How to hire helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Apply grout between joints of bricks or tiles, using grouting trowels.
• Clean installation surfaces, equipment, tools, work sites, or storage areas, using water, chemical solutions, oxygen lances, or polishing machines.
• Cut materials to specified sizes for installation, using power saws or tile cutters.
• Erect scaffolding or other installation structures.
• Locate and supply materials to masons for installation, following drawings or numbered sequences.
• Mix mortar, plaster, and grout, manually or using machines, according to standard formulas.
• Modify material moving, mixing, grouting, grinding, polishing, or cleaning procedures, according to installation or material requirements.
• Remove damaged tile, brick, or mortar, and clean or prepare surfaces, using pliers, hammers, chisels, drills, wire brushes, or metal wire anchors.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: No formal educational credential]
• Strong critical thinking and monitoring skills
• Working knowledge of building and construction
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $22.86 an hour ($47,550 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to apply grout between joints of bricks or tiles, using grouting trowels. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to clean installation surfaces, equipment, tools, work sites, or storage areas, using water, chemical solutions, oxygen lances, or polishing machines. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to cut materials to specified sizes for installation, using power saws or tile cutters. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to erect scaffolding or other installation structures. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
6. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
7. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters do

• Apply grout between joints of bricks or tiles, using grouting trowels.
• Clean installation surfaces, equipment, tools, work sites, or storage areas, using water, chemical solutions, oxygen lances, or polishing machines.
• Cut materials to specified sizes for installation, using power saws or tile cutters.
• Erect scaffolding or other installation structures.
• Locate and supply materials to masons for installation, following drawings or numbered sequences.
• Mix mortar, plaster, and grout, manually or using machines, according to standard formulas.
• Modify material moving, mixing, grouting, grinding, polishing, or cleaning procedures, according to installation or material requirements.
• Remove damaged tile, brick, or mortar, and clean or prepare surfaces, using pliers, hammers, chisels, drills, wire brushes, or metal wire anchors.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingMonitoringBuilding and Construction

Education, experience and outlook for helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters

• Typical education to start: No formal educational credential (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: Up to 1 month (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -11.7% over ten years, declining · about 1,100 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Brickmasons and Blockmasons
• Helpers--Carpenters
• Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons
• Terrazzo Workers and Finishers
• Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
• Tile and Stone Setters
• Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
• Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
• Plasterers and Stucco Masons
• Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.