I am lost in admiration. This is a serious artist at work. A true master. 98.7% of career bricklayers wouldn't have the slightest clue about how to do this -- at least here in the Good 'Ole U.S. of A. You Brits are light years ahead of us here across the pond. Brick work here tends to be pretty simple and straightforward. Most builders/homeowners here are allergic to the cost of fine brick construction. Here, we tend to slap things up quickly and as cheaply as possible with wood, and maybe a single skin brick or, GASP -- stone or brick veneer. Wish that I could learn from some of the British masters and lay bricks with them. You guys have so much to offer, and there is so much to learn from you. Again, mad respect for the serious artist called Rob Songer.

@martin2466

4 ай бұрын

@BlueSageJake Same the world over... On our domestic housing market its all down to the cheapest materials, designs, quality and labour. Cost is King. Most new build volumetric housing in this country is cheap and shoddy crap. Mr Songer is a Master Craftsman, and is lucky enough to work on some fabulous schemes. We can build lovely decent quality homes but at cost. You get what you pay for. We used to have 5+ years apprenticeships and we got trained in all this stuff - but now its a couple of years and trained to put up profiles and run a line... Pathetic.😁😁👍👍🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🫤

@anthonyworthington6495

4 ай бұрын

Don't for get bricklayers back then could not read and write,well most of them,but could build some cracking buildings,I suppose Henry the eighth had a good team

@martin2466

4 ай бұрын

Same the World over. Cost is King, and you get what you pay for. Volumetric house building in this country is pretty dire - generally. Cheapest designs, materials, and prices = crap job.

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

I once saw the guy who is/was the editor of the magazine Homebuilder & Renovator say in an interview, that the brickwork cost is only between 2 and 5% of the total cost of a new build. Although I've never worked it out, I took his word as good authority given the position he has in the industry... so, there shouldn't be any problem for spending a fraction more and having masonry that will last for generations.

@martin2466

4 ай бұрын

@@robsonger1 Agreed. However, the volumetric developers and house builders are not the least bit interested in longevity. Private clients have a taste for ornamental and decorative Brickwork - but it comes at a huge cost. Normal domestic market stuff just isn`t designed nor built to last. As you know Rob, the moment a building is completed it begins the process of weathering and degradation. The individual components within the building all have different "life spans & expectancy's. The insurance world know this only too well and have a book with the "expected life" of every material that goes into a modern homes from foundation concrete to the last lick of paint. When you read it - it really is an eye-opener. Designers use this as a trade - off point against cost to specify and design stuff. When developers get involved in the design process (design & build contract) thats when we really get " cheap and shoddy" look at foamed concrete foundations, lightweight trench blocks, cheap scantling timber, glass fibre pre - made dormers, plastic everything..........the list is endless. Then wonder why these homes will NOT pass the test of longevity over time..... Its a atrocious state of affairs.

Squints ..... Plinths ...... Cants....... I love my trade . 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Reminds me of tile setting..pattern maintenance and good geometry.. Carry on.. Thanx

Awesome as always, I hate the wind probably more than the rain but it looks like we’ve got a few days of it in North norfolk 😕 keep them coming rob

Good to see another monument to your skills Rob. I liked the way you show plumbing the obtuse corners of the octagon. I.E, the angled brick has to move ALONG it's bed to achieve plumb and not in and out the bed, as in plumbing a right angled corner. I always had a task getting my students to use this practice to stop the angles "kicking out at the tails". Keep on keeping on Rob. 👍

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

Thank you

Nice one Mr Songer, Once again showing all the `line-runners` and `house- slashers` that there is just so much more to the craft skills of Bricklaying than, building rectangular and square boxes in stretcher bond. Estimable, copacetic & sterling work - as always. 🧱🧱👍👍😁😁

@shanesullivan5656

4 ай бұрын

Too true mate too true 👍🍀

@martin2466

4 ай бұрын

@@shanesullivan5656 Thank you Shane. 🧱🧱👍😁

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

well Martin, you nailed it by using one word... Bricklaying. when I was a student and for a few years after, the sign on the door as you worked into the workshop would say 'Brickwork' which has a completely different meaning to todays workshops that mainly say 'Bricklaying' Bricklayling is simply the laying of a brick to a line, (which is why I came out of teaching.) Brickwork on the other hand encompasses all aspects of the trade from setting out, the bonding laws, construction and drawing of arches, curved walls, dentil work, battered walls, twisted work, fireplaces and flues, parapet walls etc... When I became aware that my trade was being diluted in college and my battle to keep it alive was futile against the site basing company giants, I finally surrendered and picked up my trowel, boots and raincoat and headed outside. I'm so fortunate to work where I do at the moment. This is probably the only place that allows me to keep Brickwork alive. I'm loving it.

@martin2466

4 ай бұрын

@@robsonger1 Rob, Thank you for the reply. You do an excellent job of keeping the trade-craft skills of Bricklaying alive - and long may you continue to do so. My apprenticeship was 5 years a proper indentured apprenticeship, after that 2 further years as an Improver under the tutelage of a mentor, then after 7+ years I was unleashed into the real world. I had, (and still do have) a real passion for all things Bricklaying, and all things to do with Construction. It has all changed now of course, apprenticeships of 2 years, and a few months on site running the line - and suddenly they are Brickies, well not in the sense we understand it.............. I am retired now after nearly half -a-century in the trade, and as much as I really love and enjoy retirement - I still miss the thrill and buzz from building something from scratch.However `every dog has his day` and I have had mine. I love your channel Rob, and continue to learn from the excellent videos you post. Keep on - Keeping on Rob. 👍👍👍👍👍👍🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱😁😁

@martin2466

4 ай бұрын

@@robsonger1 Yes things have all changed considerably since my 5 year apprenticeship, plus two years as an improver and only then considered ready for the real world. The big developers/builders have reduced everything down to the lowest common denominator. Its a shame. So keep doing what you do Rob.

geeeez Rob. have you never fancied making life easier for yourself? you know like us mere mortals, using string lines and profiles and sich like. top job as per.

Nice long video Rob . Nice to see the progress too . You seriously need some headphones up there to drown out that racket😫, bet you missed the music up there 🎧🧱🧱👌🏼👍🏽

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

Yes, it was a terrible day up there

Very nice Work. I am a bricklayer from Germany, I really like what you make. I can’t imagine how you cut the round bricks on the table saw. Can you explain this to me? Kind regards

@robsonger1

3 ай бұрын

I marked them first with a mini grinder, then slice them lengthways about 6 times to get a rough shape then smooth them with the grinder again

@7_21_44

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for the quick answer. Do you hold them with your hand to slice lengthwise or do you have a jig for the 6 positions? I am currently working on a 3 centered arch, because of the unregular angles it doesn’t make sense to build a jig because every brick is cut different. I worry about my fingers, especially when cutting the vossoirs that bond in lengthwise. Tilting the brick slightly and holding it so near the blade seems a little bit dangerous. I have like 46 years left till retirement so I need all of my fingers. I started to clamp the bricks down to a workbench an cut them with a 14 inch cut off saw. Maybe you have a better way of doing this? I respect you and I don’t want to waste your time by answering me, but it’s hard to find information on specialized bricklaying practices. In Germany there are no KZread videos on the kind of work that you do. Also it is very Hard to find German books about bricklaying, most of the time they just write about the basics and are not very practical. Before i started watching your videos I never even heard the term „vossoir“ or the practice of cutting angled bricks on an arch. Another Segment of bricklaying that really fascinates me is brick vaulting, but i couldn’t find a lot of information on this in the internet. Kind Regards

@robsonger1

3 ай бұрын

Yes, I hold them but I wouldn't recommend that method as it can be dangerous, so the time taken to make a jig, possibly a adjustable one, would definitely be the most favoured way. As for books containing details and methods, I'm slowly, very slowly getting drawings for a book together...

@robsonger1

3 ай бұрын

And thank you so much for watching

@7_21_44

3 ай бұрын

Thank you very much, I will definitely buy the book when you release it.

Excellent

Great work again Rob. What mix are you using?

Class👍

One other question, were the shaped bricks super soft that you made a jig and cut with a masonry bow saw? Just I saw a advert for a course on heritage brickwork where they showed you the tools and ways of doing things like that.

Another great job is this how they built a chimney in the day? Is what your doing the traditional way it was built🤔

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

yes Anthony, although these bricks in the stack are a lot denser than what many older chimney stacks were built of.

Very nice 👍👍👍

👌👌

👍👍

👍👍👍

Some job

I think Rob Songer is the only bricklayer who could had a few chapters in the book: Bricklaying systeme.

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

haha, keep watching, I have a small text book with just sketches and handwritten notes in the making. I'm doing it for my workshop students but it could be available in the future.

@vincentmontminy6063

4 ай бұрын

@@robsonger1 I'll take the first copy for sure!!! I'm moving from Canada to France with my family in August I'll be closer to become a student! Keep up your inspiring work.

Quality 👍… have you got a video of it finished?

@robsonger1

4 ай бұрын

Yes, I finished it this afternoon

Pourquoi tu mets tes briques à l envers? Je veux dire le creux de la brique au dessus.