Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter 12 Laying Brick 221 Grasp the trowel in your dominant hand. Fingers should be under the handle and the thumb on top of the ferrule as shown in Figure 12-4. Loading a Trowel Mortar may be loaded on a trowel in several ways: ■ ■■ From the side of the board ■■ From the middle ■ From the top of the pile Figure 12-5 shows the steps for one method of load- ing a trowel. Develop the method that works best for you and perfect it. It is important to wear appropri- ate gloves when working with mortar or similar prod- ucts because of the caustic chemicals contained in the mixture. Spread the mortar with a quick turn of the wrist toward the body and a backward movement of the arm. When the trowel is nearly empty, tip the trowel blade even more to help the remaining mortar slide off. See Figure 12-6. The kind of mortar and its consistency most often determines the speed of the stroke. When solid masonry units are used or the first course of brick or concrete block is being laid, the mortar is Timothy L. Andera Figure 12-4. This London pattern trowel is being held correctly, with the fingers under the handle and thumb on top of the ferrule. Author’s images taken at Job Corps, Denison, IA Figure 12-5. Steps in loading a trowel. A B C D