1.During the competition, the competitors’ work methods in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® shall be as close aspossible to an actual jobsite situation. In the event of an unusual circumstance or practice, inconsistent with industrystandards and not specifically addressed in these rules, the judges will consult. If deemed unacceptable, a 100-brickdeduction will be assessed to the competitor’s final brick count.
2.The bricklayer must lift all his own bricks and trowels of mortar from no more than 5 mortar boards and 5 stacks of bricksplaced as seen fit on the working side of the wall. These stacks of boards must be set out along the length of the wall inusual working fashion by the bricklayer’s tender.
3.The mason tender must be provided by the bricklayer. No more than 1 tender will be allowed for each bricklayer.
4.Any assistance from the mason tender, or others, in placing bricks or tools in the bricklayer’s hand or transferring mortarfrom the mortar boards to the wall, will result in disqualification.
5.The Mason and tender must refrain from physically contacting another contestant’s wall and tools. Any physical contactwith another contestant’s wall or tools will result in disqualification.
6.The contestant’s mason tender will set up each contestant’s work area utilizing five mortar boards and five stacks ofbrick following the exact configuration of the competition layout.
7.Contestants can select location, orientation and size of brick stacks and location of mortar boards once the conteststarts.
8.The bricklayer is responsible for raising his or her own line blocks and lines at each end of the wall, securing line andpins/corner blocks, and for running each course of bricks. The use of metal, timber or other profile posts, prepared storypoles, levels marked for heights or stopped ends are to be excluded.
9.Contestants must furnish their own tools for the competition. This includes all hand tools.
10.The day before the World Championship competition, contestants will be allotted ample time to build their startercourses of concrete block and starter course of brick.
11.Upon completion of the 60-minute bricklaying portion of the competition, competitors will be given a 5-minute rest periodfollowed by 20-minute period to finish the entire competition wall. Contestants must tool both sides and ends of thewall. Competitors will be allowed to use any standard masonry tool to finish the working side of the wall. Mortar jointsmust be tooled with a round (U) joint finish and the wall must be brushed. Water and any other liquids or cleaningagents are not allowed to finish the wall.
1.Brick will be laid utilizing a running ½ bond pattern with return ends. Brick will weigh no less than 3 lbs. All brick laidmust be full length.
2.The wall will be approximately 8 inches wide, 26 feet 8 inches long, and constructed 2 bricks deep/wide laid in half-running bond pattern totaling 40 brick per side. The wall length is adjustable as needed based on the length of the brickutilized for the competition.
3.The 8-inch width of the wall can be slightly modified at the option of the contestant to accommodate for the width of thebrick utilized for the competition.
4.The block starter courses will consist of two courses of 8” concrete block in stack bond pattern. The second course ofblock will be laid face shell up. The first course can be laid with the face shell up or out at the preference of thecompetitor.
5.One double wythe course of modular (2 1/4” x 3 5/8” x 7 5/8”) brick will be placed on the starter block as a brick startercourse. This course of brick will not be counted in the contest.
6.Mortar must be cut flush during the bricklaying portion of the competition—not during the wall finishingsession. Conversely, there is no jointing or finishing the wall during the laying portion of the contest. Joints will befinished on the entire wall (both sides and ends) in the finishing portion of the contest.
7.Brick must be laid overhand on the back wall.
8.Mortar will be supplied by SPEC MIX. Other than retempering water, no mortar additives are allowed.
9.The wall must be completed so the final brick wythes are within 2 courses of each other to be counted in the final brickcount. Units laid beyond this requirement will not be counted in the final brick count.
1.The premise of the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 is to construct a finished quality wall containing as many units aspossible in one hour while following the rules set forth in this document.
2.Entering your competition stall during the judging time will result in immediate disqualification.
3.The top surface of the last full double wythe course laid is to be checked for height. The height tolerance over the walllength will be +/- 1/4” or less and will be measured by taking a height measurement on each end and in the middle of thewall on the working side to the last completed double wythe. Competitors will set a pin to mark the points of measure forjudging on each end and in the middle on the working side of the wall before the competition starts in the mortar jointunder the starter course of brick. Judges will average the 3 height measurements. Each individual measurement cannotvary by more than +/- 1/4” from that average. Failure to meet any or all height points within the tolerance laid outin this standard will result in a 100 brick deduction in the final brick count.
4.Both ends and the face of the wall must be within 1/4” or less of being truly vertical. This will be judged using thecompetitor’s level at 4 plumb points at each end of the wall and one plumb point in the middle of the working side of thewall for a total of 9 plumb points. The level will start at the first brick laid during the competition and the bubble mustremain between the lines on the level. A 50-brick deduction in the final brick count will be assessed for eachplumb point failing to meet the plumb point tolerance (maximum 450-brick deduction).
5.The wall will be allowed no more than 20 voids for the entire project. This will be judged using an S-Jointer. Upon visualinspection, if there appears to be a void, the judge will attempt to tool the head joint and bed joint. If the void can bereasonably filled, it will not be counted as a void. Exceeding 20 voids will result in a 100-brick deduction in thefinal brick count.
6.Brick in the wall must be laid face shell out. Each brick not laid face shell out will result in a 50-brick deductionfrom the final brick count on either side of the wall.
7.Brick with chips greater in size than 1/2” in diameter are not to be used in the competition. Each brick containing achip greater in diameter will result in a 50-brick deduction from the final brick count.
8.Lipped brick in the wall must be less than 1/4”. Each brick determined to be lipped greater than 1/4″ will result in a50-brick deduction from the final brick count.
9.Mortar joint thickness tolerance for bed joints is not less than 1/4” or greater than 5/8”. If there are any bed jointsmeasuring less than 1/4” or greater than 5/8”, a 25-brick deduction will be assessed to the final brick count for each jointthat does not meet this tolerance. Only one deduction can take place in a single joint for the length of the wall on eitherside. The penalty can be assessed for each side of the wall separately, resulting in a potential 50 brick totaldeduction for a single bed joint on the front and back side of the wall combined.
10.Mortar joint thickness tolerance for head joints is not less than 1/8” or greater than 3/4”. If there are any head jointsexceeding 3/4” or less than 1/8”, a 25-brick deduction in the final brick count will be assessed per occurrence(maximum deduction 250 brick). Only one deduction can take place at a single head joint.
11.Mortar joints must be cut flush during the bricklaying portion of the competition. An infraction will be counted if there is ajoint greater than 2” long that protrudes a ¼” or more at any point. Failure to cut all protruding mortar will result in aone-time 100-brick deduction.
12.During the tooling/finishing portion of the contest, contestants must tool and brush both sides and ends of the wall.If the wall is not completely tooled and brushed the competitor will be assessed a one-time 100-brick deduction.
13.No Foreign objects, tools, accessories or similar shall be laid in the competition wall above the starter course. Examplesinclude but are not limited to line-bars, trigs/twigs or pins. If any foreign objects are installed/embedded in thecompetition wall the competitor will be assessed a one-time 100-brick deduction.
14.Each individual brick on both sides of the wall is to be laid level. Each brick that appears to be out of level or tipped willbe judged using a Digital Level (Electronic Level Inclinometer Model 40-6080) set to the inches per foot reading. Thedigital level will be lined up with either the top or bottom edge of a brick that appears to be tipped. If the brick is out oflevel by more than ¼”, the competitor will be assessed a 25-brick deduction for each brick found on either sideof the wall and in any course (maximum deduction 250 brick).
15.First, second and third place will be awarded to the masons who have laid the first, second and third highest brick countwhile meeting all quality workmanship standards, and after subtracting any deductions set forth in the SPEC MIXBRICKLAYER 500 competition rules.
16.The SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMANSHIP winner will be determined by first narrowing the field down to competitors who have laid at least 500 brick and have not had any quality standard deductions—no craftsmanship infractions. If there are no competitors who have laid at least 500 bricks, with no deductions, the total count will be dropped from 500 to 400with no deductions to determine the TOP CRAFTSMAN winner. If there are no competitors with at least 400 brick and have no deductions, then the eligible contestants will be those who have laid 500 brick with one quality standard deduction. If there are no competitors with a minimum of 500 brick and only one quality standard deduction, the count will be dropped to 400 and one quality standard deduction to determine the eligible TOP CRAFTSMAN award contestants. Then a majority of judges will subjectively come to agreement on the wall that they believe is the best, most sellable by way of visual inspection. The walls that qualify for the TOP CRAFTSMAN award must be tooled and brushed properly. If more than one eligible wall is determined to be equal in quality by the judges, the wall with the higher brick count will be awarded the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMANSHIP Award. This is a “judge’s choice” award and their decision in determining the winner is final and is not disputable by the competitors or their representatives.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ELIGIBILITY: ** NOTE: Any mason that has competed as a bricklayer in the past two (2) consecutive SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship competitions is ineligible to compete, as a bricklayer, in the following year’s Regional Competitions. Eligibility will be restored after one (1) year of not competing. **
