What is a trowel?

A trowel is a hand tool with a steel blade and a wooden or plastic handle, used to scoop mortar from the board or bucket, lay it on bricks or blocks, spread it and cut off the excess. On a building site “trowel” usually means the bricklayer’s or brick trowel. The blade is set a little higher than the handle by a cranked neck (the shank), so your knuckles stay clear of the wall. In Dutch it is called a troffel.

Shapes and types

• Brick trowel: a large, pointed, roughly triangular or pear-shaped blade for picking up and spreading mortar and trimming the joints. The two common patterns are the London pattern, with a rounded heel, and the Philadelphia pattern, with a squarer heel.
• Pointing trowel: a small version for repairs and tight spots.
• Band trowel: a narrow rectangular blade for strips such as window reveals.
• Corner trowel: a folded blade for crisp internal or external corners.
• Finishing trowel: a flat rectangular blade with the handle in the middle, for plaster and render.

Trowel, float and pointing iron

A brick trowel moves and spreads mortar. A plasterer’s float has a flat face for levelling and texturing plaster. For finishing joints you use a narrow pointing iron; a trowel is too wide for that job.

Uses

• Laying bricks, blocks and calcium silicate units
• Applying bedding or thin-bed mortar
• Small repairs to plaster and mortar joints
• Turning over and mixing mortar on the board

Practical tips

• Check weight and balance: a trowel that is too heavy tires your wrist. Hold it in the shop and try a few scooping movements.
• Choose a stiff blade: hardened or forged steel will not flex under a full load of mortar.
• Clean it straight away: rinse with water and a brush after work. Once mortar has set you can only scrape or grind it off, which damages the blade.
• Store it dry and lightly oiled to prevent rust.
• Common mistake: loading too much mortar. Take less per scoop for a more even bed and less waste.

Related terms

• Band trowel
• Corner trowel
• Finishing trowel
• Plasterer’s float
• Pointing iron
• Mortar

Want to learn more about construction terms? Visit our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.