Stonemason
What the work is
Cuts and shapes hard and soft stone blocks and masonry slabs to construct and renovate stone structures, kitchen benchtops and monumental masonry.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Studies plans and specifications to determine materials required, dimensions and installation procedures
- Measures, marks dimensions, outlines, splits, cuts, shapes and finishes stone blocks and masonry slabs using hand tools and machinery
- Sets out and cuts letters and designs into stone
- Lays stone blocks and large masonry slabs to construct structures such as walls, arches and pillars, ensuring they are level and plumb
- Constructs and installs stone construction elements such as benchtops and splashbacks
- Assesses damage to and repairs stonework, including on old or heritage buildings and monuments
- May design, cut and install monumental masonry
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a masonry crew building brick walls on new homes and repairing old stone and brick on heritage buildings. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A long wall rises course by course and every line stays dead straight
- Matching old bricks so well that nobody can tell where the repair is
- A stone benchtop is cut to a hair's breadth and slides into place
Hard days
- Laying bricks in the heat of summer, with the mortar setting before you can use it
- A cold, wet morning when the wall has to wait and so does the deadline
- A heavy stone slab that must be carried into a tiny kitchen
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 371132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.