(May 21, 2009) The masonry industry may get some more educated and talented craftsmen thanks in part to a donation of concrete block and masonry products from County Materials of Appleton. The local manufacturer of construction and landscaping products recently supplied concrete block, brick, sand, mortar mix and other masonry materials to the Construction Techniques class at Appleton East High School.
Construction Occupations Instructor, Steve Masanz, said this is the first year the class has included a masonry-training unit.
“The kids were very excited we were offering this,” said Masanz. “I’m teaching them the basics of masonry. We have been building projects outside, so it’s a realistic setting.”
Using trowels and their classroom training, student pairs are constructing masonry projects that include laying up a brick wall over 8 feet long and a concrete block wall nearly 16 feet long, both several courses high.
Said Masanz, “If we didn’t have the generous product donation from County Materials, we would have no way to run the masonry program because of our limited budgets.”
Masanz also reached out to other professionals in the industry and asked people to come in and present hands-on demonstrations.
“I want to show students how masonry is really done out in the field…and give them a flavor of the different trades so they have an understanding of what is available in construction occupations.”