Building and rendering a brick wall

Skill - 3/5

Time - 5 days

 

There are three parts to building a solid exterior wall, including sinking the footing, laying the bricks and applying a smooth rendered finish.

 

Tackle it as a complete DIY job or get a tradie to help with the tougher tasks such as the footing then do the bricklaying and rendering yourself.

 

●1 SINK THE FOOTING Excavate a trench for a reinforced footing using premixed concrete and a 200 x 350mm steel cage with 12mm bars.

●2 LAY THE BRICKS A single-skin wall is built on the footing with engaged piers on one side. Piers give structural strength and can support a bearer to carry joists for a deck or roof.

 

●3 APPLY THE RENDER A 10mm thick layer of cement render is applied to both sides of the wall for a finish that can be painted or texture coated.

 

Check council requirements as most building projects like this require a development application with plans and measurements. Wait for approval before beginning the work.