Traditional Masonry Archives

Help Wanted: Masons Skilled in Historic Preservation
According to the International Masonry Institute, the restoration industry has sustained growth for more than 30 years. The demand for highly skilled craftworkers in the masonry restoration trades has never been greater.

In a perfect world, the principle of supply and demand works perfectly, with the proper amount of supply available to handle the current demand. Such is not the case with the historic preservation industry. When it comes to historic properties, the demand for tradespeople skilled in restoration and maintenance far outweighs the supply.

The restoration industry has demonstrated sustained growth for more than 30 years, according to Larry Darling, director of education and professional development for the International Masonry Institute. "The demand for highly skilled craftworkers in the masonry restoration trades has never been greater," he says, "and this demand continues to grow each year despite fluctuations in other construction markets such as steel and wood."

And the need is across the board. "This activity is not confined to public work; investors and private institutions are finding tremendous benefit in the restoration of existing buildings and in developing regularly scheduled condition assessments and maintenance programs," Darling explains.

Special skills are needed
One of the reasons for the shortage is two-fold: Individuals trained as commercial masons are also very much in demand, and if any wanted to do historic maintenance or restoration work, they'd need additional training.