Morning, Chad.
Morning, how's it going?
Good, eh. Cold. Yeah!
Laying the damp course around the slab is the worst part of the job.
It bends your back and your wrist.
I'm in the first year of my bricklaying apprenticeship.
I work for an apprentice firm that contracts me to a building team.
I remember when I bought my first trowel.
I might have to upgrade to a bigger one soon.
When I first started, I was given basic cleaning tasks.
But now I've become efficient with more important elements of the trade.
I'm a lot faster at this than when I first started.
A fairly straightforward exercise -- less physically
demanding than some other building jobs.
Hey, Chad. What are you up to on the weekend, mate?
Hmmm Probably go out and check the swell if there
is any surf, and if not, probably going for a skate
Who are you going skating with? My room mate. Arr yeah!
All day or just half the day?
Amm, Probably half. Probably get hurt and rest.
Hopefully the weather holds out. You can't lay bricks in the wet.
In summer, I have to drink lots of water and wear a hat and sunscreen.
Cutting bricks can be tricky. They have to fit in perfectly.
It's nice to have something different to construct.
Is this pillar going to be rounded? Yeah, I think so.
Arches, pillars and tricky little nibs all have to
be thought out before you start laying the mortar.
That chalk line we just marked out, that is that part of the storeroom right there. OK?
Now what I want you to do is I want you to get that measurement from
there to there and measure that and we'll mark this line down here.
OK? So you do both ends of that for me, please. Yep, no worries.
I attend TAFE four weeks a year to learn maths and
practical skills that I can then use on the job.
Better be careful up here on the scaffolding.
Internal bricks are quicker to lay.
Most will end up being rendered so that hides a lot of imperfections
I can't wait till I'm in charge of my own building team.
One day, I'll be able to come back here and see the finished product.
It is really satisfying to create something I'll be able to show my grandchildren.