The terms masons use, defined in plain English -- no jargon left unexplained.
A CMU, or concrete masonry unit, is a precast rectangular block made from cast concrete, commonly called cinde…
TermA block wall is a wall built from concrete masonry units (CMU) stacked in courses and bonded with mortar, ofte…
TermA bond beam is a horizontal course of CMU block, filled solid with grout and reinforced with rebar, that ties …
TermRebar reinforcement is steel reinforcing bar embedded in grout-filled masonry cells, bond beams, or footings t…
TermA grouted cell is the hollow core of a CMU block filled with concrete grout, usually around a vertical rebar b…
TermA pilaster is a reinforced vertical column, usually wider than the wall itself, built into or attached to a bl…
TermA cap block is a solid, flat CMU unit set on top of a block wall to close off the hollow cores, shed water, an…
TermSplit-face block is CMU manufactured with a rough, fractured-looking texture on its exposed face, made by spli…
TermA mortar bed joint is the horizontal layer of mortar spread beneath each course of brick, block, or stone that…
TermA head joint is the vertical layer of mortar between adjacent brick, block, or stone units within the same cou…
TermCourse height is the vertical measurement from the bottom of one masonry course to the bottom of the next, mad…
Brick veneer is a single, non-structural layer of brick attached to a wood- or steel-framed wall to give the l…
TermSolid masonry is a wall built entirely of load-bearing brick, block, or stone, often two or more wythes tied t…
TermA header course is a row of brick laid with the short end, the header, facing outward instead of the long side…
TermA soldier course is a row of brick set on end, standing vertically with the long face out, most often used as …
TermRunning bond is the most common brick pattern, where every course is laid as stretchers, bricks on their long …
TermA stretcher course is a row of brick laid with the long face, the stretcher, exposed, the standard orientation…
TermA rowlock is a brick laid on its edge with the end, or header, face exposed, commonly used as a course to cap …
TermEfflorescence is a white, powdery mineral deposit that forms on the surface of brick, stone, or concrete when …
TermSpalling is when the face of brick, stone, or concrete cracks off and flakes away, most often because water so…
TermSevere Weather (SW) brick is a face brick grade rated for the highest resistance to freeze-thaw damage and moi…
TermSalvage brick is reclaimed brick removed from an older structure, cleaned, and reused, valued for matching the…
A chimney crown is the sloped concrete or mortar cap poured across the very top of a masonry chimney that shed…
TermA chimney cap is the metal cover, usually stainless steel or copper, that sits on top of the flue opening to k…
TermA flue is the vertical passage inside a chimney that carries smoke, gases, and heat from the firebox or a heat…
TermA flue liner is the protective lining inside the flue, most often clay tile, stainless steel, or cast-in-place…
TermA damper is the movable metal plate inside a fireplace, usually just above the firebox or higher up in the flu…
TermThe smoke chamber is the funnel-shaped section of masonry above the firebox and below the flue that compresses…
TermA corbel is a course of brick or stone set out past the course below it, used to step masonry outward for a de…
TermA spark arrestor is the mesh screen built into a chimney cap that stops hot embers and sparks from escaping th…
TermA chase cover is the metal panel that caps the top of a chimney chase, the framed and sided enclosure built ar…
TermA firebox is the masonry-lined chamber inside a fireplace where the fire actually burns, built from firebrick …
TermA hearth is the fireproof masonry floor of a fireplace, including the inner hearth beneath the firebox and the…
A stair-step crack is a diagonal crack that zigzags up through the mortar joints of a brick or block wall in a…
TermA bowing wall has developed a curved, outward bulge along its face, usually near the mid-height of a retaining…
TermA leaning wall is tilting away from vertical as a single unit, pivoting from its base or footing rather than b…
TermA settlement crack is a crack in a foundation, wall, or slab caused by the ground underneath moving or compres…
TermMortar failure is the breakdown of the mortar joints holding brick, block, or stone together, showing up as cr…
TermWater intrusion is water getting into places in a masonry structure it isn't supposed to reach, such as throug…
TermFreeze-thaw damage is the physical breakdown of brick, stone, or mortar caused by water soaking into the mater…
TermVegetative growth is moss, algae, lichen, vines, or small plants taking root on or in a masonry surface, and w…
TermRising damp is moisture that wicks upward through brick, stone, or mortar from contact with wet ground, moving…
TermA structural crack is a crack that indicates masonry has lost some of its load-bearing capacity, as opposed to…
TermA cosmetic crack is a shallow, hairline crack limited to the surface finish, stucco, parging, or a single mort…
Hardscape refers to the built, non-plant elements of a landscape, patios, walkways, retaining walls, fire pits…
TermA paver is a manufactured or natural-stone unit, typically concrete, clay brick, or cut stone, laid in a patte…
TermPaver base is the layer of compacted crushed stone installed beneath a paver patio or walkway to support the p…
TermPolymeric sand is a blended sand and polymer binder swept into the joints between pavers and then activated wi…
TermBedding sand is the thin, screeded layer of coarse sand spread over the compacted paver base that pavers are s…
TermEdge restraint is the rigid border, whether plastic, aluminum, or a mortared brick soldier course, installed a…
TermA dry-laid patio is a paver or flagstone patio set on a compacted base and bedding sand without mortar, held t…
TermA mortared patio is a patio where flagstone, brick, or paver units are set in a mortar bed over a concrete sla…
TermAn outdoor kitchen is a permanent masonry structure built outside, typically with a grill and counter space se…
TermA fire pit is a contained masonry structure, built from brick, block, or stone, designed to hold an open wood …
TermA walkway is a paved or masonry path, built from pavers, brick, flagstone, or poured concrete, that connects t…
Historic masonry refers to brick, stone, or block construction built before modern manufacturing and mortar st…
TermRestoration mortar is a mortar mix formulated to match the strength, permeability, and appearance of the origi…
TermA salvage match is reclaimed brick or stone sourced to match the size, color, texture, and weathering of an ex…
TermLime putty is slaked lime mixed with water and aged into a smooth paste, used as the binder for traditional li…
TermHistoric brick is brick manufactured before roughly the mid-20th century using older clay sources and lower fi…
TermParging repair is the process of removing a cracked, bulging, or delaminated parge coat, the thin cement or li…
TermA consolidant is a liquid chemical treatment, typically silane, siloxane, or silicate-based, applied to soft o…
TermA repointing match is new mortar work formulated and tooled to match the color, sand texture, joint width, and…
TermSacrificial mortar is mortar intentionally formulated to be softer than the brick or stone units it joins, so …
TermA soft-brick home is a house built with older, low-fired brick common before mid-20th century manufacturing st…
TermHand-struck brick is brick individually shaped and pressed into a mold by hand rather than machine-extruded, r…
Mortar is the mixture of cement or lime, sand, and water that bonds bricks or stones together and fills the jo…
TermType N mortar is a medium-strength, general-purpose mortar mix, around 750 psi, used for above-grade exterior …
TermType S mortar is a high-strength mix, around 1800 psi, with strong bond strength, used for below-grade constru…
TermType M mortar is the highest-strength common mortar mix, around 2500 psi, reserved for below-grade structural …
TermType O mortar is a low-strength mix, around 350 psi, suited to interior non-structural work and to repointing …
TermLime mortar is a mortar made with lime instead of, or with far less, Portland cement, producing a softer, more…
TermPortland cement is the manufactured binding powder, made by heating limestone and clay, that gives modern mort…
TermA mortar joint is the layer of mortar between individual bricks or stones, tooled into a finished profile that…
TermRepointing is the structural repair process of removing deteriorated mortar from between bricks or stones and …
TermTuckpointing is a decorative mortar finishing technique where a thin contrasting line is struck into a wider j…
TermGrout is a thin, pourable cement-based mixture used to fill hollow block cores, the space behind stone veneer,…
A retaining wall is a structure built to hold back soil on a slope, resisting the lateral pressure of the eart…
TermA gravity wall is a retaining wall that holds back soil using nothing but its own mass and weight, without geo…
TermA segmental retaining wall is built from precast concrete blocks stacked dry, without mortar, relying on the b…
TermGeogrid is a high-strength synthetic mesh laid in horizontal layers within the compacted backfill behind a ret…
TermBatter is the intentional backward lean built into a retaining wall as it rises, with each course set slightly…
TermBackfill is the material, usually compacted gravel or crushed stone, used to fill the excavated space behind a…
TermDrainage aggregate is clean, angular crushed stone, largely free of sand and fine particles, placed directly b…
TermWeep tile, also called drain tile, is perforated pipe laid at the base of the drainage aggregate behind a reta…
TermA terraced wall is a series of two or more shorter retaining walls stepped up a slope with level planting or u…
TermThe toe of a wall is the base of a retaining wall, the front bottom edge where the wall meets the ground in fr…
TermA surcharge load is any additional weight placed on the ground above or behind a retaining wall, beyond the we…
Natural stone is quarried or field-gathered rock, such as fieldstone, flagstone, or granite, cut or set in its…
TermCultured stone, also called manufactured stone veneer, is a lightweight concrete product cast in molds and pig…
TermFieldstone is naturally rounded or irregularly shaped stone gathered loose from fields, riverbeds, or the grou…
TermAshlar is natural stone cut and dressed into square or rectangular blocks with flat faces, laid in level cours…
TermRubble stone is uncut or roughly broken stone of irregular size and shape, laid without the level coursing and…
TermFlagstone is flat sedimentary stone, such as sandstone, quarried and split along natural bedding planes into s…
TermDry stack stone is stonework laid without mortar, relying on the weight, friction, and interlocking fit of the…
TermLedgestone is stone, natural or cultured, cut or selected to have a thin, linear profile that's laid in stagge…
TermFull-bed stone is natural stone cut or selected to its full natural thickness, typically several inches deep, …
TermThin veneer stone is natural stone cut into thin slabs, usually about an inch or two thick, light enough to at…
TermCoping stone is a flat cap stone set on top of a wall, pillar, or chimney to shed water off the top and keep i…
A footing is the widened concrete base poured beneath a wall, pier, or chimney that spreads the structure's we…
TermThe frost line is the maximum depth below the ground surface to which soil moisture is expected to freeze in a…
TermFrost heave is the upward movement of soil, and anything resting on it, caused by water in the ground freezing…
TermA load-bearing wall carries structural weight from the roof, floors, or upper walls down to the foundation, un…
TermA pier is a vertical masonry or concrete support, often a column or a deep, reinforced footing, that carries a…
TermFoundation parging is a thin coat of cement-based mortar troweled over an exposed concrete or block foundation…
TermA grade beam is a reinforced concrete beam that transfers a wall's load down onto a series of piers rather tha…
TermUndisturbed soil is native ground that has never been excavated, graded, or filled, and it holds its original …
TermCompacted fill is soil, gravel, or aggregate that's been added to a site and mechanically compressed in layers…
TermA control joint is a deliberately placed groove or gap in a block wall or concrete surface designed to control…
TermAn expansion joint is a flexible gap, usually filled with a compressible material, built into masonry or concr…
A mason's line is a taut string stretched between line pins or corner blocks at each end of a wall section, gi…
TermA story pole, also called a course rod, is a straight board marked with the exact height of every mortar joint…
TermA plumb bob is a pointed weight hung from a string that uses gravity to establish a true vertical line, lettin…
TermA trowel is a flat, pointed steel hand tool used to scoop, spread, shape, and cut mortar, and it's the single …
TermA jointer is a hand tool with a curved or angled blade used to compress fresh mortar in a joint and shape it i…
TermA mortar board is a flat platform, traditionally a wood square but often a plastic hawk or stand today, that h…
TermA wet saw is a power saw with a water-cooled diamond blade used to cut brick, block, stone, and pavers with cl…
TermA tuckpointing grinder is a handheld angle grinder fitted with a diamond blade and a depth guard, used to cut …
TermA masonry sealer is a penetrating or film-forming coating applied to brick, stone, or concrete to cut down on …
TermStriking a joint is the process of tooling a fresh mortar joint with a jointer while the mortar is still worka…
TermButtering a joint is the technique of applying a layer of mortar directly to the end of a brick with a trowel …
Flashing is a thin strip of corrosion-resistant metal or membrane installed at joints in a masonry wall, such …
TermA weep hole is a small, deliberately left gap in a masonry mortar joint, usually at the base of a wall or abov…
TermA cavity wall is a masonry wall built as two separate wythes, an outer brick or stone veneer and an inner stru…
TermA drainage plane is the continuous water-shedding layer behind a masonry veneer or siding, typically a membran…
TermDamp-proofing is a coating, usually asphalt-based, applied to a foundation wall to resist moisture absorbed fr…
TermWaterproofing is a heavier-duty membrane or coating system applied to below-grade masonry that is rated to blo…
TermIn masonry, a water table is a horizontal course of brick or stone, often with a projecting drip edge, set nea…
TermA sill is the horizontal masonry or stone piece set at the bottom of a window or door opening, sloped to shed …
TermA lintel is the horizontal structural member, typically steel, stone, or reinforced masonry, that spans the to…
TermCap flashing, also called counter flashing, is the upper piece of a two-part flashing system that's built into…
TermA vapor barrier is a material, often polyethylene sheeting or a coating with a low permeability rating, instal…
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