Brick hod

Brick hod

A brick hod is a three-sided box for carrying bricks or other construction materials, often mortar. It bears a long handle and is carried over the shoulder. A hod is usually long enough to accept 4 bricks on their side, however, by arranging the bricks in a chevron fashion, the number of bricks that may be carried is only limited to the weight the labourer can bear and the unwieldiness of that load. Typically 10-12 bricks might be carried. [http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3395565.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=DAC7A34C488C04DF2AB09CC058560E3AA55A1E4F32AD3138]

Hod carrying is an unskilled labouring occupation in the building industry. Typically the hod carrier, or 'Hoddie' will be employed by a bricklaying team in a supporting role to the skilled bricklayers. Two bricklayers for each hod carrier is quite normal. His or (rarely) her duties might include:-Wetting the mortar boards on the scaffolding prior to fetching bricks from the delivery pallet using his hod and bringing them to 2x2 wide 'stacks' upon the scaffold that may then be easily laid by the bricklayers. The carrier needs to time deliveries of bricks with deliveries of mortar - also carried in the hod - to ensure the bricklayers maintain a constant work rate. On sites without premixed mortar, the mortar will also be mixed by the hod carrier. Bricks may be cut and assistance given to 'rake out' the mortar joints, if that form of coursing joint is required, or in repointing work. The baseline rate for a bricklayer is to lay 1000 bricks a day, if the hod carrier is serving a team of two then he must move 2000 bricks although it is not uncommon for experienced hod carriers to serve three bricklayers. It is also the custom in the UK for the labourer to make tea for his bricklayers.

Interestingly, in several novels and short stories by Italian-American author, John Fante, hod carriers, bricklayers, and stone masons feature prominently (perhaps most notably in his debut novel "Wait Until Spring, Bandini," "Brotherhood of the Grape," and "The Orgy"--one half of the posthumously released collection "West of Rome"). This is due to the highly autobiographical nature of almost all of Fante's writing (excepting his screenwriting, which he considered a debasing and vapid art form, a necessary evil that allowed a steadier, more substantial income than novel writing). Fante's father, Nick, was an Italian-born bricklayer descended from--at least in Fante's fictions--a long line of Italian artisan bricklayers and stonemasons. Moreover, the author spent a significant portion of his youth apprenticed to his father, experience that lent him the knowledge to write accurately about various details of the trade: from descriptions of the actual work, the physical toll it took on workers, the color and character of those workers, and the pride and satisfaction of a job well done. Because Fante looked up to his father (despite their numerous quarrels and fallings-out) he thus held the trade in very high regard, at times verging on romanticizing the quite difficult work it took. To him, bricklaying (and hod carrying) was something that ennobled poorer classes; it was a respectable manual labor that required a degree of artfulness. as well as being a manly occupation.

References

*" [http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh9899/82.htm Bricklayers and Stonemasons] " in the "Occupational Outlook Handbook". (1998–1999)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hod — may refer to: * Brick hod, a long handled box carried over the shoulder to move a load of bricks or mortar * Hod Hill, an archaeological site in Dorset, England * Coal scuttle *Hod הוד is the Hebrew word for majesty , splendor or glory . **Hod… …   Wikipedia

  • Hod — Ein Hod oder Brick hod ist ein in Großbritannien und Irland verwendetes Transportwerkzeug im Bauwesen. Es besteht aus einem langen Stiel, der über die Schulter gelegt wird und an dem eine Art Holzkiste befestigt ist. Diese besteht aus zwei… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • hod — noun Etymology: probably from Middle Dutch hodde; akin to Middle High German hotte cradle Date: 1573 1. a tray or trough that has a pole handle and that is borne on the shoulder for carrying loads (as of mortar or brick) 2. a coal scuttle …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • John Fante — Infobox Writer name = John Fante birthdate = birth date|1909|4|8|mf=y deathdate = death date|1983|5|8| occupation = Novelist, short story writer, screenwriter nationality = American influences = Knut Hamsun Sherwood Anderson, H.L. Mencken… …   Wikipedia

  • Bricklayer — A bricklayer or mason is a tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. [cite book|title=Masonry Skills |author= Richard T. Kreh|year=… …   Wikipedia

  • William B. Lewis (NY treasurer) — William B. Lewis (ca. 1816 October 15, 1884 Brooklyn, Kings County, New York) was an American businessman and politician.LifeHe began to work as a brick hod carrier, then learned the builder s trade, and became a contractor.In the 1850s, he was… …   Wikipedia

  • Sources of ancient Tamil history — There are literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history. The foremost among these sources is the Sangam literature, generally dated to the last centuries BCE to early centuries CE. The poems in Sangam… …   Wikipedia

  • Cincinnati Reds — For other uses, see Cincinnati Reds (disambiguation). Cincinnati Reds 2012 Cincinnati Reds season Established 1882 …   Wikipedia

  • Seder hishtalshelus — (Hebrew סדר השתלשלות) means the order of development or order of evolution , where the word Hishtalshelus (or Hishtalshelut ) is derived from the reduplicated quadriliteral root ŠLŠL to chain , and so literally means the chain like process . This …   Wikipedia

  • List of nicknames of jazz musicians — Nicknames are common among jazz musicians. Nicknames and sobriquets can also sometimes become stage names, and there are several cases of performers being known almost exclusively by their nicknames as opposed to their given names. Some of the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”