MASON TENDING

Mason Tending – Becoming A Mason Tender With NWLETT

A mason tender is an onsite assistant to a stonemason (mason). The primary responsibilities
of a mason tender are to maintain tools, transport materials, and keep the job site clean. You
assist the mason in constructing, maintaining and repairing surfaces and structures made of
brick and stone.

COURSE

MASON TENDING – 80 HOURS / 10 DAYS

Many Construction Craft Laborers work their entire career as a mason tender and often with
a single employer. Most masonry contractors consider their mason tender the most
important member on the project because a good tender keeps the entire crew productive.
The course includes:

• Job setup
• Scaffold erection
• Masonry Saws
• Cleaning Masonry and weather effects
• Estimating and stocking materials
• Mortar mixes and procedures
• Rough-terrain forklift operation and safety
• Working with masons
• Project weather protection

More about Mason Tending
 
Laborers are one of the most valuable assets for the masonry contractor. Thanks to the
Northwest Laborers Apprenticeship Program, the pathway to becoming a trained and
skilled mason tender has never been clearer.

Trained and skilled means productive. Mason tenders are always moving, performing a
variety of tasks. Multi-skilled means more production and increased value to the masonry
contractor.

A trained mason tender learns the proper way to estimate masonry materials. Our certified
Instructors provide classroom instruction and hands-on activities that include blueprints,
hand calculators, and computer programs to make quick estimates, for example, based on
wall area. Apprentices perform calculations in the classroom, then head outside to stack
materials, taking into consideration access and workflow. Because construction math is key
to any masonry job, industry math courses are a prerequisite for any hands-on training that
involves estimating and calculating.

A trained mason tender knows mortar types, mixing procedures, and how to maintain the
right mortar consistency. Laborers understand the need to mix to industry and jobsite
standards while also dealing with the individual preferences of each mason.

In the end, mortar mixing is about consistency that keeps the job running at a steady pace.
Mortar that is too stiff or too “soupy” slows the mason down and wastes the mason tender’s
time. Mortar mixing is a skill learned in the classroom, practiced during hands-on training,
and put into action on the job site.

The classroom and hands-on approach are a key element when training mason tenders to cut masonry materials. A mason tender is trained to handle masonry saw cuts like step, chop and angle. Once again, safety is first, from donning the proper PPE to ensuring clothing, necklaces, bracelets or anything loose isn’t worn that can get caught in the blade.

Our certified instructors providing third-party accredited Rough Terrain Forklift training, one
of the only training programs in the industry to do so. Mason tending apprentices learn how
to load a rough terrain forklift, determining the center of gravity and ensuring that the load
isn’t beyond the machine’s capacity.

Placing loads at elevations is practiced to avoid tipping the forklift or endangering other
workers on the job site. Proper driving techniques are taught on ramps, slopes and uneven
ground, while instructors serve as guides to ensure trainees are driving the forklift at the
proper speed.

Apprentices learn the art of building various types of scaffold, including frame, tube and
clamp, system, adjustable masonry, and more. They also are taught the maximum
allowable weight for each and how to calculate it for planks of various sizes. Considering
what’s on the platform — people, materials, mortar and equipment — mason tenders’
scaffold-building technique could be considered their most important skill.