Stonemasonry is an ancient craft that includes carving headstones and creating decorative finials. Apprenticeships are common and stonemasons can specialize in different areas such as quarrying, carving, or repairing. The craft cannot be fully replaced by mechanization and skilled stonemasons can command high prices for their services.
A stonemason is an artisan who specializes in working stone. The art of masonry includes everything from carving headstones to creating decorative finials for buildings. To become a stonemason, someone generally apprentices with another stonemason who can provide training. The love of art and stone will help those who want to succeed in this career, even if it is not necessary. Once someone has honed his skills as a stonemason, he can command a high price for his masonry services.
Bricklaying is a very old art form. Early humans began piecing stones together to build houses thousands of years ago, and decorative stonework soon followed. Masons pride themselves on creating a work of art that is both functional and beautiful, created specifically for each client’s needs, whether it’s the ornamental foundation stone of a new building or a replacement for a worn door mantel. This craft profession is also unusual in that it cannot be fully replaced by mechanization, although modern masons can use advanced tools such as water jets and lasers for cutting.
There are different types of stonemasons. The quarrymen work in the quarries by cutting the rough stone which will be trimmed to size and worked on by other masons. Sawers transform rough blocks of stone cut in quarries into smaller pieces that meet specific size and composition requirements, while mason bankers work in workshops to shape these pieces of stone as required for a job. A carver is a mason who specializes in creating patterns and designs, such as ornamental foliage on a building.
Repair masons are more like contractors, focusing on fixing stones into place on a permanent structure. This work is highly skilled and also very dangerous, as the stonemason can work at high altitudes with extremely heavy pieces of rock attached to block and tackle systems. Finally, memorial masons specialize in the construction and sculpting of monuments such as tombstones and headstones. It is not unusual for a bricklayer to have experience and skills in several different branches of the trade.
Some stonemasons talk about being able to read or hear the rock they work with. A good stonemason can look at a block of material and see how it will develop, with an eye out for weak spots and cracks that could damage the finished work. This skill is usually only gained through experience, as apprentices learn how different rocks behave and feel. A fully skilled stonemason is also capable of working a wide range of stone, from hard granite to soft limestone.
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