A bricklaying tool list is easy to write and hard to make useful. The difference between a trowel that spreads mortar and a trowel that controls the heel of a brick is the difference between a wall that reads straight and one that fights you for every course. This guide covers 32 tools by what they do on site — not what they are called in a catalogue. Each tool carries a use, a failure mode, and where it sits in the quality chain.
Bricklaying Tool Selection by Task
The tool list follows the wall, not the other way around. A bricklaying job breaks into five stages, and each stage has a small number of tools that actually decide quality.
| Stage | What it controls | Tool that decides the outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Mortar handling | Consistency, workability, batch uniformity | Mortar hoe, mixing board, gauging trowel |
| Laying and alignment | Course height, line, plumb, level | Gauge rod, line pins, spirit level |
| Jointing and finishing | Weather resistance, appearance, mortar compaction | Jointer profile (concave vs weathered vs struck) |
| Brick cutting | Cut accuracy, face damage, dust | Bolster chisel and club hammer vs masonry saw |
| Setting out and QC | Corners, right angles, story heights, verticality | Corner profiles, mason's square, boning rod |
Mortar Handling Tools
1. Brick Trowel (London / Philadelphia Pattern)
The primary mortar tool. London pattern has a narrow heel for brickwork control; Philadelphia has a wide heel for block and more mortar per scoop. Blade lengths run 9–13 inches; 10.5–11.5 inches is the working sweet spot for standard brick. A forged one-piece trowel holds its shape; a riveted tang works loose over time.
Use: spreading bed mortar and buttering head joints on a standard brick wall. Fail: wrong heel shape for the unit — a Philadelphia trowel on narrow brickwork drops mortar where it is not needed.
2. Pointing Trowel
A narrow triangular blade for pressing mortar into joints and tidying faces. Not a substitute for the brick trowel — the pointing trowel is a finishing tool, and using the big trowel for pointing rounds off the joint edges.
Use: filling and compacting a raked-out joint before tooling. Fail: a wide blade in a narrow joint smears mortar onto the brick face. For quick calculations, use the simple brick calculator to fasten your work.
3. Gauging Trowel
Rounded leaf-shaped blade for small-batch mixing and scooping from a bucket. Sits between the brick trowel and the pointing trowel in size.
Use: gauging a small mortar batch for a repair or a few bricks. Fail: using the brick trowel for small mixes — the wide blade wastes mortar on the board.
4. Margin Trowel
Narrow rectangle for tight spaces — cleaning out a bed, working into a corner, scraping a bucket. It reaches where the brick trowel cannot.
Use: cleaning mortar out of a confined corner before laying a new course. Fail: it is not a pointing tool — the straight edge leaves a flat joint profile.
5. Hawk
Flat board with a handle underneath, holding mortar at chest height. Keeps a working load close to the wall. Without one, every trowel-full means a walk back to the board.
Use: carrying mortar along a long course where the mortar board is behind you. Fail: a wet hawk load on a windy day — mortar slides off and the bed goes on uneven.
6. Mortar Hoe
Mixes cement, sand, and water into a uniform batch. The blade shape matters: a square-back hoe pushes the mix against the board; a round-back hoe folds it. A badly mixed batch produces inconsistent mortar and variable joint strength.
Use: mixing a 3:1 mortar batch on a board for a day's bricklaying. Fail: dry pockets in the mix — the hoe must fold the batch, not just push it.
Laying and Alignment Tools
7. Gauge Rod (Course Rod)
A batten marked with course heights — typically 75 mm brick + 10 mm joint = 85 mm per course. The only tool that keeps every bed joint identical all the way up the wall. Without one, the joints drift and the wall grows or shrinks against the setting-out line.
Use: marking course heights on a corner profile before laying the first brick of a new lift. Fail: a rod marked for the wrong unit — block and brick course heights differ and the error compounds over every course.
8. Line Pins and Mason's Line
Steel pins driven into a joint tension a nylon line that every brick is laid to. The line is the reference, not the last brick — following the last brick accumulates error. Line blocks hook over the corner brick instead of piercing the joint; neater, slower, and preferred on face work.
Use: running a line between two corner profiles across a 6 m wall lift. Fail: a sagging line over a long run — a tingle or mid-support is needed to keep the line true.
9. Spirit Level (1.2 m Masonry Level)
Checks course level and wall plumb. Length matters on brickwork — a 600 mm level reads a single brick, a 1.2 m level reads a course. The edges must be kept clean; a mortar smear on the face makes the level lie to you.
Use: checking plumb on a corner every third course. Fail: a short boat level used over a full course — it sits within the tolerance of one brick and misses the drift.
10. Corner Profiles (Brick Profiles)
Adjustable posts clamped to a corner carrying the line up as the wall rises. One person can lay a course without first building a corner. The profile carries the gauge marks and the line, so the corner is set once and followed.
Use: a two-man crew where one lays and one tends; the profile keeps the line true without a built corner. Fail: a profile knocked out of plumb — every course above it follows the error.
Jointing and Finishing Tools
11. Brick Jointer (Concave / Convex / Weathered)
Shapes and compresses the mortar joint. The profile decides weather resistance. Concave creates a water runoff and compacts the mortar against the brick edges — the standard exterior choice. Convex exposes more mortar surface and is better in warm climates. Weathered (struck) sheds water but is slower to tool and less compacted than concave.
Use: a concave jointer on an exposed west-facing wall where driving rain hits. Fail: a struck joint on an exterior wall in a wet climate — it holds water on the ledge.
12. Joint Raker
Removes mortar from a joint to a controlled depth before repointing. Raking depth matters: too shallow and the new mortar does not key; too deep and the joint is weakened. A raked joint also gives the jointer a clean bed to compress against.
Use: raking out a weathered joint to 10 mm before repointing. Fail: raking too deep into the bed joint — the repair has nothing to bond to.
13. Tuck Pointer
A very narrow straight blade for detailed mortar work in tight joints. Used in tuck pointing, where a fine mortar finish is pressed into a raked joint.
Use: tuck pointing a 6 mm joint on a heritage brick façade. Fail: using a pointing trowel instead — the blade is too wide and smears the brick face.
Brick Cutting Tools
14. Bolster Chisel (Brick Set)
A broad-edged cold chisel for cutting and trimming brick. Used with a club hammer, it scores and breaks the brick along a line. Cheapest cutting method, but the cut face is not clean — the cut end goes into the mortar joint, not the exposed face.
Use: cutting a half-brick for a bond where the cut face is buried. Fail: expecting a saw-clean edge — a bolster leaves a rough face.
15. Club Hammer (Lump Hammer)
Short-handled heavy hammer used with a bolster chisel. The weight drives the chisel through the brick; a lighter hammer bounces and damages the chisel edge.
Use: driving a bolster through a brick on a firm surface. Fail: a claw hammer — the face is too small and the shock damages the handle.
16. Masonry Saw (Wet or Dry Cut-Off Saw)
Cuts brick to an exact size with a clean face. Wet cutting controls dust and cools the blade; dry cutting with an angle grinder is faster but creates silica dust that requires respiratory protection. The saw is the tool for exposed cut faces and repeat cuts.
Use: cutting 40 bricks to a consistent half-length for a feature band. Fail: dry cutting without dust extraction on a confined site.
Quality-Control and Setting-Out Tools
17. Mason's Square
Checks and sets 90° corners. A square that is out by a degree produces a corner that is visibly out of square over a storey height. Check the square against a known straight edge before trusting it on a setting-out line.
Use: setting the first corner of a new wall. Fail: a dropped square — the arms bend and the 90° is lost.
18. Plumb Bob
Weight on a line giving true vertical over a height. The reference for wall plumb where a spirit level cannot reach. Sway in wind affects it; a heavy bob on a calm day is still the simplest vertical check on a tall corner.
Use: checking plumb on a two-storey gable corner. Fail: wind — a swinging bob gives no reliable vertical.
19. Boning Rod
T-shaped rods used in pairs to check a straight line over distance — sighting between two boning rods reveals high and low spots in a wall or a ground line. Not a precision instrument, but faster than a level for a long straight check.
Use: checking a 20 m wall line for straightness between two end points. Fail: using boning rods for level — they check line, not height.
20. Straightedge
Long rigid bar for checking flatness and straightness. Used with a feeler gauge or by eye against the light. A warped straightedge is worse than no straightedge — check it against a known flat surface.
Use: checking a long bed joint for straightness before the next course. Fail: a bent straightedge — it reads flat when the wall is bowed.
Safety and Site Equipment
| Equipment | Why it matters on a bricklaying site |
|---|---|
| Safety gloves and goggles | Mortar burns, flying brick chips from bolster work, and dust from cutting. |
| Dust respirator (silica-rated) | Dry cutting brick and block produces respirable crystalline silica; a general dust mask is not sufficient. |
| Scaffolding with guardrails and toeboards | Platforms over 2 m need guardrails, midrails, and toeboards. A brick dropped from a lift is a lethal object. |
| Brick tongs and hod | Tongs lift 7–10 bricks one-handed; a hod carries bricks up a ladder. Both reduce the manual handling risk that dominates bricklaying injuries. |
Tolerance and Joint Standards
The tool list is only half the story. The wall is judged against tolerances that no trowel can fix after the fact.
| Parameter | Typical requirement | Tool that controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Bed joint thickness | 10 mm ± 3 mm (common specification) | Gauge rod |
| Course height (brick + joint) | 75 mm + 10 mm = 85 mm | Gauge rod, corner profile |
| Wall plumb | Typically ±10 mm over a storey | Spirit level, plumb bob |
| Joint profile for weather | Concave or weathered for exterior exposure | Concave jointer |
Kit Cost by Experience Level
| Level | Core tools | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice / starter | Brick trowel, pointing trowel, 1.2 m level, line and pins, gauge rod, bolster and club hammer, jointer, tape | £150–£250 (approx.) for a basic apprentice kit |
| Working mason | Adds corner profiles, hawk, margin trowel, joint raker, boat level, chalk line, straightedge | Builds from the starter kit; the additions matter more than a premium trowel |
| Site kit / crew | Mortar board, mixing hoe, wheelbarrow, masonry saw or angle grinder with dust control, brick tongs, scaffolding | Site equipment is shared and rented or bought at crew level |
A cheap trowel and a good gauge rod outperform a premium trowel and no gauge rod. The tools that control line, course height, and joint compaction decide the wall; the tools that only move mortar do not.