How to Build a Short Curved Brick Wall

Mark a line along the length where you want to place your curved wall using marking spray. Make a second line parallel to the first 6 inches away. Dig out the space between the lines to remove the sod layer and soil 4 to 6 inches deep to form a trench.

Fill the bottom inch of the trench with sand and smooth the sand with an old board. Check that the sand is level and resmooth the sand or add more as needed.

Mix your mortar with water in a wheelbarrow until it has a paste-like consistency. Pour the mix into the trench, filling the trench 4 inches deep with concrete to create a footer. Smooth the concrete and level it with the board. Allow the footer to dry for two to three days.

Mix more mortar after the footer has dried. Spread a layer of mortar over the footer 1 inch thick and 2 to 3 feet long at one end of the prepared footer. Place a brick over the mortar running parallel to the trench and tap the brick downward with the butt of your trowel.

Apply a layer of mortar to the end of your second brick and set it against the first brick so the mortar is between them. Tap the brick downward and back to secure it. Check that both bricks are level and tap again if needed. Scrape away any excess mortar that squeezes out from the sides of the bricks.

Lay the next brick in the line down the trench as you did the second brick. Continue to spread mortar over the footer and on the ends of each brick as you place it, check that the bricks are level, and scrape away excess mortar until you’ve laid the entire first row. Ease the bricks around the curves as you work by letting the mortar become narrower between brick edges along the inside of the curve and wider at the edges along the outside of curve.

Cut a brick widthwise in half using a hammer and chisel. Lay mortar over the top of the first row and lay a second row of bricks starting with a half-brick and using whole bricks down the wall, easing around curves where needed.

Repeat laying staggered rows of bricks until the wall is as tall as you want it, without building higher than 3 feet tall to maintain stability. Allow the wall’s mortar to dry for two to three days before setting anything on it or planting around it.