Career Details :: Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
Description
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs, using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; use saws to cut expansion joints.
Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.
Training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.
Tasks
- Polishes surface, using polishing or surfacing machine.
- Mixes cement, sand, and water to produce concrete, grout, or slurry, using hoe, trowel, tamper, scraper, or concrete-mixing machine.
- Wets surface to prepare for bonding, fills holes and cracks with grout or slurry, and smoothes, using trowel.
- Cuts metal division strips and presses them into terrazzo base so that top edges form desired design or pattern.
- Builds wooden molds and clamps molds around area to be repaired, using hand tools.
- Cuts out damaged areas, drills holes for reinforcing rods, and positions reinforcing rods to repair concrete, using power saw and drill.
- Chips, scrapes, and grinds high spots, ridges, and rough projections to finish concrete, using pneumatic chisel, hand chisel, or hand tools.
- Applies muriatic acid to clean surface and rinses with water.
- Spreads, levels, and smoothes concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float.
- Molds expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, and straightedge.
- Signals truck driver to position truck to facilitate pouring concrete and moves chute to direct concrete on forms.
- Sprinkles colored marble or stone chips, powdered steel, or coloring powder over surface to produce prescribed finish.
- Wets concrete surface and rubs with stone to smooth surface and obtain specified finish.
- Pushes roller over surface to imbed chips in surface.
- Produces rough concrete surface, using broom.
- Spreads roofing paper on surface of foundation and spreads concrete onto roofing paper with trowel to form terrazzo base.
- Cleans chipped area, using wire brush, and feels and observes surface to detect rough or uneven surface.
Related Careers
- Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers
- Brickmasons and Blockmasons
- Fence Erectors
- Glaziers
- Helpers, Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
- Pipelayers
- Stonemasons
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Performing General Physical Activities
- Handling and Moving Objects
- Controlling Machines and Processes
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, Material
Important Skills
Frequent Work Context
- Consequence of Error
- Outdoors
- Frustrating Circumstances
- Using Hands on Objects, Tools, Controls
- Standing
Related Majors
| Major | Add to XapPack |
|---|---|
| Construction Management |  [ add ] |
| Construction Management/Wood Products Engineering | [ add ] |
Institutions Offering Related Majors
No institutions found.