In terms of the shell of a regular residential building, once the first-floor joists are installed, the home stretch for the bricklayers commences. At this stage only one more floor's worth of masonry is required until the roof plate height is reached, at which point more or less every major task still required to be undertaken is by other trades. In fact, from that point onwards, most of the major works to be carried out are carpentry related in some form, save for the electrics and plumbing. But before we reach that stage, a few more different components may need to be installed. Of course, the first floor of the building is going to feature windows, and as such more structural openings featuring lintels. The masonry construction continues upwards in exactly the same fashion, with cavity[1]  wall insulation and wall ties being installed in accordance with the specification. It is typically in this portion of the masonry that cavity trays may need to be installed in order to properly weather-in adjoining roofs. 

Flat roofs, as well as porch roof, or even pitched roofs as part of a lower section of the building all typically terminate at a vertical height somewhere in the masonry. In order to successfully weather these roofs, cavity trays need to be installed during the construction of the masonry. These trays, made from lead, sit at a specific height in relation to the roof covering in order to direct any water that enters the cavity through the above masonry and back out onto the roof. This is a critical factor if the cavity masonry does not continue all the way to the common ground level. If the masonry below is supported by structural steel, then it's likely that a finished ceiling also sits directly below. If water is allowed to continue down the cavity, it may make its way into the inside of the building, causing damp patches or leaks. To avoid this, the cavity trays are installed to stop water from tracking down the cavity below the line of the roof. For a flat roof, these trays will continue round at a set course of the masonry, being folded down over the flat roof covering once it is weather in. For a pitched roof, these trays will follow the rake of the roof by jumping up the courses. Once the roof is installed and tiled in, the lead will be folded down to create a fully weatherproof system. Alternatively, in the case of a porch that features continuous cavity masonry all the way to the ground, a simple flashing may be required to weatherproof the roof. This may be installed after the fact by the roofers if the mortar joints are left raked out during the construction of the masonry.  

In some instances, we carpenters may be required to assemble pattern rafters for the bricklayers in order to guide where their trays will go. Depending on the scenario, it may be impractical to fully form the roof before the full shell of the building is assembled. That being said, the bricklayers need a reference point for the height of the trays so they can be installed correctly. With the trays installed and the structural openings formed, the plate height can be successfully reached. Like the position for the installation of the first-floor joists, this critical measurement is also specified on the drawings. A datum can be struck throughout the first floor to help achieve a flat plate height. This height from the finished first floor height to the underside of the ceiling joists is also typically 2.4m. The ceiling joists sit on a timber wall plate on the inside skin, and so the height of the inside skin must be kept down the thickness of this plate plus a muck bed to accommodate the height for the underside of the joists. Once this height is achieved, the carpenters will cut the wall plates in accordance with the processes explained later. Once cut, the bricklayers can bed the plates onto the internal skin with mortar, and the shell of the building is complete. From here, we’re ready to begin all of the carpentry tasks that are required to bring the property to a finished state.