18 DIY Projects with Bricks: Great Plans You Can Make Today (with Pictures)
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Shea Cummings
- Last updated:
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 18 DIY brick projects to try today. Most can be done in a day or a weekend at most.
The 18 DIY Projects with Bricks:
1. Grace & Josie: Brick Fire Pit
| 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: 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: 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: 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: 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. Home Talk: 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: 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: 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: 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. eHow: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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. Fishpub: Brick Waterfall
| Materials: | Bricks, slate, tubing, pump, liner, lights, river rock, electrical components, adhesive (optional) |
| Tools: | Electrical tools |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
A brick waterfall is a great way to use reclaimed bricks, slate, and river rocks. For this project, you can often find most of the “structural” materials for free in nature. Overall, this project is relatively easy. The only thing that brings it up to a moderate difficulty is the potential for requiring electrical. If you’re an experienced DIYer, you may be able to do this yourself. If not, you’ll have to hire a professional to do the wiring.
18. Human Behavior Blog: 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!
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.
See Also:
Featured Image Credit: Gabriel Cropley, Shutterstock
Contents
- 1 The 18 DIY Projects with Bricks:
- 1.1 1. Grace & Josie: Brick Fire Pit
- 1.2 2. Blesser House: Lime Washed Brick Fireplace
- 1.3 3. Crazy Craft Lady: Concrete Block Bookshelf
- 1.4 4. Home Talk: Amethyst Encrusted Brick Wall
- 1.5 5. Home Talk: Brick Fire Pit
- 1.6 6. Home Talk: Brick Patio Towers
- 1.7 7. Provident Home Design: Brick Step
- 1.8 8. The Kitchen Garten: Brick Garden Edging
- 1.9 9. Homestead Lifestyle: High Brick Fire Place
- 1.10 10. eHow: Outdoor Charcoal Grill
- 1.11 11. BHG: Raised Brick Garden Bed
- 1.12 12. With Love Mercedes: Herringbone Brick Porch
- 1.13 13. BHG: Curved Brick Flowerbed Border
- 1.14 14. Home Talk: Brick Tile Floor
- 1.15 15. Bunnings: Brick Planter Box
- 1.16 16. Instructables: Brick Planter Box
- 1.17 17. Fishpub: Brick Waterfall
- 1.18 18. Human Behavior Blog: Brick Bookends
- 2 Closing Thoughts
