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Brick Wall Construction

Laying brickwork that stays plumb, bonded and weather-tight - from a garden wall to a full cavity envelope.

Last updated 2026-09-05

Also used inResidential & Housing Commercial & Workplace

Typical duration

A gable end on a house: 2–4 days for a gang. A full detached house envelope: 3–6 weeks with the blockwork inner leaf. Tower infill: programme per floor plate.

What is Brick Wall Construction?

Brickwork is the oldest trade on the site and still the one everyone judges first. A good brick wall is not just bricks in mortar: it is a cavity, a damp-proof course, wall ties at the right centres, lintels with bearing, movement joints where the elevations run long, and pointing that sheds water instead of soaking it up. On homes and villas in the UK the cavity wall is the default - an outer leaf of facing brick, a 100 mm cavity increasingly full of insulation, and an inner leaf of blockwork doing the structural work. In the UAE brick is less common as a facing material, but the same laying discipline applies to boundary walls, planter walls and feature masonry.

The craft is in the repetition: gauge the corners first, run the line, keep the perpends vertical, and never let the mortar get ahead of the laying. Most brickwork defects that show up two winters later - cracking, spalling, damp patches - were baked in at this stage by missing ties, bridged cavities or mortar mixed wrong on a hot afternoon.

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When and why is Brick Wall Construction used?

Brickwork follows the oversite slab or foundation blockwork and runs ahead of the roof, because the walls carry the plate, the joists or the frame connections. It is chosen for durability, fire resistance, thermal mass and a face that needs no further finish. On residential towers it appears as infill or feature work around a concrete frame; on homes and villas it is often the structure itself. The choice of brick, mortar class and cavity width is set by the exposure zone and, in the UK, Part L thermal targets and Part A structure; in the UAE, by DM/DDA approved drawings and the municipality's thermal insulation requirements.

Walkthrough storyboard

The process in pictures, step by step - Step 1 of 8 - slide through the snapshots.

Set out and check the DPC

STEP 1

Set out and check the DPC

Before a brick is laid, set out the wall line off the datum, check the slab or foundation is level within tolerance, and confirm the DPC is down, lapped and in…

Types of Brick Wall Construction

Explore each method in depth - benefits, limitations, plant and quality control on its own page.

Repointing

Raking out tired joints and replacing the mortar - done well it buys a wall another century, done badly it destroys the brick.

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Lime mortar

The soft, breathable, forgiving binder that traditional solid walls were built with - and still need.

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Homes & villas - brick/block cavity wall

The UK housing standard: outer facing brick leaf, insulated cavity (typically 100–150 mm), inner blockwork leaf tied across with stainless wall ties. DPCs, cavity trays and weep holes manage water; the inner leaf carries the floors and roof.

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Solid brick wall (215 mm)

Boundary walls, garden walls and older construction: a single structural thickness in English or Flemish bond. No cavity to bridge, but no cavity to drain either - coping, DPC and pointing quality do all the weather defence.

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Residential & office towers - brick infill and feature work

Brick slips or full brickwork built off the concrete frame or support angles: entrance features, podium elevations, infill panels between columns. Movement joints and support systems are engineered because the frame moves and the brick does not.

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UAE boundary & screen walls

Rendered block is more common, but face-brick boundary and screen walls appear on villas and compounds. Hot-weather curing, sulphate-resistant mortar in saline ground and movement joints at close centres matter more than frost resistance.

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Best suited for

Homes and villas - cavity construction as the default UK housing envelope
Boundary, screen and garden walls in both UK and UAE residential work
Feature and podium elevations on residential and office towers
Anywhere a durable, low-maintenance face with thermal mass is wanted
Infill to concrete or steel frames where movement can be detailed out

Brick Wall Construction: step by step

1
Step 1: Set out and check the DPC
Before a brick is laid, set out the wall line off the datum, check the slab or foundation is level within tolerance, and confirm the DPC is down, lapped and in the right plane - 150 mm above external ground level, continuous through every junction. Lay the first course dry to plan the bond, the perpends and where the cut bricks land, so you are not sliver-cutting at every opening.
2
Step 2: Gauge the corners and quoins
Build the corners first, four to six courses high, racked back, with the gauge rod (storey rod) against every course. These corners are the control for everything between them - if the corner is out of plumb or off gauge, every course above inherits the error. Check plumb both faces, check level across, then line between them.
3
Step 3: Run the courses to the line
Mortar spread for two or three bricks at a time, full bed joints, perpends filled - not tipped and pointed later. Work to the line at every course, keep joint thickness at 10 mm nominal, and tool the joints as you go to compact the face. In hot weather or with high-suction bricks, wet the bricks and use the boards; in the UK winter, stop below 3 °C falling and protect fresh work from frost.
4
Step 4: Install wall ties, insulation and cavity control
Wall ties go in at the specified centres - typically 900 mm horizontally and 450 mm vertically, doubled around openings - bedded level, sloping to the outer leaf, never the reverse. Partial-fill boards clip to the ties; full-fill batts are held back against the inner leaf with retaining clips. Clean mortar droppings off ties and the cavity bottom as you rise, with battens pulled and lift-outs at the base.
5
Step 5: Form openings - lintels, bearings and cavity trays
At door and window openings, set the lintel on its full bearing (150 mm minimum each end unless specified), on a level bed, with the cavity tray or DPC over it turned up to the inner leaf and weep holes every fourth perpend above. Temporary propping under long lintels stays until the mortar over has gained strength.
6
Step 6: Build piers, returns and movement joints
Piers stiffen long runs and carry concentrated loads - build them bonded into the wall, not stitched on. Where the elevation exceeds the movement-joint spacing (around 12 m for clay brick, 6 m for concrete or calcium silicate), form the vertical joint, slip-tie across it and seal with backer rod and mastic at the finish.
7
Step 7: Toothing, bonding and connections
Where new brickwork meets existing, tooth or use proprietary wall starters fixed to the sound face - never just butt the joints and hope. Bed wall plates on mortar with straps at centres, and fix restraint straps down the cavity to floors and roofs as the courses pass them, while you can still see what you are fixing to.
8
Step 8: Point, clean down and protect
Tool or weather-strike the joints to compact them, brush down same day, and acid-wash only as a last resort with a test panel first. Cover the wall heads against rain overnight - saturated fresh work effloresces and frost-damages. Snag the face before scaffold comes down: perpends aligned, no smears, weep holes open, trays visible at inspection.

Plant & equipment

Brick and block saws with dust suppression
Mortar mixer or silo, mortar boards and spot boards
Scaffold or trestles with loading bays
Gauge rods, lines, pins, levels and plumb rules
Telehandler or crane with brick cages for loading out
Cavity battens, clean-out equipment and inspection mirror
Gantry/sheeting for weather protection in winter or summer heat

Quality control & testing

Mortar mix design and batching records; retempering prohibited after initial set
Course gauge and plumb checked every lift against the storey rod
Wall tie type, spacing, embedment and slope inspected before cavity closes
DPC, cavity tray and weep hole continuity recorded with photographs
Lintel bearing and level checked per opening
Cube or prism samples where structural masonry is specified

Safety watchpoints

Manual handling: brick packs split, lifting aids for repeated courses above waist height
COSHH: cement burns - barrier cream, gloves, eyewash at the mixer
Silica dust from cutting: water suppression and RPE, not dry sweeping
Working platforms loaded within rating; brick guards at scaffold edges
Newly built walls braced against wind until tied and cured
Hot-weather work in the UAE: shaded mixing, hydration breaks, midday working-hour rules in summer

Common defects to hunt

Efflorescence and lime bloom from saturated fresh work left unprotected
Cracked panels where movement joints were omitted on long elevations
Damp patches from bridged cavities - droppings on ties, mortar in the tray
Spalling faces from frost on saturated brick or wrong mortar class
Sagging lintels and cracked reveals from short bearings or early loading
Bulging walls where tie spacing was stretched or ties omitted

How long does Brick Wall Construction take?

Typical duration: A gable end on a house: 2–4 days for a gang. A full detached house envelope: 3–6 weeks with the blockwork inner leaf. Tower infill: programme per floor plate..

Related processes

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02 - Block Wall Construction