ACE Mentor Program of America
Long readLearning to lay brick and set tile2026

Learning to lay brick and set tile

1 min read · Long read · 2026

The International Masonry Institute, Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1 and Carpenters Company of Philadelphia recently organized a field visit to Local 1’s training center for a half-dozen students from Mastbaum Vo-Tech and Girard College.

The visit to the training center, at 2702 Black Lake Place in the Far Northeast, was part of a 10-week after-school mentoring program introducing young people to careers in architecture, construction, engineering (ACE) and the trades.

Students toured the training center and learned the ingredients of mortar and the differences between cement and concrete and between the front and back of a brick.

During the visit, students were organized into groups of three. Before going to work, they donned gloves and safety glasses and stretched.