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Brick positions, mortar types, CMU, grout lifts, cleanouts, veneer ties, flashing, cold-weather rules and takeoffs. Each topic gets its own page: the drawing first, then what you need to remember. 67 illustrated pages.
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Every page has one big drawing and a box with the numbers you need to know:
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These are real pages from the book. The table of contents is the full one: 8 parts and 63 topics.
You're looking at a practice question about a block wall in Seismic Design Category C. It asks how far apart the vertical bars can go. You've grouted hundreds of cells like that, and you still hesitate.
The manual covers it in long paragraphs: bar size, spacing, openings, wall ends, exceptions. By the third line, the numbers start to blur.
In the book, that same wall is one drawing: the CMU wall, the No. 4 bars standing in their cells, 10 ft max marked between bars and 16 in marked on each side of the opening.
Lap splices, bond beams, cleanouts, grout lifts and veneer ties work the same way. Each one has its own page.
You see the wall, you get the rule, and you answer without going back to the manual.
Units and materials, laying it up, reinforced and grouted masonry, veneer and moisture, openings and fireplaces, weather and safety, estimating and the business side, and a final exam review: 67 pages, all illustrated.
Think of it this way:
It's 7 a.m., the mortar's mixed and the thermometer reads 38°F. You need the cold-weather rule right now, not a whole chapter.
You open the cold-weather page and it's drawn out: mortar kept between 40 and 120°F, materials never above 140°F, new masonry covered for 24 hours, grouted work for 48.
Same with mortar types M, S, N and O, grout lifts and cleanouts, veneer tie spacing, flashing over lintels and the brick takeoff: each one on its own page.
Masonry Contractor Illustrated is 8 parts and 63 topics, all drawn, with an exam review at the end: the numbers to know, the words the exam mixes up and a study plan.
What you see drawn, you don't have to memorize.
Nominal vs. actual size, brick grades, CMU, stone, mortar types M, S, N and O, proportions, retempering, grout and reinforcement.
Brick positions, bond patterns, dry bond and the story pole, the laying sequence, bed, head and collar joints, joint profiles, corners and multi-wythe walls.
Why walls get reinforced, vertical bars, lap splices, bond beams, cell size, grout pour vs. grout lift, cleanouts, consolidation, cover and anchor bolts.
Anchored veneer in section, tie spacing, corrugated vs. wire ties, adhered veneer, flashing, weep holes, movement, expansion and control joints, efflorescence.
Lintels, arches, sills and copings, fireplace parts, hearth and clearances, the 3-2-10 chimney rule, glass block and retaining walls.
Cold and hot weather, plumb and level tolerances, testing and inspection, wall bracing and the limited access zone, scaffolds and silica dust.
Brick and block takeoffs, mortar and grout quantities, labor and bidding, what the license exam covers, contracts, liens and insurance.
Numbers to know on one page, words the exam mixes up, reading a section drawing, the most frequent field mistakes and a study plan for busy masons.
At the end of the book: An exam review part: the numbers to know on one page, the words the exam mixes up and a study plan.
Practice with exam-style questions on mortar, CMU, veneer and estimating, and every answer points you back to the page that explains it.
See the wrong way and the right way side by side, from missing weep holes to grout lifts without cleanouts, so you can spot them on the job and on the test.
📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
PDF by email: We email you Masonry Contractor Illustrated as a PDF, together with the two free books. It's a single payment: no installments, no extra charges.
You already know the work. Here you see it with the exact term the code uses, one short page at a time after the job.
Mortar, grout lifts, veneer and takeoffs are each drawn on their own page, and an exam review at the end puts the key numbers together.
Print the page and keep it in the truck: tie spacing, cold-weather rules and lintel bearing are there when you need them.
📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
Try Masonry Contractor Illustrated for 30 days, bonus books included.
We refund everything if the file won't open, if the book isn't what you see here, if you were charged twice or if the email doesn't arrive. Just email us.
You pay once. No subscriptions.
Yes. It isn't a beginner's book. It takes what you already do on the wall and puts it on the page with the exact term the code and the exam use.
From TMS 402/602-22, ASTM C270, C476, C216 and C90, the 2024 IBC and IRC, OSHA 29 CFR 1926, and state contractor board exam outlines such as California's CSLB C-29. Code values are checked against those editions.
No. It's an independent illustrated study book, not published by or affiliated with any licensing board or code body. It's built on the national standards most states adopt (TMS 402/602, ASTM, IBC/IRC, OSHA). Each state board sets its own exam, so compare the 8 parts of this book with your board's outline.
It covers the masonry trade knowledge that state exams draw from: the IBC and IRC, TMS 402/602 and the ASTM standards. It isn't written for one state only. Many states also give a separate law and business exam: the book has a short part on contracts, liens and insurance, but it doesn't replace that prep, a prep course or the code books. Check your state board's exam outline.
No. They're written for this book in the style of a trade exam, and each answer points you back to the page that explains it.
The book and the 2 bonus books come as PDFs by email, sent to the address you enter at checkout.
No. You pay once. There's no subscription.
Yes. The PDF prints well at home or at a print shop, so you can keep it in a binder or in the truck.
You have 30 days. We refund everything if the file won't open, if the book isn't what you see on this page, if you were charged twice or if the email doesn't arrive: just email us.
No more rereading the code and having nothing stick.
Grout lifts, cleanouts and flashing: you see them drawn, and you've got it.
You walk into the exam knowing where everything is.
Drawings make studying faster.
The book is right below.
One-time payment: US$ 27 · Guarantee: 30 days · PDF by email
YES, I WANT MASONRY CONTRACTOR ILLUSTRATED FOR US$ 27📄 This is a digital PDF book sent to your email: nothing is printed or shipped.
