How to Make a Brick Wall

Select a type of brick. Use standard bricks, approximately 2-by-4-by-8-inches, but pick one of the dozens of colors and finishes, either solid or with holes to reduce weight and hold extra mortar. Pick a smooth face style for most walls, in a color to complement the house or yard.

Match the pattern for the brick wall to its height. Use running bond, bricks offset by half a length on each layer, on both sides of a low wall, or English bond, which alternates running bond courses with "header" courses of bricks laid perpendicular to the other layers. A wall over 3 or 4 feet high may require steel reinforcing bars and concrete grout in the center or metal ties in mortar lines between the sides.

Lay out the wall line with stakes and mason's twine, taking care to make it absolutely straight; level it with a line level. Dig a trench with a shovel for concrete footings, at least 8 inches wide and 12 inches deep; check building regulations for depth of footing on taller walls. Put 4 inches of gravel in the bottom of the trench and compact it with a hand tamper, then fill the trench with concrete. Level and smooth the concrete with a trowel and let the concrete cure for a week.

Dampen the concrete footing slightly. Mix mortar in a bucket or container and spread 1/2 inch of mortar on one end with a trowel. Put mortar on one end and one side of two bricks and set them in the mortar base, fit together side by side with mortar between the inside faces. Add more bricks in similar fashion the length of the wall, using the string as a guide. Check periodically with a 4-foot level to make sure brick tops are level.

Start the next layer or course with a half brick at the end; do that with a brick crosswise atop the first bricks. Lay another course of bricks in the same running bond, each brick overlapping those beneath by half a length. Add a third running bond course, then lay a course of header bricks, all laid across the two running bond sides. Check regularly with a level to make sure brick courses are level at the top and plumb vertically.

Continue that pattern, alternating courses of stretchers laid lengthwise and headers across them Use headers at least every third course, more frequently for a taller wall; some brick walls alternate stretchers and headers every course. Finish the wall with a header course to provide a good top. Use a steel finishing tool every couple of courses to press the mortar between outside brick faces into a concave form so water will drain out.