the-job experience. Unions and employers may offer [apprenticeships](/source/Apprenticeships), which allow individuals with little or no experience in bricklaying to learn fundamental skills under a more experienced employee. Contemporary masons in many countries must attend trade school and/or serve apprenticeships in order to complete curricula signifying that they understand fundamental related concepts such as the effects of humidity and water ingress, [thermal insulation](/source/Thermal_insulation), and general knowledge regarding the science of construction materials, as well as occupational health and safety.[8][9][10][11][12] ## In fiction and popular culture - Italian-American author [John Fante](/source/John_Fante) featured [brick hod](/source/Brick_hod) carriers, bricklayers, and [stonemasons](/source/Stonemason) prominently in several novels and short stories. This was due to the autobiographical nature of much of Fante's writing; his father, Nick, an Italian-born bricklayer descended from — at least in Fante's fictions — a long line of Italian artisan bricklayers and stonemasons. Fante also spent a significant portion of his youth apprenticed to his father.[13] - In [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](/source/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn)'s *[One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich](/source/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich)*, the title character, a [Gulag](/source/Gulag) prisoner, worked as a bricklayer. - The long-running British children's TV series *[Look and Read](/source/Look_and_Read)* featured "Bill the Brickie" ("brickie" being a British and Australian [colloquialism](/source/Colloquialism) for "bricklayer"), who would 'build' words with bricks to demonstrate the use of [morphemes](/source/Morpheme), such as '-ed' or '-ing'. - In 2021, [Cristiano Ronaldo](/source/Cristiano_Ronaldo)'s mother, Dolores Aveiro, stated in an interview for [Sporting Clube de Portugal](/source/Sporting_Clube_de_Portugal)'s official television channel ([Sporting TV](/source/Sporting_TV)) that her son would have become a bricklayer if he hadn't become a professional football player.[14] - In 2024, *[The Bricklayer](/source/The_Bricklayer),* an American [action thriller](/source/Action_thriller) film directed by [Renny Harlin](/source/Renny_Harlin) and written by Hanna Weg and Matt Johnson, based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Paul Lindsay, who used the [pen name](/source/Pen_name) Noah Boyd, was released.[15] - [Roald Dahl](/source/Roald_Dahl)'s 1977 short story "The Hitchhiker" features a character that is employed as a [hod](/source/Brick_hod) carrier. ## See also - [Architectural Forum](/source/Architectural_Forum) – American magazine - [Dry stone](/source/Dry_stone) – Construction method - [Guild](/source/Guild) – Association of artisans or merchants - [Stonemasonry](/source/Stonemasonry) – Creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Richard T. Kreh (2003). *Masonry Skills*. Thomson Delmar Learning. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7668-5936-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7668-5936-3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Brickie and Other Construction Nicknames: How Tradespeople Get Their Colloquial Names"](https://ukconstructiondirectory.co.uk/project-management/brickie-and-other-construction-nicknames-how-tradespeople-get-their-colloquial-names/). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Stonemason | Explore careers | National Careers Service"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200930091058/https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/stonemason). *nationalcareers.service.gov.uk*. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Bricklayer Job Description"](https://work.chron.com/bricklayer-job-description-11161.html). *Chron*. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Glueckstein, Fred (March 2015). ["Churchill as Bricklayer"](https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-157/churchill-as-bricklayer/). *International Churchill Society*. Retrieved 14 September 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["'Spec Mix Bricklayer 500' incites fierce competition and ample learning in masonry"](https://news.yahoo.com/spec-mix-bricklayer-500-incites-222906586.html). *Yahoo News*. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® | SPEC MIX"](https://www.specmix.com/spec-mix-bricklayer-500/). *www.specmix.com*. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Job Information"](https://careerswales.gov.wales/job-information/bricklayer/skills-and-qualities). *careerswales.gov.wales*. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Become a Bricklayer | Key Skills, Qualification & Salary"](https://www.lcb.ac.uk/find-a-course/careers-a-z/bricklayer/). *Leeds College of Building*. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Bricklaying apprenticeship Level 2 - Find an apprenticeship"](https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/1000203407). *www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk*. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Foundations of Success as a Bricklayer | Builders Academy"](https://buildersacademy.edu.au/building-and-construction/foundations-success-bricklayer/). *Builders Academy Australia*. 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Bricklayer: Occupations in Alberta - alis"](https://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/occupations-in-alberta/occupation-profiles/bricklayer/). *alis.alberta.ca*. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["John Fante: A Real American Writer"](https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/articles/john-fante-a-real-american-writer). *Culture Trip*. 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2023-12-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [*ADN de Leão | Episódio 37: Dolores Aveiro*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA9wTYYLdLI&t=430s), retrieved 2023-09-28 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["The Bricklayer | Rotten Tomatoes"](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_bricklayer_2023). *www.rottentomatoes.com*. 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-28. - The dictionary definition of [*bricklayer*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/bricklayer) at Wiktionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Masons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Masons). v t e Construction Types Home construction Offshore construction Underground construction Tunnel construction History Architecture Construction Industrialization Infrastructure Structural engineering Timeline of architecture Water supply and sanitation World's tallest buildings Professions Architect Building engineer Building estimator Building officials Chartered Building Surveyor Civil engineer Civil estimator Clerk of works Project manager Quantity surveyor Site manager Structural engineer Superintendent Trades workers (List) Banksman Boilermaker Bricklayer Carpenter Concrete finisher Construction foreman Construction worker Electrician Glazier Ironworker Millwright Plasterer Plumber Roofer Steel fixer Welder Organizations American Institute of Constructors (AIC) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association (ATAC) Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) Build UK Construction History Society Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) The Concrete Society Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) FIDIC Home Builders Federation (HBF) Lighting Association National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) Railway Tie Association (RTA) Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Scottish Building Federation (SBF) Society of Construction Arbitrators By country India Iran Japan Romania Taiwan Turkey United Kingdom United States Regulation Building code Construction law Site safety Zoning Architecture Floor plan Style List Industrial architecture British Indigenous architecture Interior architecture Landscape architecture Vernacular architecture Engineering Architectural engineering Building services engineering Civil engineering Coastal engineering Construction engineering Structural engineering Earthquake engineering Environmental engineering Geotechnical engineering Methods List Earthbag construction Modern methods of construction Monocrete construction Slip forming Other topics Building material List of building materials Millwork Builder's signature Builders' rites Construction bidding Construction delay Construction equipment theft Construction robots Cornerstone Floor loan Construction management Construction robots Construction waste Demolition Design–build Design–bid–build DFMA Heavy equipment Interior design Illegal construction Lists of buildings and structures Megaproject Megastructure Plasterwork Damp Proofing Parge coat Roughcast Harling Real estate development Real-estate bubble Stonemasonry Sustainability Topping out Unfinished building Urban design Urban planning Outline Category Authority control databases International GND 2 National Czech Republic Other NARA Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bricklayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricklayer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricklayer?action=history)). 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