Pouring The Footer

• 1). Dig a trench where your wall will go. Make it about 12" deep and 12" wider than your wall width. You'll want to build a double-wythe wall, meaning a wall that's two bricks wide.
  
  
• 2). Mix your concrete according to manufacturer's instructions. Use the wheelbarrow or the concrete mixer. You can rent a concrete mixer at a home improvement center.
  
  
• 3). Fill your trench with the concrete mixture.
  
  
• 4). Make sure the top of your footer is smooth and level.
  
  
• 5). Allow concrete to cure fully. This time varies by product, but typically 48 hours is sufficient.
  
  

Building The Wall

• 1). Lay out a dry course of bricks, putting dowels between the joints to estimate mortar width. Use this course to estimate how many bricks you will need to cut.
  
  
• 2). Cut bricks using the wet saw. You can rent a wet saw from a home improvement center.
  
  
• 3). Mix your mortar. Only mix a small amount of mortar at first, or it will dry before you can use it all. As you get more comfortable laying mortar, you'll be able to mix more at a time. Use scrap plywood to leave small amounts of mortar along the wall, so it will be close by as you work down the wall.
  
  
• 4). Remove your dry course and replace it with a mortared course of bricks. Start from a corner or the end of your wall.
  
  
• 5). Lay a second course next to the first to make your double-wythe wall. This course should be parallel to the first, not staggered as the courses going up the wall will be.
  
  
• 6). Lay another double course of bricks. This course should be staggered from the first. Stretch the masonry string across your wall to make sure you're laying bricks in a straight line.
  
  
• 7). Lay a tie-in course every three normal courses. This course will have the bricks turned perpendicular so they tie together both sides of your wall.
  
  
• 8). When your mortar is hard enough that touching it does not leave an impression, smooth the mortar joints with the joint striker and foxtail brush.
  
  
• 9). Build up a lead at the ends of your walls and at any corners. A leader will be a stack of 7 to 8 bricks high. Use this to line up courses and to check plumb.
  
  
• 10
  
  Cap your wall by laying a course like you did with the tie-in rows.