A good bricklayer builds walls that are straight, level and plumb, with full 10 mm joints and brickforce where it belongs. A bad one leaves bowed walls, hollow joints and cracks that show through the plaster. Bricklayers are quoted per m², per 1,000 bricks laid or per day, usually for labour only, with you or the builder buying the bricks, sand and cement. Send one free, no-obligation request with the size of the job and bricklayers near you quote you directly.
What a bricklayer does
On most jobs a bricklayer, or a small team with labourers, will:
- Set out the walls from the plans and build up the corners first.
- Lay each course to a string line with about 10 mm mortar joints.
- Lay brickforce in the bed joints, a damp-proof course at floor level and wall ties in cavity walls.
- Build in door and window frames and lintels.
- Leave face brick joints neatly raked or pointed.
Plastering, roofing and paving are usually separate trades.
Choosing a bricklayer: checks before you hire
- References. Ask for two or three recent jobs you can go and look at. Check the walls are straight and the joints full.
- A written quote that says per m², per 1,000 or per day, the wall area, and what is included.
- Labour only or materials too. If the bricklayer buys the bricks, ask for the brick type and strength in writing.
- NHBRC. A new house must be built by a builder registered with the NHBRC and enrolled before work starts. A bricklayer working under that builder is fine; a team building a whole new house on its own is not.
Good bricklaying and common mistakes
The walls are only as good as the materials and the pace. Watch for:
- Cement bricks laid before they are cured, which shrink and crack. Buy from a yard that cures properly.
- Weak or dirty mortar. Use proper building sand, not plaster sand or soil.
- Skipped brickforce or DPC to save time.
- Building too high in one day, so the lower courses squeeze out.
- Fresh walls left uncovered in a storm or in Highveld frost.
SANS 10400 sets the rules for walls and foundations on new buildings.
What affects bricklayer rates, and what to ask
Rates depend on single or double skin, face brick or plaster brick, wall height and scaffolding, the number of corners and openings, and the distance to site. Ask:
- What is the rate and how will the area be measured?
- Are labourers, mixing and scaffolding included?
- How are payments split, and is anything paid up front?
- Who supplies the mixer and tools?
What to include in your request
- Wall lengths and heights, and the openings
- Single skin or double skin
- Face brick or plastered walls
- Labour only, or materials included
- Whether it is a new house needing NHBRC
Bricklayers for different clients
- Homeowners: a bricklayer for a boundary wall, a garage or an extra room at the back
- Builders and bricklaying contractors: extra bricklaying teams taken on per m² when a site falls behind
- Housing developers and complexes: bricklaying crews quoted per unit across a phase of townhouses or RDP houses
- Brickyards and block yards: a yard pointing its customers to bricklayers who know how its bricks lay
- New brick-making businesses: a small block yard offering supply and lay with a bricklayer it trusts
- Farms and smallholdings: a bricklayer for staff houses, stores, a pump house or a kraal wall
- Municipalities, schools and public works: bricklaying on a school classroom or clinic block under a registered contractor
- Landscapers and paving teams: a bricklayer for planter walls, braai areas and garden walls beside new paving
Frequently asked questions
What is the bricklayer rate per m² in South Africa?
Published guides put labour only at about R120 to R200 per m² for a single skin wall and about R220 to R380 per m² for a double skin wall, with the bricks, sand and cement extra. Face brick work, high walls and many corners cost more. Get the rate and the measured area in writing.
How many bricks can a bricklayer lay in a day?
It varies a lot with the wall, the brick size, the weather and how many labourers mix and carry. Long straight walls go up faster than corners and openings, and face brick is slower than plaster brick. Ask each bricklayer how long your job will take rather than relying on a daily figure.
Does a bricklayer need to be NHBRC registered?
For a new house, the builder in charge must be registered with the NHBRC and the house enrolled before building starts. A bricklayer can work under that builder. For a boundary wall, a garage or a small extension NHBRC enrolment does not usually apply, but plans and building rules still may, so ask your municipality.
Who will quote me for bricklaying?
Send one request with the wall lengths and heights, single or double skin, the brick type and whether you supply materials. We pass it to independent bricklayers and small builders in your area and they quote you directly. We lay nothing ourselves, so check references and compare written quotes.
Bricklayers by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg