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What is a Stonemason?

Mary McMahon
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Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 37,324
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A stonemason is an artisan who specializes in working with stone. The art of masonry includes everything from carving headstones to creating decorative finials for buildings. To become a stonemason, someone generally apprentices with another mason who can provide training. A love for art and stone will assist someone who wants to succeed at this career, although it is not required. Once someone has refined his or her skills as a stonemason, they can command a high price for their masonry services.

Masonry is a very old art form. Early humans started putting stones together to make homes thousands of years ago, and decorative work with stone soon followed. Masons pride themselves on creating functional, beautiful work which is precisely created for the needs of each client, whether it be the ornamental foundation stone of a new building, or a replacement for a worn door mantel. This craft profession is also unusual in that it cannot be entirely replaced with mechanization, although modern masons may use advanced tools like water jets and lasers for cutting.

There are a number of different types of stonemasons. Quarrymen work in quarries cutting raw stone which will be trimmed down to size and worked by other masons. Sawyers transform the rough blocks of stone cut in quarries into smaller chunks which meet specific size and composition requirements, while banker masons work in workshops to shape these pieces of stone as required for a job. A carver is a mason who specializes in creating patterns and designs, such as ornamental foliage on a building.

Fixer masons are more like contractors, focusing on fixing stones in place on a permanent structure. This job is highly skilled and also very dangerous, as the stonemason may work at high elevations with extremely heavy pieces of rock attached to block and tackle systems. Finally, memorial masons specialize in the construction and carving of memorials like stone plaques and headstones. It is not unusual for a mason to have experience and skills in several branches of the craft.

Some stonemasons talk about being able to read or listen to the rock that they work with. A good stonemason can look at a block of material and see how it will develop, with an eye to weak points and cracks which might damage the finished work. This skill is usually achieved through experience alone, as apprentices learn about how different rocks behave and feel. A fully qualified stonemason is also capable of working with a wide range of stone, from hard granite to soft limestone.

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Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a About Mechanics researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Discussion Comments
By anon977781 — On Nov 12, 2014

@Chivebasil: When we had ordered my mother's headstone, I was informed that they send the work overseas nowadays. Unfortunate, but like too many industries, much of the work formerly done in the USA is now all done by foreign concerns.

By whiteplane — On Apr 20, 2012
Where can I get stonemason training? It is not like this is a major in college -- at least not around where I live.
By gravois — On Apr 19, 2012

I remember one of the most amazing things I have ever seen was on a job site a few years. I was taking a smoke break and I was looking across the site to this section of the building that was being built with brick. It was already probably 30 feet high and was going to go up another 30 feet.

Anyway, I look over to where these bricklayers are working. I see one of them pick up a wheelbarrow filled with bricks, put it on one of his shoulders like you would a boom box and then climb the ladder one handed to a small platform at the top. The strength and the balance of that guy were incredible.

By Ivan83 — On Apr 19, 2012

My dad was a stone mason in St. Louis. The city has a ton of brick buildings and stone structures so he was always busy. When he was really in swing was in the early 80s when a part of the city called South City began to undergo a serious revitalization.

Most of the houses in the area were brick or stone and many needed some kind of fix that could only be done by an experienced stone mason. He spent years working almost exclusively in the neighborhood. The place is still thriving and it is known for the beauty of it's old brick buildings.

By chivebasil — On Apr 18, 2012

I wonder how many people there are in the country who are employed engraving gravestones? Probably more than I would expect. Everybody dies sooner or later and most of them get buried somewhere. The funeral business is predictably huge and probably one of the most stable industries in the country.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

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