Make Your Home Into Your Castle

Bricklayers are called upon during construction jobs to oversee bricklaying jobs, such as external and internal walls, tunnel linings and chimney stacks among others. Your bricklayer may be in charge of your entire project, subcontracting other elements to specialized contractors (electricians, plumbers, concreters etc.), or you may decide to coordinate the different service providers yourself. In either case, knowing what questions to ask will help you get the best service from your bricklayer and his/her team. Read on to learn more.

1. What do you need from me?

Given that the bricklayer needs certain things to be completed before they can get started with 'their part' of the job, it's important to know exactly what you need to provide and also what should have been done. Ensure that their bricks and tools have arrived on time, the weather is friendly (for jobs in the open) and their access paths have been cleared. Find out which tools and materials you provide and which they provide. Additionally, the foundation or slab should have been finished and allowed to set properly before they start laying. Don't leave anything to chance, particularly if you have a time-sensitive project. The best bricklayers often have a number of jobs spooled up. If you're not prepared you may have to wait a while before they can get back to your job.

2. How many bricks can you lay daily?

Experienced bricklayers will know how many bricks their team, working optimally, can lay daily. They will also be able to calculate how many bricks you need to complete the job, and this can help you estimate the duration of the job for planning purposes. This is also important if you're not buying all the materials at once, so that you can work out a delivery interval that will not interfere with the bricklaying team's productivity/timelines.

3. How do you coordinate subcontracted jobs?

Your bricklayer will work with plumbers, electricians, metal fabricators or carpenters (depending on your door and window fixtures) among other service providers. Very often, clients prefer to have a single contractor who then coordinates other subcontractors handling the smaller parts of the jobs. If this is what you prefer, it's important to know who the bricklayer subcontracts the different tasks to so that you can look up their performance record. In addition, verify that the bricklayer will be responsible for any mishaps related to his/her subcontractors' work. If not, you'll need to carefully coordinate various jobs and notify other contractors in case of delays that will affect their timelines.