Reading an old trade journal and saw a stat about brick weight

I was flipping through a 1970s bricklayer magazine at the library and it said a standard brick back then weighed almost 5 pounds. I always figured they were heavy, but that's a lot more than I thought. My arms get tired just thinking about laying those all day. Has anyone else come across old facts about the trade that made you appreciate the work more?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana_moore752mo ago

Honestly, did they even have to use bricks that heavy back then?

terry18d ago

Yeah, no kidding! @terry_walker your grandpa must have been tough as nails, because I get winded just lifting a bag of groceries these days. I can barely manage a modern brick without needing a coffee break, so those old 5-pounders would probably send me straight to the chiropractor. Makes you respect the guys who did it for a living, huh?

terry_walker2mo agoTop Commenter

Wow, that weight is crazy. My grandpa used to talk about hauling cinder blocks for foundations in the 60s. Said they were so dense they'd crack the wooden pallets sometimes. Makes you wonder how they did it without all the equipment we have now.