Masonry Magazine August 2004 Page. 30
Align & MEASURE THE BRIGHT RED STRING
Since ancient masons checked their work with string made of goat hair, wool or fiber, bricks and blocks have been aligned with "low-tech" methods. That is starting to change.
OVER THE PAST MILLENNIUM, THE TYPICAL BRICK AND BLOCK mason's tool kit hasn't been heavy with technology. Among the hammers, chisels, trowels and scrapers you'll find a roll of mason's line, whether to support a plumb bob or to align a course of brick. These have been, and continue to be, the tools of the trade.
Close at hand are the folding rule for short distance measurement and the long level for... well... for leveling. Smaller levels for line use, perhaps, can be found in the kit's pockets. All in all, a simple, low-tech tool bag.
Every contractor has basic alignment tasks to perform on the job site. No project can be completed without layout of the work, installation of material, and quality control. Each of these functions is accomplished by determining plumb, level and square reference. Nothing can be built without them.
No project can be completed without layout of the work, installation of material, and quality control.
The plumb bob and water or bubble level are ancient tools used to establish vertical or horizontal reference. Today, contractors have a choice of carpenter levels, laser levels, rotary levels and some hybrid laser products.
For a number of years, laser tools that allow grading and leveling have been on the market and used by larger contractors in pouring slabs and footings, grading foundation areas and other pre-masonry aspects of the job site. The big drawback was cost; units could and still do run.
By Tom Inglesby
28 Masonry
August 2004
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