How to Assemble Bricks on a Wall

Foundation

• 1

  Use a spade to dig a pit that is 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep. If the soil is loose, such as sand, dig it at least twice as deep to help stabilize it. Set the removed soil on a tarp so you can easily haul it away.

• 2

  Pour premixed concrete into the hole, tamp it with the spade and smooth the surface with a trowel.

• 3

  Lay a plastic sheet over the concrete and set bricks on the sheet to keep it in place. Leave the concrete to cure for four days.

Wall

• 4

  Pour your mortar mix into a large container, such as an old wheelbarrow, and add water according to the package instructions. Stir the mix with a spade or trowel and continue stirring until the mortar has a smooth, thick, even consistency.

• 5

  Wrap string horizontally around one brick and set the brick at the end of your concrete base so the short end is facing out. Roll the string to the far end and wrap it around another brick. Lay this brick at the opposite end of the base. Use the string as a guide.

• 6

  Scoop out some of the mortar onto the bricklayer's trowel, and smear it into the middle of the concrete base.

• 7

  Lay the first row of bricks so the stretcher side of brick is facing out and will be seen when finished. The stretcher side is the long, narrow side of the brick. Place all bricks so the indented side is facing up. Put a dollop of mortar at the short end of each brick before pressing it to the previous brick.

• 8

  Lay the next row of bricks so the joints from the previous row are overlapped by the center of a new brick. Use half bricks at the end of the second row. Apply the mortar in the same manner as with the initial row, using a smear of mortar on the bottom and a dollop between bricks.

• 9

  Check your bricks as you work to ensure they are level by setting a spirit level on each brick and tapping it with the trowel until it is level.

• 10

  Finish the wall by laying the top row of bricks with the indented side down. Use the level to make sure the row is even, and smooth any rough spots in the mortar with your trowel.

• 11

  Cover your wall with a tarp and allow it to cure for four days.