So, you’re looking to lay bricks with no experience? Well, we have good news for you. With the right tools and know-how, it’s something that almost anyone can do. Whether you are planning on building a brick wall in your garden to border off some turf for planting or in need of a repair to the walls around your front door we have your back.  

As with any DIY job, the key here is to be prepared. Make no mistake, whilst this is a job that anyone can get the hang of, building a wall from scratch will be tricky for first timers. Make sure you allow yourself the time to make mistakes and buy all your gear and materials well in advance. We suggest buying more than you need as well, just to account for any damaged bricks or mishaps along the way. 

First things first, you’ll want to make sure you're safe. That means thick work gloves, safety goggles and knee protection if you are working on a large wall. Other than this you’ll need the following tools: 

• Tape Measure 
• String 
• Club Hammer 
• Bolster Chisel 
• Trowel 
• Brick Jointer 
• Spade

Now, this age-old question can be very simple if you are using standard-sized bricks or blocks (we would suggest this). The standard size for bricks in the UK is 215mm long by 102.5mm wide by 65mm high. Using these dimensions, we know that roughly 60 bricks will cover 1 square meter of wall.  

If you do the maths on this i.e. converting the millimetres to meters, working out the area on one brick and multiplying that by 60 you actually find that it undercuts that 1 square meter mark a tad. However, this is where your mortar comes in. To ensure a stable wall, a line of 10mm is the best practice. With this additional height and width, 60 becomes the golden number.  

Therefore, the calculation is a simple one. Figuring out the area of your desired wall by multiplying the length and width. For example, a small wall, 1 meter high and 5 meters wide would have an area of 5m squared. 5 multiplied by 60 is 300, so that is how many bricks you would need.  

If you are using standard blocks (440 x 215mm), then simply change out the 60 in the equation for 10 as this is how many blocks are needed to cover that 1 meter squared.  

Top Tip: Remember this equation will only tell you how many bricks you need for a single brick wall construction. If you are building a wall with a cavity, you will need to double your total number of bricks by 2. For the example above, this turns 300 bricks for a single wall into 600 for a double. Simple.   

Again, this is an easy enough calculation to make as long as you are using standard brick sizes. A 20kg bag or pre-mixed mortar will cover around 25 bricks, assuming a 10mm joint, as recommended. This means you simply need to divide your total number of bricks by 25.  

Using the example above that would be 300 bricks divided by 25, giving you 12 bags of 20kg worth of mortar or 240kg of mortar total. You can use this figure if you are mixing your mortar yourself, just remember to keep to the suggested ratio of sand to cement, 4:1.  

If you are using standard blocks, you can assume you’ll need at least 2 bags of 25kg worth of mortar per 10 blocks. 

1. Lay a Foundation 

Before you can break out the bricks and mortar, you’ll need to create a solid foundation for your wall to sit on. To get this foundation straight and at the right width, use timer profiles and nails to mark the exact location of your wall. Join these nails with string and make sure the whole area is square with your level. 

2. Dig Your Trench 

The depth of the trench for your foundation with depending both on the nature of the ground and the dimensions of your wall. Softer soil may need a deeper width than what we recommend as well as a layer of hardcore on top of a permeable fabric. On top of this will be your concrete base and on top of that you should leave around 2 bricks worth of depth should you want to replace the soil.  

For single-skin walls up to a meter tall, the depth of your concrete should be 300mm. For double skin, you can half this to 150mm. Anything between 1 and 2m and we suggest between 400 – 450mm.  

Top Tip: When pouring your concrete make sure it is a mix of 5 parts aggregate and 1 part cement. 

3. Measure Your Brick Courses 

Now you need to work out how many brick courses you need (and by extension how many bricks). This is easy enough to do by dividing the height of the wall you want to build by the height of a single brick or block. Remember to add 20mm to this height to account for the mortar above and below them.  

You can do this again with the width of your bricks to make sure you get enough to cover the total width of your wall/walls. 

4. Cut Your Bricks If Needed 

Whilst we would recommend avoiding cutting your bricks whenever possible, you may find that the ends of the wall will need to be trimmed. To do this, first measure the line you want to cut and then score using another brick and chisel.  
Put your safety glasses on, lay the brick flat across a stable surface and then line up your chisel with the scored ark. Strike the chisel with your club hammer to split the brick. 

5. Start Laying Your Bricks 

With your foundation lain and your bricks ready, you can start to build your wall. First, lay a piece of timber across the out edge of your foundation. This will provide a consistent border to work to. Lay a bed of mortar across your foundation (10mm thick) and begin laying your bricks starting at one end. 

As you lay consecutive bricks in that first course, remember to add a small amount of mortar to the end before laying it in line with the first brick. Remember to use the timber you put down as a guide. Once your first course of bricks has been laid, double-check that it is level with your spirit level. 

6. Lay Second Course & Create a Level Line 

Lay a small bed of mortar on the first three bricks on your first course, in a rough triangle shape so that you can spread it out with your trowel at a width of 10mm. Start laying your second course on top of this.  
To ensure your bricks remain in line, create a level line by inserting a pin or nail into the mortar at one end of the wall. Extend your line up to the second course and along the length of your wall. Make sure it is taut and stable. 

7. Continue Laying Your Brick Course 

Uses this line as a guide in the same way you used the timber for the first course, continue laying your bricks. Remember to keep a 10mm line of mortar between each course and feather in the mortar between each brick. Repeat until you have lain your final course. 

8. Fill in Gaps 

Lastly, use your brick jointer to fill in any gaps there may be in the mortar to achieve an even finish. Remove your level line and timber guides and your wall will be complete.