25 DIY Projects with Bricks: Great Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures)
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Shea Cummings
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Brick projects can be expensive, but they also have a lot of potential to be cheap if you can find an old pile of bricks to reuse. A major plus to doing any brick project is that most of them don’t require a lot of skill. As long as you follow the package directions for the concrete, mortar, and grout, you’re well on your way to being a half-decent bricklayer.
Below, we’ve gathered DIY brick projects to try today. Most can be done in a day or a weekend at most.
The 25 DIY Projects with Bricks
1. DIY Brick Fire Pit by Family Handyman
| Materials: | 120 face bricks, 25 fire bricks, cardboard concrete forms, mortar mix, concrete mix, rebar |
| Tools: | Brick hammer, bucket, concave jointer, concrete float, drill, level, trowels, spade, wheelbarrow |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Depending on your experience level, this brick fire pit may take a couple of days to complete. This isn’t just a simple stack-the-bricks fire pit. This fire pit is a permanent fixture in your backyard, so it’s ideal if you’re already creating a backyard space. For example, if you’re putting in a patio or an outdoor kitchen, this fire pit would make a great addition.
2. Blesser House: DIY Lime Washed Brick Fireplace
| Materials: | Limewash, white vinegar, |
| Tools: | 2 spray bottles, heavy scrub brush, bucket, drill, paddle mixer, masonry brush, drop cloth, tape, rags |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The plans for this lime-washed brick fireplace will breathe new life into a boring, old red brick fireplace. When using this plan—unless you’re already doing a major renovation—you’ll want to pay extra attention to prep, so you don’t get the lime wash on anything other than the bricks. When it comes to a lime wash, you can do all the mortar and bricks like in the plans, or you can do a bit of both, which gives it another unique look.
3. Crazy Craft Lady: DIY Concrete Block Bookshelf
| Materials: | 1×10 lumber, wood finish, polyurethane, pavers |
| Tools: | Brush, rags |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
You could buy a fancy bookshelf or build this concrete block bookshelf for a reasonable price with materials you can get from your local building center. The pavers that the plans call for stack well, and you could get away with stacking them. However, if you want a little more stability, you could use a construction adhesive designed for brick and stone. Then you will never have to worry about the shelf being toppled by kids or animals.
4. Home Talk: DIY Amethyst Encrusted Brick Wall
| Materials: | Thing brick tiles, tile adhesive, grout, crystals, acrylic paint |
| Tools: | Tile cutter, paintbrush, adhesive spreader |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’re bored with a plain painted wall, this amethyst encrusted brick wall offers a unique idea involving bricks to change things up. The gems add a whimsical feel to the room. If amethysts aren’t your thing, any gem or jewel can be substituted. The nice thing about these plans is the author has also created a video tutorial if you’d prefer that to reading.
5. Home Talk: DIY Brick Fire Pit
| Materials: | Leftover bricks, landscaping adhesive, gravel |
| Tools: | Tape measure, level |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Unlike the first fire pit on our list, this brick fire pit is designed to use leftover bricks. Assuming you’ve already completed a different brick project, building this fire pit won’t cost you anything extra except an extra tube of adhesive and some gravel. Before settling on a spot to put the fire pit, check with local fire regulations to ensure you’re putting it far enough from structures.
6. HomeTalk: DIY Brick Patio Towers
| Materials: | Pavers, landscaping adhesive |
| Tools: | Level |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Brick patio towers are a great addition to your patio. They can be used as an elevated space to put flower pots, or you can leave them as they are for decoration. The plans don’t specify to use adhesive because the types of pavers that it calls for stack well. However, suppose you’re looking for something a little more permanent or resistant to being knocked over. In that case, a landscaping adhesive should do the trick.
7. Provident Home Design: DIY Brick Step
| Materials: | Bricks, mortar, plywood, |
| Tools: | Trowel, tape measure, level, brick jointer, brush, |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If the step from your porch is too big, then adding a step isn’t hard. Why not make it a brick step? Even a beginner DIYer can manage this project. If one step is not enough, you could even modify these plans to allow for two steps by creating more layers. The key to this project being successful is ensuring that your first row of bricks is 100% level; the other layers are easy to level out as long as it is.
8. The Kitchen Garten: DIY Brick Garden Edging
| Materials: | Bricks, flat shovel or spade, sand, landscape fabric, mortar |
| Tools: | Flat shovel or spade, level |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
You can buy pre-made edgers for the garden, but this brick garden edging makes for a unique and fun custom garden edge. While this project is easy, it can get expensive. Depending on the type of brick you choose to go with and how much garden you are edging will determine the overall cost. Also, if you want an edge that’s never going anywhere, you can mortar the bricks. This isn’t necessary, but it does finish the look well.
9. Homestead Lifestyle: DIY High Brick Fire Place
| Materials: | Patio stones or pavers, crusher run, Quickcrete |
| Tools: | Level, tape measure, edging and spade shovels, hand tamp, marking paint, rake |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This high brick fireplace is not only functional, but it will be the talk of the night for the next backyard get-together. Because this is a permanent fire pit, make sure it complies with local regulations as far as its placement. Depending on the particular stone or brick you decide on, you can modify these plans to suit it. As long as you ensure your first layer of bricks is level, the rest of the project will fall into place.
10. Hunker: DIY Outdoor Charcoal Grill
| Materials: | Mortar, concrete, bricks, metal grill, rebar |
| Tools: | Flat shovel or spade, trowel |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Building your own outdoor charcoal grill may be more challenging than buying one, but it’s worth it. A brick and concrete grill will last for many years compared to a store-bought metal one which wears out eventually. Longevity and quality aside, when BBQ season rolls around, a handmade grill is more impressive. If you’re overhauling your backyard outdoor living space, this project will make a great addition.
11. BHG: DIY Raised Brick Garden Bed
| Materials: | Mortar, bricks |
| Tools: | Wheelbarrow, mortar hoe, brick chisel, mason’s line, pointing trowel, joint raking tool, joint primer |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
A raised brick garden bed is a fantastic option if you want to get away from a traditional material like wood. The nice thing about a brick planter is that it will last for many years, and you won’t have to worry about rot. If you don’t like the classic look of red bricks, then doing a lime wash or painting the bricks once the mortar is dry is an option. One downside to this project is that if you live in an area with a deep frost line, pouring the concrete footer will be more work.
12. With Love Mercedes: DIY Herringbone Brick Porch
| Materials: | Garden stakes, Quickcrete, brick adhesive, thin bricks, white mortar |
| Tools: | Drill, mixing paddle, trowel, piping bag, angle grinder, bucket |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This white, lime-washed herringbone brick porch is the perfect addition to compliment a brick house. It will complement many other exterior finishes as well. Using a herringbone web will make creating the pattern much easier, but it’s possible to do it manually too. What makes this brick project unique is how drastic of a difference there is in the types of styles you can use. For example, the plans use a German Schmear, but you can use any style you like.
13. BHG: DIY Curved Brick Flowerbed Border
| Materials: | Spray paint, flour, sand, bricks, mulch |
| Tools: | Garden hose(for shaping), spade or edging tool, digging fork |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The brick garden edge we discussed earlier was for an existing garden, whereas this curved brick flowerbed border assumes you’re starting from scratch and designing a new garden bed. It walks you through the initial stage of sketching out your garden then laying out a hose to visualize where the flowerbed will be. So, you can make the border as simple or complex as you want it to be. These plans don’t call for mortar, but it’s easy enough to do depending on the finished look you want.
14. Home Talk: DIY Brick Tile Floor
| Materials: | Thin bricks, thin-set mortar, grout, cement backer board, cement board screws |
| Tools: | Trowel, grout float, tile saw, buckets, sponge, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Bricks are durable, so a brick tile floor seems like a natural home improvement project. If you’ve ever done tile work, you won’t have a problem with this project—laying thin bricks isn’t all that different. Preparation is the biggest factor in this project’s success. Like tile, you’ll want to have a solid idea of the pattern you’re doing before starting because once you get going, you can’t easily go back and change anything.
15. Bunnings: DIY Brick Planter Box
| Materials: | Bricks, sand, marking paint, cement, exterior paint, hydrated lime, string line |
| Tools: | Trowel, bucket, cement mixer, cold chisel, hammer, jointing tool, paintbrush, mallet, shovel, level, wheelbarrow |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This brick planter box is designed to build off of an existing structure, however, it can be modified to stand alone. Compared to the previous planter box in this list, this one has more of an artistic flair with the concrete cap that you paint. Don’t forget to seal the bricks once the mortar is dry because there will be a lot of moisture on the inside once you’ve got dirt that you’re watering.
16. Instructables: DIY Brick Planter Box
| Materials: | Large, flat bricks, adhesive |
| Tools: | Level |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Not all brick planter boxes are built the same. Not only is this one super easy, but it looks unique compared to the other planters on this list. Depending on where this is going in the yard and how picky you are, you don’t even need a level—eyeballing for level is good enough for this application. Because this planter doesn’t take up a lot of room in the yard and it’s relatively inexpensive, you can get creative with it.
17. Human Behavior Blog: DIY Brick Bookends
| Materials: | Bricks, acrylic paint |
| Tools: | Paintbrush |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Brick bookends are either the simplest project on this list or the most difficult depending on your artistic ability. The chances are good that you can do this project for almost no cost. You could advertise on social media for people looking to get rid of old brick pavers. Then all you have to do is clean them up, recreate your favorite book covers, and voila—classic bookends!
18. HOME DZINE Garden: DIY Informal Paved Path
| Materials: | Sand, topsoil |
| Tools: | Shovel, wheelbarrow, hand tamper, dead-blow hammer, mason’s chisel |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Bricks are durable and weatherproof. They won’t erode even in high-traffic areas, and they will survive having cold, damp soil against them. They are also easy enough to lay in any shape so you can have a winding path or a straight one. You can use this guide to create an informal paved path that can be modified to any size and shape, although the plan recommends that the path be no wider than a meter because it would look out of proportion as a garden path.
19. Lowe’s: DIY Patio Block Bench
| Materials: | Wall block, paver base, landscape adhesive, boards |
| Tools: | Shovel, mallet, hammer, chisel, level |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Patio blocks are heavy and durable. This means they won’t blow over in the wind, will withstand regular use, and they can easily hold the weight of a wooden block bench and people sitting on the bench. This patio block bench guide shows you how to ensure the bench is sturdy and that it looks good in any yard or garden. It uses aggregate to achieve a level floor under the bench and it doesn’t require any cement so it isn’t too difficult a project to undertake.
20. FishPub: DIY Brick Waterfall
| Materials: | Bricks, waterfall accessories, waterproof liner |
| Tools: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
A waterfall not only looks attractive and brings some variety to a garden full of plants and greenery, but the running water adds tranquility. Bricks aren’t waterproof, especially if you don’t use mortar, but this brick waterfall guide uses a waterproof liner sandwiched between two layers of bricks so the water will permeate the first layer of bricks but won’t get through to the second. This waterfall is built on a flat patio so doesn’t require any base layer or leveling, but yours might, in which case it will take a little more work and some additional materials.
21. Robin’s Nesting Place: DIY Brick Birdbath
| Materials: | Bricks, birdbath |
| Tools: | Level |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Birdbaths provide some of the same benefits as waterfalls and other water features. Hearing the sound of your backyard birds splashing about in the water bath should bring serenity. It is also the ideal addition to your garden if you enjoy sitting out and watching the local wildlife. Creating a brick birdbath is also joyfully simple. Make sure the ground is level and essentially stack the bricks securely before adding a stone birdbath on the top.
22. The Micro Gardener: DIY Brick Herb Spiral
| Materials: | Sheet mulch, gravel, mortar/cement |
| Tools: | Shovel, trowel |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
A herb spiral offers a great way to grow your own herbs and micro herbs in your garden. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of room, can be built on almost any surface, and the spiral design looks great. This herb spiral guide shows you how to make a spiral using a variety of different materials including rocks and, crucially, bricks. You do need to be able to make up and add mortar to ensure that the spiral itself is stable and that the soil doesn’t push the bricks out or leak through the gaps in the brickwork, but if you’re confident with a trowel, it isn’t too complicated.
23. BBC Gardeners World Magazine: DIY Brick Barbecue
| Materials: | Bbq set, facing bricks, sand, cement, slabs, hose |
| Tools: | Level, spade, plastering set |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
When the sun is out, there’s nothing worse than having to head back to the kitchen to prepare dinner. A barbecue lets you continue to enjoy the sun while you prepare and even eat your food, but rather than buying a barbecue on wheels, with some bricks, a few other supplies, and this guide to making yourself a brick barbecue, you can make a semi-permanent grill feature for your garden.
24. The Spruce: DIY Brick Patio
| Materials: | Paving bricks, patio edging, gravel, landscape fabric, sand |
| Tools: | Measure, sledgehammer, level, shovel, rake, board, compactor, rubber mallet, plywood scrap, broom, hose |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
One of the joys of creating your own brick patio is that you can create the layout and design that you want. It also means that you can have a patio no matter the amount of space or the dimensions of your proposed patio area. It does take a little work, but using this brick patio guide you don’t have to use mortar, you can use locking sand instead to help ensure the patio stays in place.
25. Family Handyman: DIY Brick Pizza Oven
| Materials: | 2×4, hardboard, bricks, base, concrete block, concrete mix, stone, rebar, plywood, mortar |
| Tools: | Concrete tools, drill, masonry tools, saw |
| Difficulty Level: | Hard |
A pizza oven is different from a grill because it is enclosed and the internal area of the oven will get very hot. This means that, if you are making a brick pizza oven, you will need to choose your bricks carefully to ensure they won’t easily crack or break when you’re using them. The finished oven looks great, especially thanks to its curved roof and chimney finish.
Closing Thoughts
If there is one thing this list demonstrates, it’s that there are a ton of things you can do with bricks. Any one of these plans can be modified to fit your particular style or vision. Whether you choose a specific style of brick or grout color, or decide to lime wash the bricks once you’re done, you can make the project uniquely yours.
Featured Image Credit: Gabriel Cropley, Shutterstock
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