Job costing for masonry contractors

Masonry margins hinge on production rate and how long the scaffold stays up. A wall that lays slower than the bid assumed costs you twice: once in mason hours and again in scaffold rental. JobMargin puts both on the job in real time.

What masonry contractors track in JobMargin

• Units and mortar against budget. Block, brick, mortar, and grout post to the job as tickets come in, so overage shows up before the last pallet.
• Scaffolding as its own line. Scaffold rental grows with every extra week on the wall. Tracking it separately shows what a slow wall really costs.
• Mason and tender hours by job. Crews clock in on their phones, and hours post to the job’s labor budget automatically.
• Progress by quantity. Bid by the square foot or by the each, and log how much got laid, so “half done” is a number, not a guess.

Set up for masonry from the first day

When you pick Masonry & Block as your trade, JobMargin loads these cost categories for budgets, receipts, and job costs. You can rename or add your own at any time.

• Block & Brick
• Labor
• Mortar & Grout
• Reinforcing Steel
• Scaffolding
• Equipment Rental
• Fuel
• Disposal
• Subcontractor
• Other

Bid line items use the units masonry actually bid in: square feet (SF), linear feet (LF), each (EA), cubic yards (CY), and lump sum (LS).

Example: what a masonry job looks like mid-way

8-inch CMU walls with brick veneer on the front elevation. The block is about 60% laid; the brick hasn’t started.

Labor at 62% is tracking with the block. Scaffolding is the one to watch: 70% of it is spent, and the brick veneer, which needs the scaffold the longest, hasn’t started. If the scaffold stays up through the brick at the same rental rate, that line runs over before the job is done.

Guides and tools for masonry contractors