How to Brick & Mortar a Wall

Determine where you want to build your wall. Define your layout by using a tape measure and wooden or plastic stakes. Drive the stakes into the ground around the perimeter of your wall and attach the string line between the stakes to define the outline so that you can follow it.

Dig down between your string lines with a shovel. Your foundation layer, also known as a footer or footing, of concrete needs to be at least twice as deep and twice as wide as the thickness of your overall brick wall. Mix some concrete with a shovel in your wheelbarrow according to the manufacturer's instructions and fill the trench. Let it dry for 72 hours before laying the actual brick.

Mix additional concrete in your wheelbarrow for use in the construction of your wall. Apply a roughly even layer of around 3/4-inch thick along the top of the footing you poured 72 hours earlier. Use this as your base layer of concrete for laying your brick down.

Lay your first layer of bricks across the bed of concrete, leaving at least 1/2-inch between each brick as you work your way across. If you are installing smaller bricks in a cross-layered pattern, lay them out on top of your footing layer of fresh concrete in your chosen pattern until you have finished the entire bottom layer.

Insert concrete in between the bricks with the mason trowel. Tap all of the bricks together lightly with a rubber mallet so that the mud between them bonds to the sides of each brick. Set your level on top of the layer and tap the bricks softly down into the base layer of mud until the entire first layer is level. Repeat the processes for your first layer on each subsequent layer of bricks.

Check the wall for plumb with your level after you have completed three or four levels, and check every subsequent few levels to ensure the wall is plumb on the way up. Cut any extra concrete away from the face of the wall with your mason trowel.